Lucan Sarsfields Finish Go Ahead AHL Campaign With Victory Over Boden

GO AHEAD ADULT HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION ONE SOUTH 

LUCAN SARSFIELDS 3-23 

BALLYBODEN ST ENDA’S 0-14 

By Daire Walsh 

Lucan Sarsfields finished off their Go Ahead Adult Hurling League Division One South campaign with an emphatic victory against table-toppers Ballyboden St Enda’s at 12th Lock on Wednesday night.

Coming into the game on the back of three straight reversals, the hosts were eager to lay down a marker ahead of the forthcoming Dublin Senior Hurling Championship. With full-forward Ciaran Dowling in excellent form throughout, they managed to do just that.

Dowling was one of 10 Lucan players to get their names on the scoresheet, with county panellist Paul Crummey, substitute Evin Dowling and Ronan Smith all rattling the net over the course of the contest. Wing-back John Bellew impressed from both a defensive and attacking perspective, while Chris Crummey was a powerful presence at centre half-back on his own return to the fold.

Forced on the back-foot in the opening moments of the action, ‘Boden couldn’t rein in the challenge of a rampant Lucan and fell to their first competitive defeat of 2021. Shane Kennedy and first-half substitute Aidan Mellett amassed a combined tally of nine points, but the dismissal of Simon Lambert on the half-hour mark left them with too much ground to cover on the resumption.

Despite this result, Ballyboden’s impeccable form in the opening four rounds looks set to give them top spot in the final standings. Should this be the case, they will embark on a league decider with the winners of AHL Division One North.

Owing to the ladies football championship fixture between Lucan Sarsfields and Ballinteer St John’s that preceded it, this game didn’t throw-in until 8.30pm. It is perhaps unsurprising, therefore, that both teams initially found it hard to settle.

It took all of six minutes for the first score to arrive, when a Ciaran Dowling free got Lucan up and running. The home team immediately built on this deadlock-breaker with midfielder Smith racing onto the ball and firing to the ‘Boden net from a left-hand angle.

Lucan created a host of chances in the first-quarter and while they did pass up some opportunities, the gap between the sides eventually increased. After Dowling converted from long-range, an attacking incision from Luke Walsh led to the second goal of the tie on 12 minutes.

The corner-back had his shot on goal expertly saved by Conor O’Donoghue, but Paul Crummey was on hand to sweep home the rebound. Dowling added another point to his expanding tally, before ‘Boden finally opened their account with a successful free from full-forward Shane Kennedy.

This left the visitors eight points in arrears (2-3 to 0-1) at the first water break, but with plenty of time to address their deficit. However, Lucan continued to make an impact in the opposition half as inside forwards Dowling (two) and Charlie Keher contributed unanswered points.

‘Boden had previously introduced Mellett for the injured Conor McKeon and he made a telling impact by registering points in the 24th and 28th minutes. Lambert also found the range from distance, but was subsequently dismissed for a second yellow-card offence in the closing minutes of the opening period.

Dead-ball specialist Dowling added a two-point salvo and even though Kennedy also split the uprights for ‘Boden, Lucan brought a commanding 2-8 to 0-5 cushion into the interval.

Their numerical advantage also gave them an extra edge and they were brimming with confidence at the beginning of the second half. Within six minutes of the restart, Bellew (two), Dowling (two) and Chris Crummey dissected the posts in clinical style to reinforce Lucan’s authority.

Whilst Kennedy brought an end to this sequence with a pointed free for ‘Boden, their Newcastle Road counterparts fired back immediately through Paul Crummey and Colm Walsh.

Ballyboden did enjoy a purple patch for the remainder of the third-quarter, however, claiming five of the next six scores. Mellett, Luke McDwyer, replacement Adam Kelleher, Kevin Desmond and Kennedy (free) all found the range for Malachy Travers’ charges, with Colm Walsh grabbing the sole Lucan effort in this juncture.

Still, the hosts remained 11 points in front (2-16 to 0-11) with just 14 minutes of normal time left to play. The introduction of fresh legs off the bench helped them to push on even further in the closing stages as Cian McHugh pointed either side of another Kennedy free.

Bellew, Paul Crummey and Evin Dowling knocked over three scores in as many minutes to keep Lucan firmly in the ascendancy. Ballyboden responded with points from their own impressive substitutes Mellett and Kelleher, but it was left for the victors to finish the tie in a flourish.

Following Evin Dowling’s superb major on 62 minutes, Keher and Luke Walsh completed a fine night at the office for Sarsfields with stoppage-time points.

Scorers - Lucan Sarsfields:Ciaran Dowling 0-9 (7f), Paul Crummey 1-2, Evin Dowling 1-1, Ronan Smith 1-0, John Bellew 0-3, Colm Walsh, Charlie Keher, Cian McHugh 0-2 each, Luke Walsh, Chris Crummey 0-1 each.Ballyboden St Enda’s:Shane Kennedy 0-5 (5f), Aidan Mellett 0-4, Adam Kelleher 0-2 (1f), Simon Lambert, Kevin Desmond, Luke McDwyer 0-1 each.

LUCAN SARSFIELDS:Daniel O’Neill; Alan Murphy, Alan Byrne, Luke Walsh; Matthew McCaffrey, Chris Crummey, John Bellew; Ronan Smith, Barry Aird; Rory Stapleton, Kevin Fitzgerald, Colm Walsh; Charlie Keher, Ciaran Dowling, Paul Crummey.Subs:Johnny McCaffrey, Eoghan O Conghaile, Cian McHugh, Paul Claffey, Robert Ward, Evin Dowling, Anthony McNulty.

BALLYBODEN ST ENDA’S:Conor O’Donoghue; Cian Mellett, Luke Corcoran, Rob Leddy; Shane Durkin, Simon Lambert, James Roche; Sean McDonnell, Pearse Christie; Kevin Desmond, Conor McKeon, Niall Ryan; John O’Driscoll, Shane Kennedy, Luke McDwyer.Subs:Aidan Mellett, Adam Kelleher, Conor Kennedy, Mark Lambert, Tom Mullins.

Referee:Tom Tansey (St Oliver Plunkett’s/Eoghan Ruadh).