AHL DIV. 1 ROUNDUP – 25TH JULY

DUBLIN ADULT HURLING LEAGUE DIVISION ONE ROUND-UP: JULY 25

By Daire Walsh

Ballyboden St Enda’s moved two points clear at the summit of the Adult Hurling League Division One table with a 0-15 to 1-10 victory over St Jude’s at Pairc Ui Murchu on Wednesday evening.

Following Na Fianna’s home defeat to Kilmacud Crokes on the same night, the door was left open for the defending champions to become outright leaders in the top-flight rankings. Tough challenges await from both Crokes and Faughs, and they were certainly made the work for maximum points by their southside neighbours.

After ‘Boden raced into an early four-point lead, Danny Sutcliffe eventually responded at the opposite end. With Conor Dooley, James Roche, Paul Ryan and Paul Doherty all adding their names to the scoresheet, the hosts remained in the ascendancy.

However, with a three-point Joe McManus salvo being supplemented by a second from the ever-impressive Sutcliffe, ‘Boden had to be content with a 0-7 to 0-6 interval cushion.

The tie remained finely balanced when Doherty and Neal Mangan traded scores after the restart, before Sutcliffe was also on hand to cancel out a superb individual effort for ‘Boden courtesy of Niall Ryan.

Having found themselves in a losing position up until the 47th-minute of the play, Jude’s suddenly turned the game on its head with a terrific Sutcliffe goal. ‘Boden produced a swift reply through Aiden Mellett, though, which heralded a powerful purple patch for his side in the final-quarter.

Driven forward by influential defensive duo Luke Corcoran and Simon Lambert, ‘Boden developed a two-point buffer as the final whistle approached. A McManus free in stoppage-time set-up a grandstand finale, only for the evergreen Conal Keaney to finally determine the outcome of an absorbing affair.

At 12th Lock, St Vincent’s shared the spoils with Lucan Sarsfields (1-16 apiece) to move two points clear of Jude’s in third place. Elsewhere, Craobh Chiarain bounced back from recent reversals against Na Fianna and Ballyboden by getting the better of Crumlin at Pearse Park – 2-14 to 0-17.

It was also a productive evening for St Brigid’s, who recorded a comprehensive 2-18 to 0-6 triumph over O’Toole’s at Russell Park. As ever, the scoring prowess of Johnny McGuirk proved crucial for the Navan Road outfit.

With a grand total of 1-8 to his name, the Sky Blues underage star helped Brigid’s on their way to a convincing success. Derry Murphy also found the net for the rampant home team, while Andy Dunphy, Cian McCarthy and Donnacha Ryan contributed two points each over the course of the hour.

Alongside Dunphy, Eoghan McKeigue and Daire Plunkett delivered excellent defensive displays. O’Toole’s did as much as they could to stem the flow of the Brigid’s attacks, but with Cian O’Sullivan, Luke Purtill, Cathal Doyle and James O’Connell also hitting the target, their opponents finished with 18 points to spare.

Meanwhile, All-Ireland champions Cuala registered their second win of the season against Faughs in Bray Emmett’s GAA. With a number of games still in hand, the Dalkey men will aim to build considerable momentum in the next few weeks.

Thanks to goals from Brian Fitzgerald, Niall Carty and Sean Treacy, they emerged as victors on a scoreline of 3-25 to 3-9.