O'Byrne Cup First round/Dublin 3-14 DCU 0-12:If this does turn out to be a big year for Dublin football then it's starting out in low-key style and with little fanfare. A team with plenty of new faces easily accounted for the students/intercounty players of DCU in their first-round tie of the O'Byrne, staged under the bright lights of Clanna Gael Fontenoy in Ringsend.
Conditions probably qualified as balmy given the time of the year and though a gentle rain spilled down towards the end the playing surface was immaculate, with the teams duly responding.
Both teams worked hard and fast throughout although it wasn't long before Dublin's greater class and depth became evident, thus earning them the right to meet Westmeath in Sunday's secondround clash at Mullingar.
Dublin manager Paul Caffrey promised an experimental team and that's what he played, with Kevin Bonner the only known forward starting from last summer's line-up. Two of the lesser-known players soon started to shine, firstly David O'Callaghan at left corner forward, who ended his night's hard work with 1-4.
Dermot Connolly at wing forward captured most attention, scoring 1-5 including a sweetly-taken goal close to the end. Like O'Callaghan, the St Vincent's player is equally deft with the hurl and he played a key part in the Dublin Colleges' success last year. Both men are sure to get a run in the league and both deserve it.
Derek Murray looked the part at wing back, pressing forward on several occasions and earning himself a point in the process. The midfield of Darren Magee and Declan O'Mahony was more established, helping to stage Dublin's dominance, with Magee chipping in a fine point and O'Mahony hitting 1-1.
The students hadn't quite the same level of preparation as Dublin, although for the first 25 minutes they held their own. Despite O'Callaghan's early goal they chased hard and were just two points down, 1-5 to 0-6, after 25 minutes. Bernard Brogan was proving particularly difficult for the Dublin defenders to handle, and he too is likely to figure in Caffrey's plans with his return to the county panel.
Things started to fall apart a little for DCU when on 32 minutes their star forward Conor Mortimer of Mayo was sent off on a second yellow card. Stephen Cluxton made one great save from Brogan just before the break and even though Dublin were only leading 1-7 to 0-7 it was difficult to see how the students could get a winning advantage.
That proved to be the case as the second half progressed, with Dublin easing away. Both teams had players sent off on 40 minutes when Dublin lost Ross McConnell and DCU lost Kevin Leahy, and that took out whatever sting was left in the game.
Still Dublin hit some fine scores in the last 15 minutes, with Connolly's shooting class impressive off the left or right boot. He hit two excellent points in succession on the hour mark before completing his goal, which was swiftly followed by a point from substitute Alan Brogan.
But as the Dublin supporters walked off into the night there were two names on their mind - Dermot Connolly and David O'Callaghan - and once again it seems Dublin football's gain will be Dublin's hurling's loss.
DUBLIN:S Cluxton; C Prenderville, R McConnell, N O'Shea; D Murray (0-1),C Moran, G Brennan; D Magee (0-1), D O'Mahony (1-1); D Connolly (1-5, one free),G Cullen, D Reilly; D O'Callaghan (1-4, one free), K Bonner (0-1), P Burke. Subs: A Brogan (0-1)for Burke, B Cahill for Cullen (both 47 mins), P Griffin for Murray, C Goggins for Reilly (both 58 mins), J Magee for Connolly (65 mins).
DUBLIN CITY UNIVERSITY:Geoffrey Claffey; C Healy, B O'Reilly, N Cooper; D Sheridan, P Casey, M McNally; E Lennon, P Keenan (0-3);R Cullivan, S Johnson (0-4, one free),T Diamond; B Brogan (0-3, one free), K Leahy (0-1, a 45), C Mortimer (0-1, a free). Subs:D Kernan for McNally (half-time), R Maguire for Cullivan (40 mins), Cullivan for Sheridan (50 mins), J Doyle for Johnson (69 mins).
Referee: J Curley(Meath).
