DCU 7-11
Maynooth University 3-5
Ryan Cup
November 12th, 2015
DCU sealed their place in the Ryan Cup semi-final after eventually asserting their dominance against Maynooth University last Thursday, November 12th.
DCU were without some of their key players, most notably Colm Begley, Michael Quinn and Enda Smith, all of whom are involved in the Irish International Rules setup.
The game involved 10 goals and stayed true to the cliché that it is a game of two halves.
DCU were first to get on the scoreboard thanks to the work of midfielder Steven O’Brien. He gathered the ball in midfield, powered through the Maynooth defence and kicked a beautiful score.
DCU continued to apply early pressure on Maynooth and after seven minutes of play had added two more scores courtesy of Evin Keane and Shane Carthy.
Maynooth got their first score from a Neil Flynn free eight minutes in which was followed by a fantastic goal.
Midfielder Evan O’Carroll went on a dizzying run around several DCU defenders, found himself in front of the goal and blasted it into the net.
But Maynooth’s lead didn’t last long. A minute later DCU were awarded a penalty which centre-back Conor Moynagh placed perfectly into the corner.
From the next play DCU got their second goal. Midfielder Kevin Feely made a wonderful catch in the centre of the field and played it in to Tom Lahiff who finished well.
Arguably the score of the night came from DCU corner-back Stephen Attride. He passed his way from DCU’s full-back line all the way up to Maynooth’s and fired it over the bar.
DCU looked to be cruising at this stage, and after Neil Flynn blazed a 21-yard free wide, one couldn’t help but feel it was going to be one of those nights for Maynooth.
Then, they had a huge two minutes. In the 22nd minute full-forward Rory McManus took advantage of some sloppy DCU defending to find the net.
This was followed up by another Maynooth goal, another powering run and finish from midfielder Evan O’Carroll.
Just when the game looked to be swinging back in favour of Maynooth, the momentum swung back in favour of DCU.
In the 27th minute substitute Davy Byrne, who replaced the injured Kevin Feely, sliced over a fine score with the outside of his boot which saw the beginning of a DCU scoring burst before the end of the half.
It was quickly followed up by another goal. This time, full-forward Conor McGraynor won the ball and found wing-back Dessie Reynolds on one of his attacking surges, who made no mistake with the finish.
Eight seconds later, DCU had another goal. Corner-forward Ryan Lyons found himself in possession after a poor Maynooth kick out and added himself to the list of goalscorers.
The final score of the half was a point from Shane Carthy, leaving the half-time score DCU 4-8, Maynooth 3-3.
The second-half was a complete rout.
Before Maynooth had registered a score, DCU had managed to bag themselves 2-1.
DCU’s half-time substitutions paid off as Ultan Harney got on the scoresheet with a point, and Simon McCoy’s run set up fellow substitute Mark Plunkett for a goal.
DCU continued to pile on the second half misery for Maynooth as Rory Connor rounded the keeper and rolled the ball into the net for his side’s sixth goal.
The game’s 10th and final goal came from Simon McCoy as he was there to palm in Ultan Harney’s pass across the goalkeeper.
McGraynor and Reynolds added two more points for DCU. Their team was guilty of some poor shooting in the second half, but it made no difference as Maynooth had no answer and only managed to score two points in the second-half.
DCU: Phillip O’Donnell; Stephen Attride(0-1), Aiden O’Halloran, Eddie Doran; Dessie Reynolds(1-2), Conor Moynagh(1-0), Dessie Ward; Steven O’Brien, Kevin Feely; Tom Lahiff(1-0), Shane Carthy(0-3), Rory Connor(1-0); Ryan Lyons(1-0), Conor McGraynor(0-2), Evin Keane(0-1).
Substitutes used: Mark Plunkett(1-0), Davy Byrne(0-1), Ultan Harney(0-1), Simon McCoy(1-0), Jonathan Bealin.
Maynooth University: Eoin McDonagh; Niall Lenihan, John McCarron, Jack Setright; John Costello, Emile Mullen, Conor Slevin(0-2); Evan O’Carroll(2-0), Fergal Conway(0-1); Willie Bright, Ben Duggan, Dáire Kennedy; Niall Flynn(0-1), Rory McManus(1-1), Mick Keogh.
Substitutes used: Killian Gallagher, Sennan Farrell, Henry Walshe.
Conor Hawkins
Image credit: Sportsfile
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