Match Report by Tommy Keogh

With three wins and two losses on the report card to date, Ballyboden’s Minor D team of 15 horses and zero subs, made the short trip to Monastery Road intent of finding a performance that would help balance the scales in this very competitive Division 6 South League. And find it they did!

The early morning sunshine brought a heat that worried the manager enormously, given his thinning thatch and the fact that the bottle of sun cream he found at the bottom of the kit bag from last year had more air in it than Michael Jordan’s runners. However, the same kit bag offered up a clay-crusted baseball cap that looked like it would still work for an hour or two, so once quickly applied, the players took to the field and the game went ahead on time.

In a blistering start, Boden were out of the traps and into their running game which yielded 4 unanswered points, mostly from the boot of the classy Harry Judge. Matthew Kirwan and Adam Gorman, his colleagues in the half forward line, were finding a lot of free space and working the ball through the hands as is the was no opposition on the field.

That didn’t last long. Assured by their mentor that there was a ball on the field, and they were entitled to have a turn of it, Towers began to wake up and before long their midfield was beginning to boss the engine room, where Cathal Doolin and Andrew Smithers were putting in a shift. Their effort around the pitch all day in that heat is testimony to their dedication to the cause, and you will need to look far and wide to find players with a team ethic to match theirs.

Tom Conroy came out the field from Corner forward to add muster to the midfield battle, and he too has never worked so hard and can be really proud of his contribution on the day.

Meanwhile, back at the front door, Paddy Tuite was marshalling the full-back line with a maturity beyond his years and Ballyboden’s two ‘Jacks-in-the-box’, being Morley and Doran, were hoovering up every loose ball and were calmness personified with their use of turned-over possession.

But Towers were persistent, and before long they had notched up a few scores and before long they had wiped out the early Boden lead. Adam Gorman, suffering from a chest infection, was struggling out the field, but refusing point blank to come off, demanded to go into goal rather than leave his team a man down. No sooner was he between the sticks, his first act was to deny Towers with a superb save from point-blank range. He is stubborn as well as brave!

With the clock ticking towards the half-time break, the manager was busy washing clay from his eyes when Boden’s Stephen O’Connor, having found it difficult to get into the game to this point, collected the ball about 30m from goal. His pointed effort landed just short of the crossbar, but just high enough over the Tower’s keeper, and another three points bagged for the goal-getter supreme. Just reward for a great first half display and fully deserved given the penalty denied him moments earlier.

With a slight lead at the start of Act two, Boden were obviously feeling the effects of the jelly baby sugar rush at half time, and they began just like the first half, and their high energy running game was to the for once again. Rory O’Brien, Aidan Healy, and Conor Reynolds (now driving the midfield) were instrumental in moving forward and launching attack with real purpose. Ben Greally, released

from goal and into the wild, was the continuity catalyst that was needed to string it all together, and Boden looked like they could free wheel over the finish line.

But Towers had a different plan, and with fresh legs off the bench they took advantage of a tiring Boden army and with a few unanswered scores, both over and under, Boden were suddenly pegged back again, and before long found themselves 4 points adrift. To make matters worse, Matthew Kirwan had to come off (he had no choice), and down to 14 men Boden were staring into the abyss.

Up stepped James Keogh to stop the rot with a sublimely taken free kick, and Boden had a lifeline again. They worked and worked and really went after the game and deserved to two goals in quick succession that saw them eek over the line by a one-score margin of 4-7 to 2-10. What a game!

Happy with the win, the manager literally dusted off his cap and congratulated his players on their display. There is a great team here, and their really hard work at training paid dividends with this performance.

Well done all. You were a credit today. Next up is Clontarf in two weeks for, hopefully, more of the same.

(A special thanks to Cathal Regan, Pat Reynolds and Diarmuid Healy for their managerial support and tactical input on the line).