Result: 3 11 to 1 14
Following on from the success of their colleagues earlier in the day in the Junior C final Ballyboden Junior hurlers lined out against neighbours Ballinteer St Johns in the 2015 Junior E final in O’Toole Park on Sunday 13th September.
On a bright dry afternoon and playing with a slight breeze Boden got off to a great start with points from Stephen Cullen, David Sweeney and Johnny Kenny. Johns fought back to parity after eight minutes but Boden responded in great style with direct ball in to the forwards. Cullen and Sweeney long-range free put a brace of points on the board. Goal chances looked likely and Cullen obliged on 15 minutes when a low shot found the net. The defence was holding firm and supplying good ball to the forwards, in particular Ray McKenna was sweeping nicely and using the breeze to good effect to launch the Boden attack. A Scully free and another Sweeney 65 helped Boden to a four point lead, but one of the most significant plays of the first half resulted in a superb save from Boden goalkeeper Brian Kelleher. This gave the team a great lift as the sides went in at half-time Boden 1-7 Ballinteer 0-6.
After Johns had scored the first point of the second half, Boden won a free about 30m from the line. The large Boden crowd expected Scully to send it over but he spotted a gap and sent the ball to the net. It was a great strike, a very important one as it turned out later and gave the team a good buffer with which to withstand the undoubted Johns’ challenge that was to come. Keary was performing very well in midfield with vital flicks and blocks. Boden got a further lift on 15 minutes when Darragh Gogan struck a fine ground ball to the net – this put Boden nine points ahead as they went to the last quarter. Almost immediately this score got a Ballinteer reaction and they send good ball to the forwards. From a shot from 30m Kelleher made a fine save but the ball deflected to an inrushing John’s forward who had no trouble raising a green flag. This was the Marlay men’s best spell and they followed with three quick points and hit another off the post. Boden were under pressure and had to dig deep. A Johnny Kenny point from out in the right gave the team breathing space but again Ballinteer attacked. They managed a couple of more points, but the Boden defence, led by Tomás O’Riordan, would not yield. Three minutes of extra time were played and as the final whistle went, a great cheer went up from the supporters. A fantastic win in a very enjoyable match. Final Score : Boden 3-11 Ballinteer St Johns 1-14. Congratulations to the team and to manager Brendan Ryan.