Senior Hurlers pip Craobh.. Long Fella Reports

Mellett scores crucial in Saturday’s league home win – The Long Fella Reports from PUM
Ballyboden St Endas 2 17 Craobh Chiarain 3 13

An exciting single point win for our senior division one hurlers was just what the doc ordered in advance of Sunday’s provincial finals day in Munster and Leinster. With a host of football distractions broadcasting on television and on the wireless, the crowd on the rail at HQ was sparse. Those who attended this fine competitive joust as well as upping their sun-tans, can truly recount that they were well entertained by two hugely committed sides. The tale of the end-game will confirm that Boden’s Conor Dooley had the task of ruthlessly firing over the winning point from a free, finally separating the teams after sixty-five minutes of action. But that would be too brief a description of the finale. Dooley had the honour of creating the scoring opportunity by diagonally finding his team-mate Aiden Mellett with a fifty metre delivery. Mellett did what he had been doing throughout the game in possessing the sliotar at the first attempt. The Craobh defence conceded the free and ultimately the game.
The opening half was an even-steven affair with Boden setting the pace, only for the visitors to close out the half with a pointed free from U20 Dublin star Cian Derwin. HT had it at 1.10 to 2.07. Boden’s Niall McMorrow was probably the most influential performer over the thirty minutes, and he included in his repertoire a number of important assists which led to scores from Paul Doherty, Niall Ryan and James Roche. Mellett was also on song, and he created scores from frees by Dooley, as well as blasting the sliotar to the Craobh net after Roche found him with a measured pass. Boden’s Shane Durkin added to the home tally with one of his best from deep in the sticks. Finn McGarry also contributed, a neat strike when he seemed to be short of purchase space. Dooley finished the half on four points, a brace each from placed balls and open play. For Craobh, Alan McCrabbe showed that he still had the skills to threaten any side, and his goal from a penalty coupled with a Billy Ryan blast to the net meant that the home side could not shake the northsiders off their trail.
The second half continued in the same score-for-score manner as the first thirty, but now some further Boden performers were getting noticed for their exertions. Defenders Simon Lambert, David O’Connor and Dean Curran stepped up to the plate with some no-nonsense back-play. Lambert in particular caused mayhem with some surging runs that opened up the play for his team-mates. Boden’s mid-field of Finn McGarry and Niall Ryan seemed to be getting the better of affairs in the middle third, and up front Mellett was again the main go-to man for scoring opportunities. Boden introduction Luke McDwyer landed a neat score when he appeared to be boxed-in.
However, Craobh were not going anywhere quickly and McCrabbe scored a classy goal from a tight angle after seventeen minutes. This cancelled out Mellett’s second goal after Dooley and McMorrow worked to create the space. The sides were thrice level during the half, but crucially it was Boden who remained un-headed. Ryan landed a particularly important point by being available in oceans of space for Gary Maguire’s puck-out. He outran the chasers to point from forty metres. McMorrow continued his fruitful work and used a Mellett pass to chalk up his score off his right. The closing minutes had Craobh searching for winning scores, but it was the Dooley/Mellett combination who had the final say. Mellett was arguably Boden’s MVP, with his goals proving crucial in the win and retention of pole position on the league table. Lambert commanded the Boden defence with some authority and his leadership was always to the fore when the Craobh machine threatened to dominate. Another who deserves praise was Roche who bagged a brace of points as well as linking well with the point of the attack.
The man with the whistle Paul Fauvhnan deserves some mention for his intervention in allowing breaks in the play for water-men to do the rounds on an evening of glorious hurling sunshine.Squad; Gary Maguire, David O’Connor, Dean Curran, Kenny Wigglesworth, Adam Jermyn, Simon Lambert, Shane Durkin, Finn McGarry, Niall Ryan, Conor Dooley, Paul Doherty, James Roche, Niall McMorrow, Aiden Mellett, Finnian McDonagh, Luke McDwyer, Stephen O’Connor, Eoghan O’Neill, Sean McDonnell, Conor McKeown.