Cuala 4-16
St. Vincent’s 2-16

TWO GOALS IN either half did for Diarmuid Connolly and St. Vincent’s as a Colm Cronin-inspired Cuala reached the Dublin Senior Hurling Championship ‘A’ final.

Dublin football star Con O’Callaghan also found the net as holders Cuala set themselves up for a rematch of last year’s showpiece, with Kilmacud Crokes seeing off Lucan Sarsfields earlier this evening.

A John Hetherton 65 fired Vins to a three-point lead inside as many minutes before two quickfire scores for David Treacy got Cuala off the mark in Parnell Park.

Seemingly sick of the early feeling-out process, former Dublin half-forward Colm Cronin then went nuclear: his first goal – a flicked finish from close range – gave Cuala a 1-2 to 0-3 lead on six minutes. His second, which arrived just two minutes later, extended that lead to five points – a deficit from which Vincent’s would never quite recover.

A 14-minute John Hetherton penalty kept them in touch before a grounded finish by Rian McBride on 22 minutes narrowed the margin to a single score, but Cronin and Treacy kept Vincent’s at arm’s length with scores as half-time approached.

Veteran Cuala half-forward Cian Waldron then struck a hammer-blow, both figuratively and literally, to push Cuala out to a 3-8 to 2-7 lead at the break.

End-to-end stuff here in Parnell park! Will it be @StVincentsGAA1 or @CualaCLG that come out on top? Tough 2nd half awaits them! #DSHCA2017 pic.twitter.com/CGIDdlBGJt

— Dublin GAA (@DubGAAOfficial) October 22, 2017

Diarmuid Connolly registered the first score of the second half to pull Cuala’s lead back to three, and by the midway point in the half, Vincent’s had finally pulled level.

Two David Treacy scores and a first for Con O’Callaghan – all arriving within three minutes – saw Cuala gain a further grip on proceedings, though had O’Callaghan’s point crept a few inches lower their lead might have been five.

He made amends just a minute later as he fired past Damien Russell from the ground. Cuala led by six with eight minutes remaining.

Treacy kept them ticking over despite the efforts of Hetherton and Ronan Fallon, the latter of whom fired a rousing score from distance but in vain.

Two minutes into added time, GAA journalist Shane Stapleton slotted over the game’s final score, as Cuala booked their place back in the final where they’ll seek to repeat last year’s triumph over Crokes.

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