AHL1 BBSE 0:18 to St Vincents 2:15 – Saturday 12th April, Páirc Naomh Uinsionn.
Shane Ormsby Reports
Chruthaigh Naomh Uinseann dhá chúl agus an t-am beagnach istigh chun bua a fháil ar Bhaile Buadáin. In perfect hurling conditions, réiteoir Dean Alford got proceedings underway 15 minutes behind schedule at 6:30pm on Saturday evening in Páirc Naomh Uinsionn. What followed was a physical, stop-start encounter, punctuated by frees from the off. Both sides opened their accounts from placed balls—Vincent’s number 11, Brian Bolger, converting from the 45, while Conor Dooley responded moments later with a superb long-range effort from his own 45.
The sides exchanged wides and points until Vincents struck twice in the space of two minutes in what proved to be crucial. The first came on 13 minutes when a puckout from Mattie Nolan was intercepted by the Vincent’s corner-forward, who rattled the net to make it 1-3 to 0-2. Things went from bad to worse shortly after, as a long delivery from the Vincents 65 found its way to the Boden square and was bundled into the net, stretching the gap to 2-4 to 0-2 (15 nóiméad).
Ballyboden responded well. A point from Pearse Christie, after clever play by Darragh Durkin, kicked off their best spell of the half. A slick move involving Dooley, Dargan, and Ormsby found McMorrow in space who slotted over (2-4 to 0-6, 24 nóiméad). Immediately after, Fergal Ryan’s tenacious work along the half-back line set Ormsby off on a 40-metre burst. He offloaded to McMorrow, who made no mistake. Then came the score of the half—Dooley landing a monster effort off the left upright from his own 45 (2-4 to 0-8, 25 nóiméad).
Boden threatened goal for the first time on 28 minutes when Ormsby surged through the centre, breaking the line before offloading to McMorrow, who pointed under pressure. The Vincents full-back picked up a card for the cynical foul in the lead-up.
The sides traded frees to close out the half, with the scoreboard reading 2-6 to 0-9 at the interval.
The second half began at pace, with Vincents opening the scoring inside 30 seconds after Ballyboden were penalised for overcarrying. BBSE responded well with a fine point from Niall Ryan, after a slick exchange involving Fergal Ryan and Luke Mulligan Lynch (2-7 to 0-11, 36’).
Darragh Durkin then produced one of the points of the game—intercepting a puck-out on halfway and slotting over effortlessly from the 45. Vincents replied from a close-range free after a Maguire infringement, but Kelleher kept Boden in touch with a well-struck placed ball of his own.
On 39 minutes, Darragh Kenny replaced Darragh Delaney and was straight into the action, gathering possession only to see his shot tail wide off his left. He made amends almost instantly, linking up with Ryan to recycle the ball to McMorrow, who made no mistake.
A double switch on 47 minutes saw Glynn and Byrne introduced for Christie and Ormsby. Soon after Kelleher levelled the game at 2-11 to 0-17 (54’) after Ryan gathered a long puck-out from Nolan. Moments later, Stephen O’Connor nudged BBSE ahead for the first and only time with a fine effort from just inside the halfway line.
With the momentum swinging Boden’s way, a crucial moment came when Kenny was penalised for a touch on the ground, denying what looked a certain goal for the south siders. From there, Vincents finished with authority, firing over four unanswered points in the closing five minutes to seal the win.
Two quickfire Vinny’s goals in as many minutes ultimately proved the difference, despite a spirited Ballyboden fightback that saw them take the lead by the narrowest of margins. The experienced Dooley & McMorrow shone. In truth, Boden struggled to break down the St. Vincent’s defence and never truly threatened the net. It was a bruising, physical contest, broken up frequently by frees. The sharp, cohesive link play that defined their last outing on PUM never quite clicked into gear this time around.
Final Score – BBSE 0:18 to St Vincents 2:15
Click here for photos Pictures courtesy of Miriam Doyle
Painéal
Matthew Nolan, Luke Mulligan-Lynch, Stephen O’Connor, Liam Dargan, Conor Dooley, John Maguire, Feargal Ryan, Eoin Behan, Darragh Durkin, Darragh Ormsby, Niall Ryan, Pearce Christie, Darragh Delaney, Niall McMorrow, Adam Kelleher.
Darragh Kenny for Darragh Delaney (39 mins). Daniel Glynn & Kevin Byrne for Darragh Ormsby & Pearse Christe (47 mins).
Bainisteoir: Stephen Hiney
Réiteoir: Dean Alford (Round Towers Clondalkin)