Belfield boys dump the Dubs

THE boys from Belfield have enjoyed success at both third level and county championship in recent seasons and, with Westmeath and now Dublin dispatched this month, further honours lie within sight.

This eight-point defeat of Tommy Naughton’s side ensures College a shot at Antrim, in a Walsh Cup semi-final to be played in the capital next weekend.

Asked how he felt about UCD’s presence in the competition, Naughton replied coyly said he could hardly criticise UCD lest the accusation of sour grapes be thrown at him. Still, for many Dublin hurling aficionados, seeing their county side lose to UCD will be a bitter pill to swallow, even in the Walsh Cup. With Dublin increasingly successful at underage levels, it was no surprise to see a handful of their players in College colours yesterday as well as the usual sprinkling from Kilkenny, Wexford and even Kerry.

Tomas Brady, Ross O’Carroll and Joey Boland all started the encounter. Eoin Power joined them on the restart and the latter pair even contributed to their native county’s downfall with five points between them.

That said, the best Dublin player on display appeared in light blue. David ‘Dotsie’ O’Callaghan scored five points, all from play. O’Callaghan’s decision to concentrate on hurling looks a major boost to Naughton.

Dublin started well, taking a two-point lead into the first quarter, after which UCD’s superior fitness began to tell.

Talent played its part and College were dripping with it; the one 2007 All Star nominee on display was in UCD colours, and Laois’s James Young was far from being his team’s best player.

The Students took the lead for the first time through Maurice Nolan’s goal after 25 minutes and when Tipperary’s Tommy Fitzgerald added a second a half hour later, the gap was stretched to seven and the game out of sight.

Only for O’Callaghan, Nolan might have had a reasonable shout for the man of the match award, though he lasted only until half-time. By then the Kilkenny man had shot 1-5, four points from play, but the O’Loughlin Gaels man still showed enough to confirm why he made his county championship team of the year last month.

The other most notable feature of the game was its location. Originally set for Parnell Park, then Swords, weather backed the organisers into a corner and Thomas Davis’ all-weather pitch played host.

Scorers for UCD: M Nolan 1-5 (4f), T Fitzgerald 1-1, J Boland 0-3 (1f), PJ Nolan 0-2, E Power 0-2, S Nolan 0-1, B Murphy 0-1.

Scorers for Dublin: D O’Callaghan 0-5, P O’Boyle 0-3, D Curtin 0-2f, K Flynn 0-1, P O’Driscoll 0-1, J McCaffrey 0-1.

UCD: P Carroll; C King, B Travers, T Brady; N Prendergast, D Fitzgerald, S Nolan; PJ Nolan, J Walsh; C McBride, N Curran, B Murphy; R O’Carroll, T Fitzgerald, M Nolan.

Subs: E Power for Nolan 35, C Ryan for Walsh 68.

DUBLIN: G Maguire; P Brennan, S Hiney, P Bergin; D Qualter, K Ryan, M Carton; J McCaffrey, P O’Boyle; D Curtin, K Flynn, K Dunne; D O’Callaghan, P O’Driscoll, A McCrabbe.

Subs: P Carton for O’Driscoll 34, P Ryan for McCrabbe 34, O Gough for Qualter 66.

Referee: A Stapleton (Laois).