Dicksboro ease to big success in All County League Final

Dicksboro captured their second successive All County League Division One title when they comprehensively overcame Mullinavat in Palmerstown last Wednesday night.

Both teams were without a number of regulars but it was the city side who coped much the better and they controlled the game from start to finish really.

While the silverware will be quickly forgotten about when the league/championship gets underway in the next few weeks, it’s still another victory for a club that won all the accolades at underage level in 2021.

Michael Walsh managed the Under 17, 19 and 21 sides to championship glory and he’s now the main man in the senior hotseat as he looks to help the Boro to future success.

After the teams met in Mullinavat earlier in the campaign, the final took place in Palmerstown and with Andy Gaffney, Timmy Clifford, Thomas Kenny and Bill Sheehan in huge scoring form, Dicksboro had 13 points to spare come the final whistle.

Dicksboro have a number of the All-Ireland Under 20 Kilkenny winning team in their ranks and and one of their key men Timmy Clifford opened the scoring within seconds of the start.

Andy Gaffney and Thomas Kenny followed up with further points as the hosts built up a 0-3 to 0-0 lead.

The Vegas boys eventually got on the board when Kilkenny football star Michael Malone found the target in the 6th minute.

Dicksboro then created a couple of goal chances with Gaffney and Cillian Hackett both having opportunities that saw Mullinavat goalkeeper Sean Fitzpatrick produce a pair of great saves.

That didn’t effect the Boro too much though as they scored five of the next six points with Gaffney, Sheehan and Padraig Moylan all finding their range.

A Mullinavat point from Padraig Dempsey kept the visitors in touch and Adam Mansfield soon added to the tally for Adrian Burke’s men.

Mullinavat then  trailed 0-8 to 0-3 by the halfway mark of the half but any chance they had was soon taken away from them when Dicksboro scored seven points on the trot with Clifford, Kenny and Sheehan all hitting the target in a big scoring spree.

Clifford and Sheehan were running riot up top for the Boro and they had 17 points on the board by the half-time whistle.

Andy Gaffney converted back to back frees at the start of the second half to give his side a 0-19 to 0-4 lead and it wasn’t long before the city side emptied out the bench.

As a result Mullinavat offered something of a revival with points from Mansfield, Willie O’Dwyer and Conor Walsh while Mikey Jones also had a shot at goal saved by Darragh Holohan.

It was a night that Dicksboro had too many aces to fire though as Cillian Hackett and Aran Murphy rounded off the scoring with a couple of late points.

Clifford, Kenny, Sheehan and Gaffney got most of the scores for Dicksboro while the likes of Padraic Moylan and Niall Rowe also impressed while Michael Malone and Adam Mansfield stood out in defeat for Mullinavat.

It proved to be a nice bit of early season silverware for Dicksboro but like their opponents, their attention will soon switch to the bigger challenges down the line.

Both sides suffered quarter-final exits in last years St Canices Credit Union Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship so improving on that will be the number one aim.

Teams and Scorers

Dicksboro- Andy Gaffney (0-6, 0-5f), Timmy Clifford (0-5 ), Thomas Kenny, Bill Sheehan (0-4 each), Cillian Hackett (0-2, 0-1f, 0-1 65), Padraig Moylan, Aran Murphy (0-1 each)

Mullinavat- Willie O’Dwyer (0-5, 0-5f), Adam Mansfield (0-2, 0-1f), Michael Malone, Padraig Dempsey, Conor Walsh (0-1 each)

Dicksboro- Darragh Holohan; Conor Doheny, Alan Phelan, Niall Rowe; Ollie Walsh, Padraig Moylan, Eoin Fennelly; Conor Fitzpatrick, Thomas Kenny; Andy Gaffney, Chris Kavanagh, Timmy Clifford; Bill Sheehan, Aidan Nolan, Cillian Hackett.

Subs- Aran Murphy for Nolan 25 mins, Evan Carroll for Walsh h-t, Steveie Dermody for Sheehan 39 mins, Kevin Nolan for Gaffney 40 mins, Liam Moore for Fitzpatrick 45 mins.

Mullinavat- Sean Fitzpatrick; David Maher, Simon Aylward, George O’Connor; Rob Malone, Peter McDonald, Padraic Gahan; Tom Aylward, Adam Mansfield; conor Duggan, Michael Malone, Padraig Dempsey; Robin Davis, Willie O’Dwyer, Conor Walsh.

Subs- Mikey Jones for McDonald 41 mins, Donnchadh Walsh for Davis 52 mins.

Referee- David Hughes