Ballyboden 3-07 Fingallians 0-07

With the end of the Leaving Certificate, college exams and Erasmus travels came the return of our prodigal daughters to the squad. Ballyboden got stuck in from the first minute to take a quick lead against a strong breeze out in Swords last night with early points from Simmone Reilly and Maria McGrath.

Maria Hoey dominated in mid-field from the throw in, with both Deirdre Lawless and Orla Crean offering excellent support play throughout. Ballybodens defence were excellent throughout the first half creating multiple turnovers and dispossessions with Ciara Ruddy and Sinéad Burke providing constant pressure. Intelligent play from Aoife O’Brien in defence kept her back line in check, shutting down any runners coming through.

Although the first half was low scoring, Ballyboden dominated much of the play. A yellow card offence put Deirdre Lawless in the sin bin with 2 minutes to go before half time which would prove to shake things up for the second half. Half time finished 0-4 to 0-2 in Ballybodens favour.

Fingallians came out fighting in the second half, taking full advantage of a 14 player Boden side, clocking up a number of points in quick succession and taking the lead. With all eyes on the clock, Deirdre Lawless was reintroduced to the field to balance play once again. A perfectly placed long kick from a 45′ was dropped in to the full forward line by Orla Crean which was struck with precision into the back of the net by Simone Reilly, putting Ballyboden firmly back in the mix.

With the reintroduction of Lawless, Ballyboden began to regain their dominance. Maria McGrath and Deirdre Lawless soon followed Simmones lead with some vital points but it was a dogged display by minor footballer Emily Flanagan who secured the win for Ballyboden by not once but twice hitting the back of the net with two excellent goals towards the end of the game.

Hannah Hyland provided a solid addition to the back line, coming on early in the second half. All in all, the Ballyboden ladies worked hard throughout the game, never letting Fingallians into the fold. Ballyboden were deserved winners in the end, securing a place in this years Championship Semi Final show down on July 20th. The last group game v Thomas Davis on July 13th will determine the opposition.

Scorers: Maria McGrath 0-3, Emily Flanagan 2-0, Simmone Reilly 1-1, Maria Hoey 0-1, Ciara Ruddy 0-1, Deirdre Lawless 0-1