St Joseph’s Rush defeated Ardgillan by 58 runs today in the Alf O’Connell League final played at St Columba’s College.
St Joseph’s captained by Patrick Monks won the toss and elected to bat in overcast but thankfully dry conditions. A slow start that saw St Josephs 20 for 1 off 5 overs gave little indication of the run fest that was to follow. Inspired by man of the match David Carthy (62 off 48 balls) the runs flowed.
The Rush running between the wickets began to put Ardgillan under pressure in the field. A quick fire 23 from Chaiyo Burke off 13 balls accelerated the run rate and by the time Carthy was out in the 18 over St Josephs had scored 133. The agony for Ardgillan did not end there as Eric McGuiness made a rapid 17 off 10 balls to take the score to 159 for 6 off 20 overs. Sean Sludds (2-27) and Fionn Hand (2-38) were the pick of the Ardgillan bowlers.
The Ardgillan reply began well with captain Brian Smyth and Sean Sludds keeping up with the required run rate. At 36 runs off 4 overs all seemed well then disaster struck when Brian Smyth was run out. Stephen Sharpe and the impressive Sean Sludds kept pace with the daunting run rate.
After 10 overs Ardgillan were 74 for 1 and the game was in the balance. Then in two balls Sharpe and the dangerous Fionn Hand were dismissed. Hand was run out to an impressive piece of fielding by Eric McGuiness. These wickets dramatically swung the game in St Joseph’s favour. Sludds followed a few overs later for 40 to the impressive Daniel Coffey who finished with 4-18.
Despite some good shots from Cian Mulvanny (13) Ardgillan were never going to reach the target and were all out for 101. Patrick Monks (2-13) also bowled well and restricted the Ardgillan run chase.
The team spirit and impressive performance of St Joseph’s Rush was a credit to their coaches and congratulations to all involved.