Result: 1-15 to 0-12

Dinah Washington sang What a difference a day makes but in our case it was, what a difference two days make! After the bitter disappointment of losing against Stars, the JBs responded in the best possible with a fantastic display of attacking yet controlled football. Management were looking for a reaction after the Stars encounter, did we have it mentally to bounce back? Would we feel sorry for ourselves? Could we stay focused on the prize at stake? These men never cease to amaze me.

The pack was slightly shuffled, no complaints. We had a game to win and everyone now had a job to do. Vinnie Moran and Jamie Kavanagh lined out in midfield and were quick to win the first ball. Jamie muscled his marker away and hand-passed to Vinnie. He looked up and saw Carl Molony running of his shoulder, a quick ball through the hands to Carl who spilt the posts with the sweetest of shots from the outside of his boot. Boden were pushing up on their kickouts, closing down the kicking options of the Na Fianna keeper. A forced error saw the ball turned over to the Bodens Shane Tully. He quickly passed to Andrew Kerins who duly took his first point. Liam McNamara at full back was having the game of his life, totally fearless in the tackle. Timing his tackles and laying his body on the line for his team-mates, he had the beating of his man time after time. Brian Fitzgerald at corner back was driving forward after winning the ball and was instrumental in our attacking play. We needed a calm and experienced head at the back and this is where Ross Traynor came to the fore. Normally a corner forward, we asked him to do a job for us and he stepped up once again. That’s the beauty of this team, there may be a slight sigh but they will dig in for the greater good.
Alan McQuaids pace at wingforward was vital for us. He was box to box for the majority of the game, putting in the tackle and never letting the opposition settle on the ball. The halfbackline of Dermot Manley, James McTiernan and Alex Murphy were on top of their game and needed to be because Na Fianna were throwing the kitchen sink at them but they held fast and were the link to our forward line. Our attack play was breathtaking at times. Andrew was now showing his quality and his point taking was nothing short of spectacular, helping himself to five points before half time. Shane Tullys ability to create space for himself helped set up a lot of our scores. Neil Lynch was also creating chances with his high fielding. Dermot intercepted a ball and went on a run of his own. Playing a one two with Alan he sent the ball over the crossbar after putting Na Fianna on the back foot.
The half time talk was simple and direct. We were back to no score, no room for complacency. A couple of times we watched as their runners put our backs under pressure. Cut this out and we could kill this game off. Work rate, work rate, work rate! Pure and simple.
Na Fianna took the game to us now in the second half. They tagged on a couple of points, we had to regain control. Jamie Kavanagh put in a huge tackle and went on the attack, feeding Carl who dispatched and unbelievable point. We are blessed to have Carl in our ranks, a very unassuming player, he just gets on with his game. Collecting a ball in from Vinnie, he dummied not one but two Na Fianna players and then sent in a pinpoint ball to Andrew who split the posts yet again. That mountain of a man , Alan Keane, kept us in the game for sure pulling of some breathtaking saves. He frustrated the Na Fianna forwards by sprightly jumping to his left  and right to push the ball away from danger on a few occasions. Fresh legs were brought on when lads had quite literally emptied the tank. Shane Kelliher came on for his namesake, Shane Tully, and helped his team-mates by scoring a well taken point of his own. Donal Mccarthy came on for Alex Murphy who had his best game of the season by far. Carl made way for Niall Bradley whose engine was vital to us now. We always say a panel of players will get us over the line, that team spirit.
Before the referee blew for full time Andrew had taken his tally for this game to eight points. Carl helped himself to four in total. The referee blew for full time to a scoreline of 1-15 to 0-12 in Bodens favour. The team ethic in this Boden team is there for all to see. This was a huge win and they quite rightly celebrated and deserve all the plaudits going. A fantastic team performance by all, a performance they can be proud of.
Our focus now turns to our next game against the formidable St Kevin Killians away on the 29th. Another huge game  for us but we will be ready, we will face it full on. The league will look after itself, we just have to take one game at a time.  Boden Abu. JBs Abu.
Report by Martin O’Donnell.