St Jude’s edge past Ballyboden St Enda's in Parnell Park thriller

ST JUDE’S 4-17

BALLYBODEN ST ENDA’S 1-25

St Jude’s secured their first win in Group 2 of the PTSB Dublin Senior 1 Hurling Championship when accounting for near neighbours Ballyboden St Enda’s by the slimmest of margins at Parnell Park on Saturday afternoon.

It was Jude’s that seized the early initiative thanks to goals from Cathal Martin and Callum Graham in the opening three minutes and while Darragh Kenny scored six points in the first-half, a Danny Sutcliffe goal saw the teams deadlocked at 0-17 to 3-8 by the interval.  

The tightness continued for the second-half and with Eoin McLoughlin and Niall McMorrow trading late goals, Finbarr Wardick fired over the winning point for St Jude’s to keep their Championship hopes alive.

There was an explosive start to proceedings as Graham turned sharply in the opening minute before finding Martin, who shot confidently past Conor O’Donoghue from ten yards.

A brace of Kenny points allowed Ballyboden to settle into the encounter but their defensive deficiencies were exposed once again in the 3rd minute as Graham was afforded far too much space with the resultant green flag a mere formality for a player of his ability.  

St Enda’s were moving well in attack however with their accuracy in front of goal yielding points by Conor Dooley, David Gleeson, Jack Lambert, Niall McMorrow and Kenny as they began to close the gap on their opponents.

However, their issues at the opposite end of the field were exposed once again at the end of the first quarter as they failed to deal adequately with a lengthy Conor Nolan free with Sutcliffe on hand to pull to the net from close range.

Ballyboden bounced back admirably from this poor concession, landing five points on the bounce through McMorrow, Lambert, Darragh Durkin, Kenny and James Roche to leave the contest delicately poised.

St Jude’s weren’t enjoying the same kind of impact up front and were indebted to defenders Ciaran Mangan and Nolan for vital points while Diarmaid McLoughlin and Roche exchanged late points to ensure an entertaining stalemate at the break.   

James Madden edged St Enda’s back in front within a minute of the resumption only for Martin to restore parity through a ’65 in the 36th minute.

A superb team score, finished by substitute Declan O’Connor saw Jude’s back in front and with scores harder to find than in the opening-half, they maintained their narrow lead by the end of the third quarter as Martin and Kenny traded frees.

Back came Ballyboden through a classy McMorrow score and they seemed to be getting the upper hand as Aidan Mellett and James Norris made scoring impacts off the bench.

However, Sutcliffe and John Carty replied with inspirational points at the opposite end before Eoin McLoughlin’s speculative attempt lobbed over the stranded O’Donoghue to push St Jude’s three-points clear by the 54th minute.

McMorrow’s goal at the opposite end only added to the tension but Jude’s completed a deserved win as Wardick calmly split the uprights with Durkin’s reply arriving too late to spare Boden their fate.  

Scorers – St Jude’s: C Martin 1-8 (0-6f, 0-1 ’65); D Sutcliffe 1-2; C Graham, E McLoughlin 1-0 each; C Nolan (f), C Mangan, J Carty, D McLoughlin, J McManus, D O’Connor, F Wardick 0-1 apiece. Ballyboden St Enda’s: D Kenny 0-7 (4f, 1 ’65); N McMorrow 1-3; J Roche 0-4; D Gleeson, J Lambert, D Durkin 0-2 each; C Dooley, F Codd, J Madden, J Norris, A Mellett 0-1 apiece.

St Jude’s: M Hartnett; S Wynne, G McManus, D Malone; C Nolan, C Mangan, J Carty; D McLoughlin, J McManus; F Wardick, D Sutcliffe, E McCallion; M Maguire, C Graham, C Martin. Subs: D O’Connor for McCallion (half-time), E McLoughlin for D McLoughlin (49), M Hade for Maguire (62).

Ballyboden St Enda’s: C O’Donoghue; B McGuire, F Ryan, J Kennedy; D Durkin, C Dooley, J Lambert; E Behan, J Roche; F Codd, N McMorrow, D Kenny; D Gleeson, T Hammersley, J Madden. Subs: J Norris for Hammersley (half-time), L McDwyer for Dooley (39), A Mellett for Codd (43), F Murphy for Gleeson (49), J O’Driscoll for Kennedy (50).    

Referee: Damian Burnett (Craobh Chiaráin).