Defences on top at Ashbourne

A late penalty from Mark Heeney proved the decisive score as De La Salle, Skerries overcame the challenge of St Mary's, Drogheda…

A late penalty from Mark Heeney proved the decisive score as De La Salle, Skerries overcame the challenge of St Mary's, Drogheda in the Leinster Schools Junior Cup (Section A) semi-final at Ashbourne.

Strong tackling from both sides limited scoring chances throughout with Skerries missing four penalties in all. Mark O'Shea and Vincent O'Dowd tried hard to break through for St Mary's but ran up against fierce opposition from Bryan Cullen and Paul Sherlock.

HFDLS: M Kirwan; R Browne, B Cullen, M Hewitt, M Nicholas; C Keane, M Heaney; J Crowell, S Burton, E Dennis, P Sherlock, C Browne, R Otto, C Cribbin, J SHerlock.

St Mary's: S Henry; C MCGinley, S Carton, B Kelly, C Stafford; A Hewitt, L Keegan; A Boylan, M Black, C Devereaux, P Ruddy, R Ruddy, M O'Shea, V O'Dowd, K Fagan. Replacements: B Sullivan for McGinley; K McKeown for Carton. Referee: A Baird (ARLB).