Ardscoil na Trinoide are now the only Kildare school remaining in the competition after the boys from the PBS in Newbridge were sent packing on the same day by Dublin opposition.
Athy, with Kildare minor stars Cian Reynolds and Darroch Mulhall am
ong their ranks, had a stunning first half. They led 2-6 to 0-2 at the interlude and should have prevailed by more than a five point margin but a combination of taking the proverbial foot, or in this case feet, of the pedal and a resurgent performance from St Declan's ensured some hairy moments for the home side.
Managed by Tom Nolan, brother of former Kildare boss Padraig, Athy got off to a blistering start. The home side drew first blood thanks to a fine point from centre back Niall McGovern but they had to wait a further 22 minutes before they added to their tally.
The Athy school side were having no such problems, quite the contrary in fact. They produced some fine points, took their two goals impressively and with Darroch Mulhall putting in a man of the match performance they were almost unstoppable.
Indeed it was Mulhall who opened Athy's account and restored early parity when he converted a free after a foul on John Lawlor just three minutes in. With eight on the clock Ardscoil na Trinoide hit the front after Cian Reynolds split the posts and it was a lead they didn't relinquish thereafter.
A Liam McGovern point (free) came just minutes before the Kildare side hit the back of the net for the first time. Full forward Niall Kelly played a sublime ball forward for the onrushing Mulhall and the minor man didn't even gather possession before he kicked the ball in to net to leave the scoreboard reading 1-3 to 0-1.
Getting out of their own half was proving rather difficult for St Declan's as Athy attacked in droves. Mulhall sent over a free to widen the gap with ten minutes of the half remaining, while he did likewise from play on two occasions to complete a quick trio of scores that left it at 1-6 to 0-1.
What a start!
However it got even better by the 27th minute when Mulhall spotted the unmarked Cian Reynolds bearing down on goal and he shot low to the back of Brian Gaffney's net to give his side a ten point advantage (2-6 to 0-2) at the interval.
After the turnaround St Declan's, managed by former Dublin star Senan Connell, tagged on 1-2 without response and pulled themselves right back in the hunt for a last eight spot. Just two minutes in Adam Caffrey, son of former Dublin boss Paul 'Pillar' Caffrey struck over from distance, while midfield man Ryan Mulvanney also raised a white flag. Their only goal of the game came in the 36th minute courtesy of Jamie Brey after Athy full back Luke Thomas was caught in possession.
A point from Athy's Kevin Feely, from 40 metres out, somewhat steadied the ship but St Declan's weren't ready to throw in the towel just year.
Two on the trot from Brey and Caffrey (free) brought it back to a four point game but Athy had enough in the tank to keep proper distance between the sides at all time. The response was a brace of points from McGovern, one from a free to leave the score at 2-9 to 1-7.
Athy finished well with points from Mulhall, Niall Kelly (two) and centre back Tony Gibbons to book their place in the last eight, which includes last year's Leinster kingpins and All Ireland finalists St Mary's from Edenderry, St Pat's of Navan and Colaiste Iosagain from Portarlington.
Scorers: Ardscoil na Tríonóide, Athy – Darroch Mulhall 1-5 (2f), Cian Reynolds 1-2, Liam McGovern 0-2 (2f), Kevin Feely 0-2, Niall Kelly 0-1, Tony Gibbons 0-1.
St Declan's – Jamie Brey 1-2, Adam Caffrey 0-4 (3f), Sean Donnaghy 0-3, Niall McGovern 0-1, Ryan Mulvanney 0-1.
Ardscoil na Tríonóide:
Shane Foley; David Hyland, Luke Thomas, David O'Toole; Barry Purcell, Tony Gibbons, Brian Kenna, Kevin Feely, Jamie Farrell; Liam McGovern, Cian Reynolds, John Lawlor; Steven Doyle, Niall Kelly, Darroch Mulhall. Sub: Kealan Bolger replaced S Doyle 52 mins.
St Declan's:
Brian Gaffney; Andrew Kavanagh, Sean Burke, Adam Lacey; Robbie Kelly, Niall McGovern, Steven Murray; Ryan Mulvanney, Adam Caffrey; Eamon Dillon, Jamie Brey, Sean Donnaghy; Steven O'Donnell, Gareth Rooney, Sean O'Connor. Sub: Shane Bonville replaced S O'Donnell 34 mins.
Referee:
Pat Moore (Laois).
