Senior B Championship – Final quarter scoring blitz ensures qualification
Ballyboden St Endas 1 16 Crumlin CLG 1 11
Long Fella Reports from Pearse Park
The Boden boys left it late in this final group game for qualification to the knock-out stage of the senior B championship. It took a final quarter tally of 1.07 which almost matched their tally for the opening three quarters. Credit must go to a determined effort from Crumlin on their home pitch at William Pearse Park at Crumlin Village. Mind you there was another major factor in Boden’s tardiness in securing the victory. They are guilty of huge waste, something that might even shake the confidence of Gretta Thunberg. Their opening half wide tally of eight trumped their point scoring of just five points.
With questionable support from a fresh breeze, Boden set out to dominate possession, something they did with credit, but spare a thought for Crumlin’s better distribution. Where they (Crumlin) fell down was in the shooting stakes and were dependent on giant centre-forward Shane Ryan and inside men Philip Daly and Adam McGrael. Another Crumlin man to influence matters was centre back Conor Murphy. By the first water Daly and Ryan had pointed as well as a cracker from Boden’s Fionn Maguire. But it was the brother Naoise who was showing best for Boden at the heart of the defence. His general mopping up of attacking ball kept the Boden attack fed with opportunities. A brace to three for Crumlin.
On resumption Boden’s Mark Lambert had added from play to his earlier free, followed by another from the spot. By the half the sides were level after the visitor’s Darragh Kenny pointed, matching a brace from Crumlin. There were signs that Boden were getting to grips with Crumlin, doing a ‘Limerick’ on them with swarming mid-field tackling, but the scores would now have to come from a second half against the wind. Five each.
Boden’s Eoin Behan showed well for a point to match the second half’s opener from Ryan. In defence Boden’s Conor Robinson and recent arrival from Thurles (Sarsfields) James Ryan were showing well along with the ageless Mattie Weldon, who rolled back the years with a work-rate matching team-mates half his age. The visitors Adam Jermyn roared into the game with one of the scores of the game, a high catch from the clouds followed by his shot from fully sixty metres. Kenny finished the period’s scoring with a quality point. Nine to Eight in Boden’s favour.
Introductions were to play a huge part in the final quarter scoring for Boden, but it was Weldon who showed leadership with a fine point. Then it was the turn of the first of the ‘new’ men Fergal Ryan who announce his arrival with a brace of real class, but these early scores were cancelled out by a poachers goal from Crumlin’s ‘Wheelo’. The second of Boden’s arrivals Finnian McDonagh had a golden spell with a brace of quality as well as a significant assist. And then the goal for Boden finally gave them some head-room. Conor Kennedy and Eoin Behan swept down the whitewash to the narrow angles only to find Kenny upsides in a better scoring position. He out-ran the defence to the best spot before firing to the net out of reach of the goalman. He capped a solid performance with the final score of the game from fifty metres. In between Crumlin showed their determination with a fine run on Matthew Nolan’s goal, but the attack came to just a pointed free after a ‘must-stop’ tackle.
The Boden management of Ritchie Sweetman, Brian O’Shaughnessy and Simon Daly will be somewhat relieved to have gotten over this tough assignment, with some homework on the telling art of score-taking. For Boden Kenny was always prominent, as well as Weldon, Nolan, Robinson, Lambert and Behan, but Naoise deserves special mention for his calmness and general quality play.
Squad; Matthew Nolan, James Ryan, Naoise Maguire, Kenny Wigglesworth, Conor Robinson, Jamie Desmond, Adam Jermyn. Fionn Maguire, Mattie Weldon, Conor Kennedy, Darragh Kenny, Eoin Behan, Tom Mullin, Mark Lambert, Johnno Driscoll, Fergal Ryan, Malachy Codd, Finnian McDonagh, Jack Lambert, Tommy Glynn.
Thanks to John Kirwan for the photos
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