Ballymun Kickhams defeat St Judes to earn Quarter Final spot

BALLYMUN KICKHAMS 1-20

ST JUDE’S 1-13

Ballymun Kickhams picked up the last quarter-final spot on offer in the PTSB Dublin Senior 1 Football Championship as they finished strongly to beat St Jude’s by points at Parnell Park on Sunday afternoon.

The teams were deadlocked at 0-6 apiece after a laboured and frills-free opening half with Fiach Andrews and Dean Rock kicking two points apiece from play for Ballymun while Tom Lahiff did likewise for St Jude’s.

The entertainment and quality improved significantly after the break with Andrews netting in the 34th minute and while Oisín Costello replied for Jude’s, Kickhams eased home by kicking the final five points of the encounter.

The contest took a while to kick into life before St Jude’s opened the scoring as Alan Connolly fisted over in the 4th minute only for Dean Rock to restore parity in an instant for Ballymun.

Both teams favoured a patient approach with scoring chances limited as a result but the teams kept their scoreboards trickling over with Oisín Costello from St Jude’s and Kickhams’ Fiach Andrews on target as the contest evolved.

The trend continued as the Tymon Park side regained their lead thanks to Tom Lahiff in the 12th minute but Rock was on hand to level matters once again with a classy effort on the turn early in the second quarter.

Lahiff and his fellow wing-back Eoghan Costello caught the eye for St Jude’s and it was the former who once again separated the sides with another fine score in the 20th minute.

Almost inevitably, Jamie Grant brought the teams back level soon after and the pattern could not be broken as Michael Lawlor (free) and Keelin McGann traded points towards the end of the half.

It would have been foolish to expect anything other than a stalemate at the break and the teams duly delivered as Andrews and Kamen Bagnall swapped scores in the closing minutes of the half.

Ballymun could and should have put daylight between the teams within a minute of the restart but James McCarthy dragged his goal chance wide after fine approach play from Darragh Kane.

Kane’s efforts weren’t wasted in the 35th minute though as he received possession from Cameron McCormack before crossing for Andrews to direct the ball home from close range.

Andrews and Kane added to the Kickhams tally as they moved four points clear by the 36th minute but Jude’s responded well to these concessions with Lawlor, Liam Toye and Lahiff all pointing in quick succession.

McGann, who earlier had made a superb block by his own goal to block Oisín Costello’s shot, showed his talents at the opposite end when kicking a sublime two-pointer with a Grant point from the kick-out leaving Kickhams in the driving seat towards the end of the third quarter.

That seat became less comfortable as their opponents responded with another trio of points courtesy of Costello, Kevin Lahiff and Kieran Doherty but that elusive levelling score failed to materialise.

Matters looked bleaker for Jude’s as Carl Keeley and McCarthy clipped over scores but they received a lifeline in the 53rd minute when Oisín Costello reacted quickest to palm to the net after his initial shot was blocked.

That failed to galvanise St Jude’s sufficiently and Ballymun ran out deserving winners with Kane, Dillon Keating and Rock all on target by the final whistle.

Scorers – Ballymun Kickhams: F Andrews 1-3; D Rock 0-6 (1f); K McGann 0-3 (1 P2); J Grant, D Kane 0-2 each; J McCarthy, D Leonard, D Keating, C Keeley 0-1 apiece. St Jude’s: O Costello 1-2; T Lahiff 0-3; M Lawlor (1f), A Connolly 0-2 each; L Toye, K Doherty, K Bagnall, K Lahiff 0-1 apiece.

Ballymun Kickhams: E Comerford; L Young, E Hill, C Fagan; D Conlon, J McCarthy, D Leonard; A Elliott, C McCormack; J Grant, F Andrews, J Small; D Kane, K McGann, D Rock. Subs: C Keeley for Elliott (43), D Robertson for Fagan (56), D Keating for Andrews (56), E Dolan for Small (64).

St Jude’s: B Flynn; S Kirwan, A Hassett, P Keighran; T Lahiff, S King, E Costello; L Toye, K Doherty; D Kavanagh, K Bagnall, O Costello; H O’Neill, A Connolly, M Lawlor. Subs: J Crennan for Hassett (3), K Lahiff for Kavanagh (half-time), E Kenny for Bagnall (39), S Murphy for E Costello (56), T Tisdall for Toye (60).

Referee: Shay Farrelly (Ballinteer St John’s).