Round up: Go-Ahead AFL1 & AFL2- 27th April

Ballinteer St John’s bounced back from their first defeat of the year when defeating local rivals Ballyboden St Enda’s by 3-12 to 3-7 in their Go-Ahead Dublin Adult Football League Division 1 clash at Marley Park on Saturday evening.

A loss to St Sylvester’s on Tuesday night ended their perfect start to their campaign but a dominant third quarter proved decisive as they pulled away from their near neighbours.

There was little to separate initially as a brace of points from Jack Lundy and Luke Breathnach kept the hosts in touch with a Boden side buoyed by a goal by Daire Sweeney.

However, St John’s assumed control after the break through the strong individual performances of Ben Millist, Liam Smith, Ronan Cullen, Joe Sweeney and Luke Cullen with goals by Tom Aherne and Lundy (penalty) helping them seize the initiative.

They maintained their grip on proceedings thanks to a flurry of points by Donnacha Carey, Sean Parker, Millist, Dave Devereux and Oisin Grady while Luke Cullen pounced for a third home goal in the final quarter.

If proved far tighter at Silver Park as Kilmacud Crokes pipped St Sylvester’s by 1-8 to 0-10 with Hugh Kenny their chief marksman with a personal tally of 1-3.

Kenny received valuable support in the scoring stakes from Tom Fox (0-3) and Shane Cunningham (0-2) with Craig Dias and Luke Ward also highly influential over the hour for the hosts.

Cuala were another team to enjoy the narrowest of victories as a goal in the dying seconds from Cillian Dunne saw them overtake St Jude’s by 1-12 to 1-11 in Hyde Park.

The hosts were resilient throughout with Aodhan English and Eoghan O’Callaghan impressing at the back while Dunne enjoyed an influential showing at midfield.

Luke Keating’s prowess up front was reflected in a personal tally of nine points, six from frees, and with Conor O’Brien also to the fore, Cuala escaped with the points as an excellent pass from Cal Doran was rifled home by Dunne.

The tightness of the league was evident all evening as two of matches ended all square as Whitehall Colmcille drew with Castleknock on a 3-11 to 0-20 scoreline while Skerries Harps and Lucan Sarsfields shared the spoils at 0-13 to 1-10.

In Saggart, Thomas Davis overcame the dismissals of both Davy Keogh and Aaron Shorten to overcome St Mary’s by 1-17 to 2-9.

The hosts looked lively up front in the first-half and could have scored more than two goals as the teams entered the break deadlocked at 2-5 to 0-11 with points by Ryan Deegan, Ryan Fahy and Fionn Murray keeping the visitors in contention.

Despite being reduced to thirteen players after the break, Thomas Davis kept in the hunt with a goal from the excellent Deegan proving the difference as they held on with Sean Kennedy and Fahy to the fore.

That win propelled The Tallaght outfit to joint top spot alongside Ballinteer St John’s and a Na Fianna side that suffered their first reverse of the year when falling to Clontarf by 2-11 to 0-16 at Mobhi Road.

In Go-Ahead AFL2, St Brigid’s put further distance between themselves and the chasing pack as they registered their sixth win on the bounce when defeating Round Towers Clondalkin by 4-10 to 0-12 at Russell Park.

At the opposite end of the table, Scoil Ui Chonaill enjoyed their first win of the campaign as they edged Parnell’s by 3-9 to 0-14 on the Clontarf Road.

An Emmet Rogan goal saw the hosts trail by just 0-9 to 1-5 at the break and goals around the third quarter mark from Brian Moloney and Robert Kennedy helped Scoil withstand some late away pressure by the final whistle.

It was similarly tight in Páirc Uí Bhriain as Fingal Ravens cemented their mid-table position with a narrow 0-12 to 0-11 win over Naomh Olaf.

Lorcan McMahon was in exceptional form at full-back for the visitors while wing-back Justin Hogan was also prominent in addition to kicking a smart score.

The returning Dublin Under 20 player, Dylan Kettle, impressed over the hour in addition to kicking three points, a tally matched by the lively Sean Kinsella as Ravens held on for a noteworthy win.

Scorers proved at a premium in Páirc Barróg as well as St Oliver Plunkett’s/Eoghan Ruadh edged Naomh Barróg by 1-8 to 0-8.

Gareth Smith and Irinel Popa were the chief threat up front for the visitors while Ben McSweeney and Liam Keating more than played their part in their two-point win.

Go-Ahead AFL1:Whitehall Colmcille 3-11 Castleknock 0-20; Cuala 1-12 St Jude’s 1-11; Ballinteer St John’s 3-12 Ballyboden St Enda’s 3-7; Ballymun Kickhams 0-18 Round Towers Lusk 2-19; St Mary’s Saggart 2-9 Thomas Davis 1-17; Kilmacud Crokes 1-10 St Sylvester’s 0-12; Skerries Harps 0-13 Lucan Sarsfields 1-10; Na Fianna 0-16 Clontarf 2-11.

Go-Ahead AFL2: Scoil Uí Chonaill 3-9 Parnell’s 0-14; St Patrick’s Donabate v Ballyboughal OFF; Erin’s Isle 2-11 Kilmacud Crokes 2-17; Naomh Barróg 0-9 St Oliver Plunkett’s/ER 1-8; St Vincent’s 1-9 Naomh Mearnóg 0-12; Naomh Olaf 0-11 Fingal Ravens 0-12; St Brigid’s 4-10 Round Towers Clondalkin 0-12; Raheny 2-10 Fingallians 0-9.