Hurlers bow out of league

DCU’s senior hurling team have been eliminated from the league after Queens University Belfast handed them a ten point drubbing in St Clare’s last week.

Having started the game quite positively with two points from Philly Murphy and centre back Brian Flaherty, once the opposition drew back level, DCU played second fiddle to a much more coherent Queens’s outfit.

Corner forward Donnacha Kennedy put DCU in the lead in the tenth minute, with a point after some good build up play by centre forward Cairan O’Conner. This would be the last time DCU led however as from then on it was all Queens scoring a will until the end of the first half.

The first goal for the northerners in the 18th minute came about after a mix up in the DCU full back line resulting in the ball being stuck in the mud for a number of seconds. The referee failed to blow for a throw in before the Queens full forward ploughed the ball over the goal line.

Queens’s second goal five minutes later finished the game as a contest and all the Dubliners could muster for the remainder of the half was a Joe Cullen free in the 27th minute as they trailed 2-06 to 0-04 at the interval.

Whatever chance there was of a DCU comeback in the second half was quickly quashed as the northerners were awarded a very fortunate goal straight from the resumption. After DCU goalkeeper Bill McCormack had stopped an attack but the umpire adjudged that the ball had crossed over the line.

Joe Cullen kept the DCU scoreboard ticking over with a free and a 65’ but lack of discipline in the backline left Queens in with some easy frees killing off any chances of a comeback.

Although Brian Kennedy and Niall O’Cuinn had second half points it wasn’t enough to draw back an insurmountable lead that Queens had built up early in the game.

DCU are now knocked out of the league after four successive defeats, although they were missing some key players including Offaly Senior hurler Dairmuid Horan.

The teama still have a lot of work to do on this performance to challenge for Ryan Cup honours in the spring.

DCU Team: Billy McCormack, Gavin Farrell, Paddy Rowsome, Ian Story, Brian Flaherty (0-2), Padraig Curtain, Emmett Ceant, Nial O’Cuinn (0-1), Gearoid McDermott, Philly Murphy(0-1), Cairan O’Conner, Eoin O’Mahony, Colm Fogerty, Joe Cullen (0-3, 2f, 0-1 65), Donnacha Kennedy (0-1).