Boden and Lucan in last-eight clash
By Daire Walsh
BALLYBODEN St Enda’s and Lucan Sarsfields will meet in the quarter-finals of the Dublin Senior One Hurling Championship on September 25 following the conclusion of their group stage campaigns last weekend.
Already assured of a knockout spot in advance of their clash with Cuala at Parnell Park on Saturday, ‘Boden were searching for a fourth straight win of the campaign at the expense of the Dalkey men.
This would have helped them to not only finish at the summit of Group One, but also gain automatic qualification for the semi-final stage of the competition.
It was all going according to plan for the Firhouse Road outfit as a goal from evergreen former Dublin dual star Conal Keaney propelled them towards a 1-12 to 0-11 interval lead.
Paul Ryan’s dead-ball prowess was also proving crucial and after Niall McMorrow shook the back of the net on the resumption, ‘Boden went on to establish a seven-point cushion (2-15 to 0-14) by the 41st minute.
However, Cuala finally got to grips with the task at hand and proceeded to dominate the remaining moments of the contest.
Supplementing a 0-3 haul from Dublin senior footballer Con O’Callaghan, Mark Schutte and Sean Moran rattled the opposition net as ‘Boden eventually fell to a 2-23 to 2-17 defeat.
This meant that David Curtin’s men finished second in the group and will now have to go the scenic route in their bid to reach a third senior decider in the space of five years.
They will return to the Donnycarney venue later this month to face the aforementioned Lucan, who finished third in Group Two of the Senior One Championship.
Coming into the weekend’s action, Lucan were fourth in the standings and facing the possibility of a relegation play-off in the coming weeks.
Yet victory over St Brigid’s at O’Toole Park on Saturday was enough to edge them into the top-three.
Thanks to goals from inter-county star Chris Crummey and the ever-dependable Chris O’Leary, they had all of nine points to spare over their opponents (2-17 to 1-11).
As a result of this reversal, Brigid’s will now face St Jude’s in a relegation play-off at O’Toole Park on September 25.