St Benildus claim first Leinster Colleges crown

Leinster Colleges SAFC final - St Benildus College (Dublin) 2-7 Marist College (Westmeath) 1-6: Goals in the first quarter by Paddy Flaherty and Joe Rafferty proved pivotal as St Benildus claimed a first provincial title in Saturday’s Leinster Colleges final at O’Connor Park.

For Marist, it was another disappointing decider as they suffered their fourth final defeat but their tally of just three points from open play over the hour undermined their challenge.

The Dublin school started brightly, with Rafferty opening the scoring in the sixth minute before Marist equalised three minutes later through an excellent score by full-forward Brian Derwin. In poor underfoot conditions, Benildus stuck the opening goal in the 11th minute as Flaherty fired home from eight yards with Marist opened up far too easily down the middle.