Result: 7 13 to 1 11

Senior  B’s lord it over Kevins in Championship

Conditions at Dolphin Park were sunny but chilly for this Round Robin Championship match on Saturday evening. The gulf in class that ensued was somewhat unexpected, given the closeness of the result the last time the sides met, the 2014 knockout stages. Boden then had to grab a late equaliser to ensure additional time, and fortunately, the result.

As if to advertise their intent, Kevins opened up with two quick points, Eoin Hanlon and Alan Nagle the scorers. Boden had early chances too, but the Kevins rearguard, marshalled by Brian Og Flannery, was diligent in its defending. The next score came Bodens way, Finnian McDonagh benefiting from a pass from Malachy Travers. Paul Doherty was next up, a point off a pass from James Roche.

After McDonagh’s next point, the goalfest started, Eoin Small cleared his line to Adam Jermyn and his pass to Doherty brought the reward. The Kevins puckouts were landing, wind assisted, on to a retreating Boden half back line, commanded with purpose by Donal Butler, and the industrious pair, Travers and Stephen Nagle. The remaining fifteen minutes of the half was all about goals and the interplay of Jermyn, Doherty, McDonagh and James Roche. The flow was temporarily interrupted by Kevins and their only goal, although Conor Dooley almost prevented it. Half Time, 4.4 to 1.4.

Boden came out for the second half in the knowledge that the tie was as good as won. Within seconds Mattie Weldon, for perhaps the first time in the game, extracted himself from the heat of midfield and pointed. The rest of the half was one way traffic and more goals, shades of Barcelona football and a degree of showboating. McDonagh got his third, a cheeky little piece, he ran onto a pass from a free and planted the ball where he wanted to. Jermyn and Roche kept Kevin’s torment going with further scores and to cap it all, Austin Lynch landed the seventh goal with a few minutes left.

McDonagh finished as top scorer, but perhaps may have been shaded as MVP by either Jermyn or Travers, as “neat as a pin” in everything he did. The general style of play which Boden delivered was firmly based on movement, positioning and a high level of fitness. With four points in the bag after two outings, the side have advertised themselves as contenders for the title last won a few years ago.

With precious little to analyse from the match, “Scratch” Fletcher took up a key position in the “surgery” for refreshments, and in an “on the plinth” style discourse, he gave a brief lecture of such fascinating subjects as ‘the Demise of the Ridings’, and the complexities of the Tipperary Hurling Championship draw. However the “Nagler”, taking minor umbrage to the latter topic, and conscious of the impending Munster jousts, suggested a college degree might be required to fully comprehend, even a PHD in Physics.

Squad: Conor Dooley, Paddy Ryan, Eoin Small, Mick McGarry, Donal Butler, Stephen Nagle, Malachy Travers, Mattie Weldon, Naoise Maguire, James Doody,  Brendan Treacy, James Roche, Finian McDonagh, Paul Doherty, Adam Jermyn, Austin Lynch, Keith McCarron, Eoin McKenna,