Boden and Davis through to last four
BALLYBODEN St Enda’s and Thomas Davis progressed to the semi-final stage of the Dublin Senior One Football Championship following their respective wins over Ballinteer St John’s and Castleknock at the weekend.
After finishing on top of Group Two with two wins and one draw from three games, ‘Boden were expected to advance into the penultimate rounds for the fifth season in succession.
An early penalty from Jack Lundy had given Ballinteer cause for optimism in their Sunday afternoon clash at Parnell Park, before Kenny Naughton’s Firhouse Road outfit took control of the contest.
A scoring sequence of 1-6 without reply, including three points for former Dublin footballer Colm Basquel and a 15th-minute Warren Egan goal, gave the 2015-16 All-Ireland champions a firm grip on this tie.
And while Ballinteer did work their way back into contention, ‘Boden remained three points in front at the break (1-9 to 1-6).
They moved into a double figure lead on the resumption thanks to goals from Egan and Darren O’Reilly in the 34th and 41st minutes, only for John’s to stage a mini revival in the closing moments.
Quickfire majors by Fearghal Duffy and David Devereux left the ‘Boden faithful on tenterhooks, but experience told for their side in the end.
Joining fellow veterans Michael Darragh Macauley and Declan O’Mahony off the bench, Conal Keaney (who turns 40 this weekend) kicked a brace of superb scores to get Ballyboden over the line in a 3-15 to 3-10 triumph.
Their opponents in the last-four will be Na Fianna, who had a single point to spare (1-12 to 1-11) over Whitehall Colmcille in Parnell on Saturday.
On the other side of the draw, Thomas Davis will take on defending champions Kilmacud Crokes for a coveted spot in the top-tier decider.
This is as a result of Davis’ emphatic 1-12 to 0-5 success at the expense of Castleknock in Donnycarney on Sunday.
Having made their way into the knockout phase with a dramatic group stage win over St Jude’s at O’Toole Park 15 days earlier, Ciaran Farrelly’s Tallaght men were high on confidence heading into their latest championship outing.
Fionn Murray (two), Conor Guilfoyle, Eamon Conroy, Sean Farrelly, Cian Murphy and Eoin Kirby were all on target as Davis’ entered the interval with a 0-7 to 0-2 cushion.
Aside from goalkeeper Robert Crilly making an outstanding point blank save from Sky Blues stalwart Ciaran Kilkenny, the 2019 finalists were rarely troubled by Castleknock.
Murray and Guilfoyle ended the action with a combined tally of seven points, while Conroy rattled the net on 42 minutes to put Thomas Davis on their way towards a convincing victory.
