Na Fianna Overpower Ballyboden St Enda’s to Reach Semi-Finals

Picture Courtesy John Kirwan

NA FIANNA 4-26 

BALLYBODEN ST ENDA’S 2-14

Na Fianna kept their title defence ambitions intact as they overcame Ballyboden St Enda’s by eighteen points in their Go-Ahead Ireland Dublin Senior 1 Hurling Championship quarter-final at Parnell Park on Sunday afternoon.

The holders, playing against the stiff breeze initially, led by 1-11 to 1-10 by the interval with AJ Murphy’s 19^th minute goal cancelled out by Boden’s David Gleeson with the last action of the half.

The contest remained competitive right up until the 50^th minute before Colin Currie and Ciaran Stacey netted with a minute of each other and Jonno Tracey converted a 56^th minute penalty to complete their resounding win.

There was almost a dramatic start to events as Paul Ryan burst down on goal in the opening minute but his low shot lacked sufficient accuracy as Jonno Tracey blocked with a fair degree of comfort.

Na Fianna availed of that let-off to open the scoring through a 2^nd minute free from Colin Currie but St Enda’s replied through a brace of Niall Ryan points to take the lead by the 5^th minute.

Gleeson doubled the St Enda’s lead soon after but with the strong breeze at their backs, they failed to take full advantage as their opponents began to dictate matters.

Delightful points by Gavin King and Ciaran Stacey saw Na Fianna back on level terms by the 11^th minute and they continued to impress through further scores by AJ Murphy and Colin Currie (free).

Gleeson added a solo score to briefly stall Na Fianna’s momentum but Boden proved powerless to prevent the holders from netting in the 19^th minute as Joe Kavanagh, who was initially hooked, regained possession to feed Murphy for an emphatic finish from eight yards.

Ballyboden’s response to this body blow was to string together the next three scores through Simon Lambert (free), Paul Ryan (free) and Jack Lambert as they improved their striking from distance.

Jack Lambert began to revel in the generous amounts of space afforded to him as he popped over two further points but King did likewise at the opposite end to push Na Fianna four points clear approaching the break.

There was one final twist to the half as Na Fianna’s full-back line misjudged a delivery from deep and Gleeson was hand to scoop a sublime finish over Tracey, leaving his team trailing by the bare minimum at half-time.

Early scores in the second-half from Colin Currie and Stacey saw Na Fianna limit the damage of that concession but Boden continued to stay in contention with Paul Ryan and the influential Gleeson on target.

However, Na Fianna began to click through the gears as they fired over four points in quick succession through Murphy, Stacey, King and Seán Currie to move five points clear by the 40^th minute.

Ballyboden substitutes Timmy Hammersley and Kevin Desmond made positive impacts upon their introduction with excellent scores into the breeze but the contest seemed to be drifting away from them despite their battling display.

That impression was confirmed as Na Fianna pounced for two goals inside a minute with Currie beating Finn McGarry at his near post in the 50^th minute before Stacey unleashed a rocket into the top corner to cement his team’s progression to the last four.

St Enda’s continued to unravel as they conceded a penalty in the 56^th minute that Tracey fired home and while Desmond netted three minutes later, it failed to dampen Na Fianna’s positivity by the final whistle.

Scorers – Na Fianna: C Currie 1-7 (0-6f); C Stacey 1-4; AJ Murphy 1-2; G King (1 sideline), S Currie (2f) 0-4 each; J Tracey 1-0 (pen); B Ryan, J Meagher 0-2 each; W Wheatley 0-1.Ballyboden St Enda’s: D Gleeson 1-4; K Desmond 1-1; J Lambert 0-3; P Ryan (1f, 1 ‘65’), N Ryan 0-2 each; S Lambert (f), T Hammersley 0-1 apiece.

Na Fianna: J Tracey; W Wheatley, C McHugh, S Burke; P O’Dea, L Rushe, P Feeney; B Ryan, S Currie; J Kavanagh, C Currie, C Stacey; AJ Murphy, D Burke, G King. Subs: J Meagher for D Burke (40), D Clerkin for Kavanagh (47), J Guinan for C Currie (53), D Ryan for O’Dea (55), M Murphy for Ryan (57).

Ballyboden St Enda’s: F McGarry; L Mulligan-Lynch, J Madden, J McGuire; P Dunleavy, S O’Connor, J Lambert; S Lambert, E Behan; L McDwyer, N McMorrow, N Ryan; D Gleeson, P Ryan, P Christie. Subs: K Desmond for Behan (34), T Hammersley for P Ryan (40), D Kenny for Christie (47), J Kennedy for N Ryan (53), B McGuire for O’Connor (56).

Referee: Seán Stack (Parnell’s).