Result: 4 19 to 0 06
Summer hurling…..is there anything to beat it??
On a beautiful Sunday morning the minor-A team made the short journey to Marlay Park to take on Ballinteer St Johns.
These summer fixtures can be tricky with some – maybe rusty – returning from the Leaving Cert, others on County duty, & many fine hurlers populating the Gaeltachtai of Connemara and the beaches of Spain.
So, with a subs bench sprinkled with u16’s (Darragh Kenny & Joe Maguire did excellently when called upon) and a number of players out of position no one was really sure what to expect.
Any fears were quickly allayed though with Boden hitting their stride right from the start rattling off a series of early points without reply – from, among others, Cillian Kirwan, Ciaran O’Reilly and Adam Kelleher.
Then, after good work from Cian Corcoran, the first goal from Luke McDwyer saw Boden open up a 10 point gap and the task facing Ballinteer was already daunting.
All credit to the lads they kept their focus and the defence, when called upon, were well up to the task. Jack Lambert in goal, fresh from the Leinster SF victory over Wexford the night before, dealt comfortably with everything that came his way. In truth , protected as he was by a full back line of Joe McGrath, Conor Lowe & Ciaran McDonnell, that wasn’t much.
With a strong halfback line of Sean O’Donnell, Fergal Ryan and Cillian Wall driving forward the scoreboard at the other end kept ticking over. Scores from Fergal Ryan, a goal from Kevin Desmond and another – a rasper of a goal from Cillian Kirwan – saw Boden out of sight by half time.
Early in the second half saw the introduction of u16’s. Joe Maguire slotted in seamlessly to the half back line and Darragh Kenny scored an excellent 1-1. Further scores from, among others, Patrick Dunleavy & Ciaran O’Reilly saw Boden ease to a comfortable win.
There’ll be sterner tests ahead but the win, allied to results elsewhere, puts Boden in the mix for a League Final place. With a full squad available they’d be a serious proposition for anyone.