DCU’s Fitzgibbon hurling side’s unbeaten start to the season continued last Thursday as they strolled to victory at home, beating St Pat’s by 2-21 to 1-07.
The scoreline told the story of a one-sided game, as DCU cruised comfortably from throw in to final whistle.
Second half goals from midfielder Tony French and forward Cathal Curran made sure of a decisive victory.
The first half presented few problems for the Glasnevin men, as they quickly raced into a 0-04 to 0-01 lead. They never looked back after that.
St Pat’s might have feared the worst considering the fine form the DCU Fitzgibbon side have been in. It was no surprise then to see them employ extra defenders to counter the considerable scoring threat. This managed to slow DCU attacks down but left the away team with little presence up front.
Long hopeful balls didn’t reap dividends for Pat’s and DCU went in leading by 0-09 to 0-04 at the break, with full-forward Donal Breathnach contributing three points in the first period. In the truth the margin could have been bigger had it not been for some uncharacteristic DCU wides from the likes of Cian Boland, who again put in a fine display at half-forward.
The first score of the second half effectively killed the game as a contest as Tony French burst through from midfield on a solo run and found the corner of the net.
The scores kept coming for DCU in the second half with St Pat’s sneaking a goal that would prove to be little consolation.
As the away team pushed more men forward, DCU capitalised on the space they were getting up front. In the 54th minute, Cathal Curran was able to provide the perfect finish to a move that started in the full-back line. This opened up a 13 point lead with just 15 minutes remaining.
DCU then tacked on six late points in a row to leave their opponents red faced, with 17 points the eventual margin of victory.
Free taker Donal Breathnach ended the game with eight of his side’s 21 points, six of which came from placed-ball opportunities.
The massive gulf in class between the two sides was evident, especially in the supply of quality ball to the forwards.
Too many long balls went astray for Pat’s and this meant they could never build up any sort of scoring momentum.
In contrast, those in attendance hardly saw DCU play a long aimless ball all evening.
The phenomenal start to the year has been unprecedented for DCU and the management team must be delighted with the early form their side are hitting.
DCU: Cormac Ryan; Brendan Furlong; Pat O’Carroll; Niall Walsh; Tom Brennan; Killian Fitzgerald; Gavin Bailey; Daniel Staunton; Tony French; Cathal Curran; Cillian Egan; Cian Boland; Padraig Brehony; Donal Breathnach; Mick Daly.
Kevin Taylor
Image Credit: Aidan Broletti
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