AFL Div. 1 Roundup - 4th July

Fri, 6th July 2018

ADULT FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION ONE ROUND-UP: JULY 04

By Daire Walsh

Goals in each half by Sam Molony and Ryan Basquel paved the way for Ballyboden St Enda’s convincing 2-16 to 0-9 success over St Sylvester’s in Division One of the Adult Football League on Wednesday evening.

With Kilmacud Crokes dropping points at home to league leaders St Vincent’s on the same night, ‘Boden have moved into second place in the top-flight table. Following back-to-back triumphs against Vins and Ballinteer St John’s, the southsiders (winners of this competition back in 2016) entered their latest contest in the perfect frame of mind.

Despite having three wins under their belt, Syls made the journey across the city on the back of consecutive defeats to St Brigid’s and St Jude’s. This moved them towards the foot of the table, just a point in front of northside rivals Castleknock.

However, in an encouraging opening for the visitors, Michael McCarthy converted a brace of frees to create early daylight between the teams. This was before Aran Waters opened the ‘Boden account and this was eventually followed by a Basquel equaliser at the end of the first-quarter.

The impressive Basquel then turned provider for Molony’s outstanding three-pointer - which proved to be the catalyst for ‘Boden to take control in the latter stages of the half. With Collie Dunne, Barra McGarry (two), Sam Molony, Darren O’Reilly and Basquel all finding the target, they appeared to hold an unassailable lead at the break.

McCarthy was doing his utmost to stem the ‘Boden tide, but Anthony Rainbow’s men continued to press forward on the resumption. After O’Reilly’s inch-perfect pass released Basquel, the former underage county star coolly slotted to the Syls net to increase his side’s cushion to all of 11 points.

This effectively placed the outcome beyond reach, though ‘Boden still kept the scoreboard ticking over in the final-quarter. Basquel’s final haul of 1-4 was a crucial factor in their success, while McCarthy flew the flags for their Malahide counterparts with a seven-point salvo.

Elsewhere, Leitrim forward Brendan Gallagher enjoyed a gallant return to club action in Lucan Sarsfields’ 2-10 to 0-13 win against Na Fianna at Collinstown Lane.

Gallagher featured prominently for the O’Rourke County during their extended Championship run and he recorded seven points for the 12th Lock outfit over the course of the hour. His brother Conor found the back of the Na Fianna net as the half developed, and he was joined in raising a green flag by former Dublin defender Stephen O’Shaughnessy.

With Robert Ennis and midfielder Darren Gavin (son of All-Ireland winning Galway footballer Fergal) also in fine form, Lucan ultimately brought a 2-7 to 0-5 buffer into the break. As expected, the hosts worked their way back into the frame after the restart.

They remained in the hunt throughout the second period, but thanks to committed displays from Ennis and his fellow defenders, Lucan managed to restrict the opportunities that fell their way. In addition to the aforementioned Gallagher siblings, Daire Shanahan and Jackie Carey also contributed to the Sarsfields scoresheet.

They now join Na Fianna on nine points, just behind both Thomas Davis and St Brigid’s on score difference. Davis’ edged a tense affair with Castleknock at Kiltipper Road by the slenderest of margins (0-15 to 2-8), whereas Brigid’s were much more emphatic in their home encounter against Cuala.

Courtesy of points from Mark Cahill, Lorcan McCarthy and Collie Carr, Brigid’s were four points to the good - 0-6 to 0-2 - at the midway stage in the play.

The Navan Road brigade - who were searching for their fourth win in five league outings - would go on to discover an extra gear in the second half.

A succession of McCarthy scores kept them firmly in the ascendancy. Thanks to outstanding performances in defence by Jack Mullins and Alan McCarrick, they eased towards a 0-14 to 0-6 triumph.

Meanwhile, St Oliver Plunkett’s/Eoghan Ruadh and Naomh Maur gave themselves some breathing space with respective away victories against St Jude’s (3-11 to 1-10) and Naomh Olaf (4-11 to 3-13).