Naps stay in hunt

NA PIARSAIGH WOLFE TONES 5-16 0-3

NA Piarsaigh maintained their push for Division 3 honours when they brushed aside the challenge of Wolfe Tones.

Gerard Smyth grabbed the headlines for the winners as he claimed a hat-trick after coming in as sub ten minutes before the interval. Another pleasing feature of the game was the return to action in the second half of David Boyle after suffering a broken ankle at the end of last season.

The first goal of the game came from Smyth who slapped the ball home after a brilliant run by Conall Shields to help the Dundalk men go in at the break leading by 1-7 to 0-1.

The Tones were struggling to make any impression at that stage and things didn’t improve in the second half as Na Piarsaigh completed the win thanks to goals from Smyth (2), Mark Larkin and Michael Woods.

NA PIARSAIGH: Damien McCrink; Feargal Mulholland, Conall Shields, Shane Roddy; Ciaran Murphy 0-2, Joe Woods 0-1, Robbie Murphy 0-1; Gavin McGee 0-2, John Garvey; Mark Larkin 1-1, Michael Woods 1-2, Mark O’Hare 0-1; Niall Franklin, Stevie Arrowsmith, Alan McCartney 0-5. Subs: Gerard Smyth 3-1, Peter Gallagher, Eamonn McAuley, David Boyle.

WOLFE TONES: C. Eustace (0-1); R. Owens, G. Fanning, A. Gartland; D. Haggins, M. Legoye, A. Fanning; P. Fanning, M. Healy (0-1); J. McCormack, N. Smith, D. Weldon; G. Mohapi (0-1), B. Kelly, C. Cudden, J. Duffy. Subs: R. Owens, S. Mathews.