After a low-scoring, but grippingly intense match at Terenure on Saturday, CYM defeated Railway Union by four wickets to win a place in the Leinster Senior Cup final - sponsored by Conqueror - for the first time. With the balance now tilting to one side, now to the other, the CYM faithful were constantly on tenterhooks, and the eventual victory undoubtedly was a moment of high emotion for the club's long-serving members.

Having taken 4 wickets for only 14 off almost 10 overs, CYM's Michael Lax deserved his man of the match award. But his success with the ball was admirably complemented with the bat by the team's middle order veterans, Tom O'Neill and Willie Dwyer, who came together when CYM were teetering on 51 for 4 in reply to Railway's 122 all out, and their 61 for the fifth wicket provided the match-winning platform.

The tenacity of O'Neill and Dwyer was indisputable; Dwyer's 21 was scored off 99 deliveries, while O'Neill hit 19 off 71 balls before being run out, leaving CYM on 115 for 6.

The subsequent victory came palpitatingly slowly. But eventually the patient Dwyer steered Greg O'Meara away for the winning runs.

Alan Corcoran bowled well for Railway Union to take 3 for 22 off his 12 overs. Skipper Bryn Thomas was CYM's top scorer with 23 hit off 43 deliveries.

Earlier, when Railway had been put into bat by Thomas, bad light stopped play for some 30 minutes shortly after the start. Then Railway began disastrously as Lax removed their first three batsmen with only 16 on the board. Conor Mullen and Kenny Carroll put on 39 runs for the fifth wicket before Mullen fell to a magnificent catch by Dwyer off the bowling of Byron Esterhuizen. Greg O'Meara then shared in a useful-27 run stand for the eighth wicket with top scorer Carroll before he was out caught and bowled by Thomas. Effectively, that was that.

In Saturday's other semi-final YMCA raced to a 123-run victory over Pembroke at Claremont Road.