Thomas Davis into the last four after hard fought victory over Ballymun Kickhams

THOMAS DAVIS 1-16 

BALLYMUN KICKHAMS 1-13

Thomas Davis clinched the remaining PTSB Dublin Senior 1 Football Championship semi-final berth as they accounted for Ballymun Kickhams by three points at a sunny Parnell Park on Sunday afternoon. 

The winners, backed by the breeze, dominated the opening-half with four points from Fionn Murray and 1-1 by Mark Nolan handing them a healthy 1-9 to 0-4 interval advantage. 

They continued to control the scoreboard upon the restart with Murray landing two crucial two-pointers with Cameron McCormack’s injury-time goal arriving too late to spare Ballymun their fate. 

Murray handed the Tallaght outfit an encouraging start as he kicked an excellent two-pointed free after two minutes before Keelin McGann opened the Ballymun scoring three minutes later. 

Both teams struggled with their marksmanship initially, taking the selfish option at times with teammates in better positions, with the umpires kept busy largely in terms of waving their arms.

Thomas Davis could feel justifiably happier with the first-quarter fare and they could have netted in the 11th minute as Josh Lambert found Mark Nolan close to goal but Evan Comerford sprawled himself superbly to block the low shot. 

Nolan gained some reward as he fisted over from the rebound and Thomas Davis continued to dominate with a brace of Murray frees reflecting their greater pressure up front. 

A terribly optimistic McGann effort that drifted harmlessly wide highlighted Ballymun’s frustrations in attack while Conor Guilfoyle could well have netted at the opposite end but fired over Comerford’s crossbar when racing through on goal. 

The latter also denied Cian Murphy as the contest evolved but he proved culpable in the 20thminute as he fluffed his kick-out and this time he was unable to deny Nolan as the full-forward placed a precise finish into the bottom corner of the net. 

Seán Farrelly and Chris Sallier added to the Thomas Davis tally before Fiach Andrews ended a barren period of twenty-one minutes for Kickhams to get them back on track. 

Dean Rock clipped over two further scores before the end of the half but Thomas Davis were full value for their eight-point buffer at the break with Murphy kicking a deserved score given his heavy influence on the contest. 

Paddy Small was introduced for the second-half for Kickhams but there was no immediate return as Sallier stretched the Thomas Davis lead when firing over the crossbar in the 34thminute.

However, a degree of sloppiness permeated their play as Rock pointed from play before landing a two-pointed free while a Carl Keeley score left just five points between the teams towards the end of the third quarter. 

With a score needed at the opposite end, up stepped Seán Benton with a cracking point in the 43rd minute, a score that was eclipsed by Murray’s magnificent two-pointer as Thomas Davis looked to be weathering that isolated Ballymun storm. 

While Rock added another brace by way of riposte, a brilliant Murray strike effectively settled the issue in the 54th minute, making light of the breeze and the tight angle to raise another orange flag. 

Ballymun did finally breach the Thomas Davis defence through a classy McCormack goal in the 61st minute but Ciarán Farrelly’s side prevailed despite some frantic late pressure on their goal, meeting Castleknock in the semi-finals in a fortnight’s time.         

Scorers – Thomas Davis: F Murray 0-8 (2 F2, 1 P2, 2f); M Nolan 1-1; C Sallier 0-2; C Guilfoyle, S Farrelly, C Murphy, S Benton, E Kirby 0-1 apiece. Ballymun Kickhams: D Rock 0-8 (1 F2, 3f); C McCormack 1-0; K McGann, F Andrews, C Keeley, D Leonard, D Keating 0-1 apiece.

Thomas Davis: R Crilly; S Kennedy, J Lambert, A Shorten; O Kelly, C Murphy, S Farrelly; A Waddick, R Deegan; S O’Byrne Braiden, F Murray, S Benton; C Sallier, M Nolan, C Guilfoyle. Subs: R Fahey for O’Byrne Braiden (41), É O’Toole for Guilfoyle (47), F Lynch for Benton (58), E Kirby for Nolan (58).

Ballymun Kickhams: E Comerford; D Conlon, L Young, C Fagan; J Grant, J McCarthy, D Leonard; A Elliott, C McCormack; C Keeley, K McGann, J Small; D Kane, F Andrews, D Rock. Subs: P Small for Kane (half-time), E Hill for Fagan (37), D Robertson for Elliott (37), D Keating for Andrews (43), R Bolger for McGann (55).   

Referee: Barry Tiernan (O’Dwyer’s).