Ballyboden St Endas claim U21A football title after win over Ballymun Kickhams

Sat, 9th December 2023

BALLYBODEN ST ENDA’S 0-16

BALLYMUN KICKHAMS 1-1

Ten points from Daire Sweeney helped Ballyboden St Enda’s to account for Ballymun Kickhams by twelve points in their disappointingly one-sided Go Ahead Dublin Under 21 ‘A’ Football Championship final at O’Toole Park on Saturday afternoon.

The win secured a Minor and Under 21 double for the Firhouse Road club, both under the stewardship of Liam O’Dwyer, and the scoreline was a fair barometer of the dominance that they enjoyed over the hour.

Apart from an all-too-brief spell just before half-time, there were very few crumbs of encouragement for Kickhams to seize upon as the contest ran away from them in the final quarter.

Admittedly, the conditions didn’t help in terms of free-flowing football with the problems caused by a lifeless pitch exacerbated by a strong gale that placed a premium on retaining possession.

In that sense, Ballyboden were far more comfortable in building up attacks from the back with Alex Gavin and Evan Nugent particularly prominent in their half-back line while Michael McDonald was the pick of the midfielders on show.

Despite playing into the breeze, it was St Enda’s that started on the front foot and a patient period of possession culminated in Ryan O’Dwyer turning sharply for the game’s opening score in the 3^rd minute.

Their opponents enjoyed plenty of possession at this stage but two shots that dropped short and another that drifted wide were far from ideal as they fell further behind as Sweeney converted his first of six frees in the 9^th minute.

Another free followed at the end of the first quarter following an excellent run by the influential Robbie O’Reilly and with Kickhams struggling to make an impact up front, they fell further behind as McDonald split the uprights after a strong surge down the middle.

The score of the half arrived in the 24^th minute as Sweeney judged the wind to perfection and his swirling effort off his supposedly weaker right foot flew comfortably over Ryan Hayden’s crossbar.

Dara Kane finally opened the Ballymun account in the 26^th minute as his side began to play with greater aggression and they suddenly found themselves just a point in arrears by the 30^th minute as they plundered the game’s only goal.

There seemed little danger for Ballyboden as they conceded a free out near the touchline but Sean Parnell’s inviting delivery was rewarded as Daniel Lee rose highest to palm accurately past Cillian Murray from six yards.

The half-time whistle stalled Ballymun’s momentum however as St Enda’s seized control upon the restart, with O’Reilly earning a deserved score in the 34^th minute.

The remainder of the third quarter was dominated by the scoring prowess of Sweeney, who kicked five points in succession, three from play, as his side pushed 0-11 to 1-1 clear by the 47^th minute.

From that point, it was just a case of damage limitation for Kickhams, who defended bravely throughout but proved powerless to prevent Boden from adding to their lead through Luke Byrne and Ciaran Duggan.

Sweeney brought his personal tally to double digits when converting two further frees in the closing stages while substitute David Keane kicked the final score in added time to complete a resounding and impressive win for Ballyboden.

Scorers – Ballyboden St Enda’s: D Sweeney 0-10 (6f), M McDonald, C Duggan, R O’Reilly, R O’Dwyer, L Byrne, D Keane 0-1 apiece. Ballymun Kickhams: D Lee 1-0, D Kane 0-1.

Ballyboden St Enda’s: C Murray; D Gannon, H Donaghy, O Byrne; A Gavin, E Nugent, E Gannon; M McDonald, C Duggan; R O’Reilly, R O’Dwyer, E Behan; D Sweeney, M McGlynn, L Byrne. Subs: D Keogh for McGlynn (49), D Keane for Byrne (49), H Colclough for E Gannon (54), D Lynch for Behan (55), J Meaney for Sweeney (62).

Ballymun Kickhams: R Hayden; C Burgess, S Parnell, B O’Connor; R Lowry, D Robertson, Z Farrell; C Nolan, R Wyer; D Leonard, R Bolger, D Lee; H Hughes, D Kane, D Roche. Subs: S Weir for Hughes (23), C Parnell for Roche (47), G O’Reilly for Wyer (54), S O’Connell for Leonard (59).

Referee: David Sweeney (St Oliver Plunkett’s/ER).