Result: 2 14 to 1 12
Le Fear Bog reports from Sancta Maria
Just as it was looking like the hurling year was about to end on a damp squid, unexpectedly Santa Clause arrived early to Sancta Maria to present the Division 1 Cup to the good boys of the Ballyboden Minor A squad. Of course, it wasn’t the real Santa but a member of the county board but a welcome visitor all the same.
This was a victory that brought out the undoubted talent in this team and a performance that was anticipated all year was finally delivered to defeat the recently crowned county champions.
The foundations for the victory were laid down in the first 10 minutes as Boden raced in to a 1-3 to 0-0 lead. Aaron Coffey at corner forward was on fire as he accounted for 1-2 of this total. His goal in the 3rd minute was a brilliant piece of opportunism as he grasped a diagonal delivery from defence, turned his marker and sprinted 20 meters to deliver a bullet to the net. Shane Kennedy embellished the lead with some fine scores from both play and frees. Aidan Mellett was also prominent in this period and he would finish the match with 4 fine points from play.
By half time Ballyboden had established a lead of 2-7 to 0-1. Boden’s second goal was a flick of a high delivery by the towering Eoghan Monahan just on the cusp of half time.
Na Fianna demonstrated that they are worthy county champions in the second half and aided by a freshening breeze, which was strangely for Sancta Maria blowing from the east, they cut the lead down to 4 points with as many minutes left to the final whistle. The Na Fianna goal came in the 20th minute of the half from a penalty, the second one awarded to them on the day. Nervous times but Ballyboden showed tremendous resilience and character to finish off the job and once again Shane Kennedy was finisher in chief. In addition, points from captain James Holland and substitute Mikey Dunne put the result beyond the reach of the Mobhi Road side.
Scorers: Shane Kennedy 0-6, 3 frees, Aaron Coffey 1-2, Aidan Mellett 0-4, Eoghan Monahan 1-0, James Holland 0-1, Mikey Dunne 0-1.
Team: Conor O’Donoghue, Karl Weldon, Ronan Wallace, Ciarán Ryan, Kevin Lalor, Tommy Glynn, Sam Lally, James Holland (Captain), Luke Corcoran, Aidan Mellett, Shane Kennedy, Michael O’Brien, Rob Byrne, Eoghan Monahan, Aaron Coffey. Subs. Mikey Dunne, Ross McCormack, Conor Fallon, Daniel Nugent, Shane Garvey, Kevin Desmond.