A poor first half left Trinity’s hurlers with too much to do on Thursday night in Santry, after a 10-point deficit at the break helped Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) to an eventual win of 1-18 to 0-17 in Division 1.
Trinity got on the scoreboard straight from the throw in, after the referee awarded a free that joint captain Fionn Ó Riain Broin drove firmly over the bar. DIT drew level soon after and began to dominate the scoreboard, with most of their points coming from tight angles near midfield.
The lack of clean ball played in to Trinity’s attackers did not help their cause for scores. Ó Riain Broin scored two more frees to keep his side in contention, but this would be the last score of the half for Trinity as DIT pressed on once again, utilising a lot of cross-field ball. While the scoreline was not favourable for the home side as the half went on, determined defending by Ger Dempsey, Karl Weldon and Cian O’Sullivan saw many more chances from the opposition quashed before they caused concern for keeper Eoin Skelly. But DIT finished the half strongly with a goal, to open up a 1-10 to 0-03 gap at half-time.
Trinity began a slow but determined comeback in the second period, playing the ball smartly to gain frees. Substitute Daniel Long added much-needed momentum to the side, hassling the DIT defence and driving over a point of his own moments after coming on. With scores also coming from O’Sullivan and Ó Riain Broin, the gap between the two sides was slowly narrowing and Trinity became the more dominant side.
Trinity nearly hit back with a goal of their own back after a ball driven into the full-forward line was collected by corner forward Johnny Walsh, who cut through a gap and drove the ball towards the goal. The ball clattered off the crossbar and flew back out to Donncha Butler, who had to settle for a point.
With the game drawing to a close, three points separated the sides, but DIT did enough to quell the threat of a Trinity comeback. Trinity’s hurlers can take some positives from the character they showed during what was a decent fightback in the second half, but their inability to convert a number of chances before the break is a cause for concern. Trinity’s encounter against Maynooth University next week is a must win for the hurlers if they want to finish the league in a good position.
