Mullane magic puts paid to dogged Dubs

IN THE end it was the clinical finishing of Allstar John Mullane that saw off a gutsy and determined Dublin challenge at Walsh Park yesterday as the NHL champions booked their passage into Sunday week’s quarter-final with a deserved seven point win, though it’s not yet clear whether they’ll have to play Cork in a play-off first.

Mullane’s hat-trick of superbly taken goals gunned down the Dubs, and he also notched four quality points in a magnificent man of the match performance.

Little wonder that manager Justin McCarthy lavished praise on Mullane: “This is the John Mullane we all know, and with his injury problems now out of the way we will be looking to more of the same from him in our important upcoming games.”