Ballyboden St Enda’s finish strongly to beat Ballymun Kickhams In Go-Ahead Championship opener

Wed, 9th August 2023

Pic courtesy Niall O'Connell

BALLYBODEN ST ENDA’S 1-16

BALLYMUN KICKHAMS 1-11

Ballyboden St Enda’s finished with a flourish as they overcame Ballymun Kickhams by five points in their Go-Ahead Dublin Senior 1 Football Championship Group 1 encounter at Parnell Park on Wednesday night.

A Céin D’Arcy score pushed St Enda’s a point clear in the 59^th minute and substitute Ryan O’Dwyer made an instant impact as he poked home within seconds of his introduction to effectively settle the issue.

It was Ballyboden that made the more impressive start, restricting their opponents at one end while looking efficient in front of goal at the opposite end.

Warren Egan opened their account in the 2^nd minute and they gradually opened up a healthy advantage thanks to two points in quick succession from the lively Ross McGarry.

Kickhams finally got on the scoreboard through a smart Davey Byrne point in the 11^th minute but their struggles continued in general play with scores by Daire Sweeney and Luke O’Donoghue leaving St Enda’s 0-5 to 0-1 clear by the end of the first quarter.

A Colm Basquel point extended that advantage early in the second quarter but Boden’s forward line would fail to score from play for the remainder of the half as their fluency began to wane.

Despite losing the presence of Paddy Small through a hamstring injury in the 18^th minute, the pendulum began to swing in Ballymun’s favour with points from Robbie Bolger and substitute Dean Rock generating momentum to their challenge.

John Small became increasingly influential for Ballymun as Anton Swan and Rock kicked scores to enhance Ballymun’s ambitions while James Holland replied for Ballyboden with a much-needed score in the 27^th minute.

However, the half finished with Kickhams adding points through Bolger and Small to leave them trailing by the bare minimum (0-8 to 0-7) by the interval.

The timing of the break seemed to favour St Enda’s as they resumed on the front foot, with Egan repeating his first-half dose when splitting the posts in the 33^rd minute.

Ryan Basquel’s second free of the night was soon added to by his brother Colm as Ballyboden slowly but surely regained their control with Rock kicking two uncharacteristic attempts off target to undermine Ballymun’s chances.

Egan’s third point of the night left five points between the sides by the 40^th minute but within three minutes, Ballymun had brought themselves back into the hunt as Bolger showed blistering pace to race onto Rock’s knock-down and fire low past Darragh Gogan from close range.

At the opposite end, Evan Comerford worked wonders in denying Colm Basquel what looked an inevitable goal but St Enda’s gained some consolation on the scoreboard through placed balls by Gogan and Sweeney.

The pattern was set with Ballymun replying with the next three scores of the game through a brace of Rock frees and a cracking Dillon Keating point to leave the teams deadlocked by the 55^th minute.

D’Arcy’s point saw St Enda’s restore their lead and after Colm Basquel had intercepted a Comerford restart, O’Dwyer was on hand to convert from two yards to complete a deserved, yet hard-fought success for Kenny Naughton’s side.

Scorers – Ballyboden St Enda’s: R O’Dwyer 1-0, W Egan, C Basquel 0-3 apiece, R Basquel (2f), D Sweeney (1f), R McGarry 0-2 apiece, J Holland, C D’Arcy, D Gogan (‘45’), L O’Donoghue 0-1 each. Ballymun Kickhams: R Bolger 1-2, D Rock 0-4 (2f), A Swan 0-2, J Small, D Byrne, D Keating 0-1 apiece.

Ballyboden St Enda’s: D Gogan; S Clayton, L McHugh, B Bobbett; K Kennedy, J Holland, A Gavin; C D’Arcy, M McDonald; L O’Donoghue, R McGarry, W Egan; D Sweeney, R Basquel, C Basquel. Subs: R Baines for O’Donoghue (40), MD Macauley for McDonald (44), P Dunleavy for Kennedy (48), D O’Reilly for Sweeney (51), R O’Dwyer for Egan (60).

Ballymun Kickhams: E Comerford; D Conlon, L Young, S Tuke; C Kelley, J Small, C McManus; A Elliot, J McCarthy; D Robertson, P Small, C O’Tighe; D Byrne, R Bolger, A Swan. Subs: D Rock for P Small (19), C McCormack for O’Tighe (22), B Ashton for McManus (40), D Keating for Byrne (47), G Sheridan for Keeley (51).

Referee: Gary McCormack (Naomh Barróg)