Ballyboden St Endas 4 15    St. Judes 1 11

Long Fella Reports from PUM

The bumble bees were not hitting the windscreens as a large Judes support drove the short distance to Boden HQ for round 3 of the senior 1 hurling league on Saturday afternoon. In fact, by the time they arrived a menacing rainbow was lurking over Curtin’s house in Cremorne. Earlier rain had dampened the sod to the point that the surface was a fair bit short of top quality. Ultimately it mattered little, as Boden hit the wet running and by the half, they had raced into a 17 point advantage. Game over!

Boden’s full-forward line enjoyed a very productive opening half, accounting for 2.10 of the team total of 2.16. Conor Dooley distributed effectively to create four or five points from his team-mates. But he own tally of 2.01 was the “killer blow” for a somewhat lethargic Judes fifteen. His first goal was a bit special. Midfield man Leon Kennedy won the ball in the air under some pressure, releasing to Kevin Desmond, who managed to wallop the ball down the line when hitting the turf. Codd latched onto the action and released to mid-field man Niall Ryan who found Dooley in the optimum position. His shot past Judes Alan O’Beirne was unstoppable. Dooley’s second came off some persistent pressure on the Judes rearguard and a boot to the net. Equally effective as Dooley was the Padraig Pearse’s Roscommon native Daniel Glynn, who registered seven points over the half. His best was a score off a sweeping move down the spine involving several players and a final pass from Luke McDwyer.

Experienced campaigners Simon Lambert and Shane Durkin, operating in new roles in the half-forward line, contributed a brace each, as well as linking well with the “freshmen”. Codd worked the space very well, hungry to get on the ball, and his reward was a tasty three points.  Out of defence Luke Mulligan-Lynch and Jack Lambert hit from distance for their own personal contribution. As for Judes, they rarely gelled and were dependent of frees from Joe McManus, as well as Adam Danaher and an angled strike from John Carthy. Half time 2.16 to 5 points.

Judes opened the brighter in the second half with corner-man Michael Brislane off the mark on 32 minutes, only to see his effort cancelled by Dooley with a goal on the follow-in. Within a few minutes, the afternoon got worse for Judes when Boden’s Fergal Ryan took advantage of some sloppy defending to register a fourth home goal. From this point the game petered out as a contest and allowed Boden to use some fresh legs. Cillian Kirwan did well with his possessions and chalked his own point onto the list. Niall McMorrow looked hungry for work and bagged a brace off some good passes. But it was his neat close control as well as durability in the tackles that stood out. Others who bagged points were Jack, Codd (his third), Adam Kelleher and Niall Ryan. Judes plugged away at the score-board, but they had to wait until the final minute to put one past Boden’s Conor O’Donoghue, although the ever-dependable custodian came close to a decent block.

Glynn and Dooley worked well together and found Codd and Desmond close at hand for the right pass. The “senior” men Simo, Durkin and Ryan blended well with their team-mates, and found a willing assistant in Leon Kennedy. The Luke’s Corcoran and McDwyer got through a pile of work and placed good ball that led to scores. McMorrow was able to find his own space, even in the tightest of spots. Arguably, Judes were off the pace for the first half and were left chasing the game.

Squad; Conor O’Donoghue, Rob Leddy, Barry McGuire, Luke Mulligan-Lynch, Jack Lambert, Luke Corcoran, Luke McDwyer, Leon Kennedy, Niall Ryan, Shane Durkin, Kevin Desmond, Simon Lambert, Daniel Glynn, Conor Dooley, Malachy Codd, Matthew Nolan, Davy Keogh, Fergal Ryan, Cillian Kirwan, Niall McMorrow, Adam Kelleher.

Thanks to John Kirwan for the photos. Click here for  more