AFL DIV. 1 ROUNDUP – 28TH JULY
ADULT FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION ONE ROUND-UP: JULY 28
By Daire Walsh
St Vincent’s moved three points clear at the top of the Adult Football League Division One table with a hard-earned 2-10 to 1-8 victory over Naomh Maur at Pairc Naomh Uinsionn on Saturday evening.
This also extends their unbeaten run in the top-flight to five games, with a draw against neighbours Na Fianna on July 15 proving to be the only mis-step in that sequence of results. Maur’s were the surprise package in Division One last season, as they produced a number of stellar performances to reach the league decider – where they were eventually beaten by a strong Kilmacud Crokes side.
Following a difficult start to the 2018 campaign, they entered the weekend’s fare with four consecutive triumphs under their belt. Indeed, the Rush men kept themselves in contention during the opening exchanges courtesy of excellent contributions from Ciaran Archer and Chris Carthy.
However, with former inter-county stars Enda Varley (Mayo) and Tomas Quinn (Dublin) both to the fore, Vins started to take control of the proceedings. Disaster struck for Maur’s towards the end of the half, when a diagonal delivery by Kevin Bonnie was deflected into the net by an opposition defender.
This score was then supplemented by Cian O’Brien’s two-point salvo, to give the hosts a commanding 1-7 to 0-4 interval cushion. Maur’s were determined to leave their mark on this fixture, though, and managed to reduce the deficit to a single point midway through the second period.
Either side of a scrambled Archer finish, the impressive Carthy raised white flags to keep Maur’s in contention. While this left the tie delicately poised moving into the final-quarter, Vincent’s soon reinforced their authority on the play.
After he was picked out close to goal by Quinn, Adam Baxter palmed to the back of the Maur’s net. This provided Vincent’s with some much-needed breathing space in the closing stages, and it was then left for substitute Sean Lowry to seal the points for Brian Mullins’ charges with a late score.
Kilmacud Crokes remain in second place after they played out a 2-7 to 0-13 draw against Cuala at Hyde Park, but they are now joined on 18 points by Ballyboden St Enda’s. The latter travelled to Somerton Park on Saturday to face a Castleknock outfit that were searching for their league win since mid-June.
There was some cause for optimism in their recent narrow defeat to neighbours St Brigid’s (a 0-10 to 1-10 reversal last Wednesday week) and they caused a number of problems for Anthony Rainbow’s visitors on this occasion.
Yet, with Ryan Basquel and Simon Lambert both finding the net, it was ‘Boden who were in the ascendancy during the interval – 2-7 to 1-6. The scoring rates of the teams accelerated in a fast-paced second half, though the southsiders were never in danger of letting their lead slip.
With Ross McGarry and Basquel hitting a combined total of 1-14, the ‘Boden attack continued to function at a high level. In addition to fine displays from Kieran Kennedy, Bob Dwan and Declan O’Mahony, Darren O’Reilly rattled the net to propel the 2016 All-Ireland champions towards a 3-19 to 2-13 success.
They now marginally trail the aforementioned Crokes, with just three rounds of fixtures remaining in the regular season. Elsewhere, St Jude’s moved into the top-six courtesy of a 0-17 to 1-11 victory at the expense of Brigid’s at Tymon North.
The Wellington Lane side were aiming to bounce back from a recent loss to Thomas Davis, whereas Brigid’s had their sights set on a fifth win in six league encounters. There was little to separate the two sides for the majority of the contest and a sharing of the spoils appeared to be on the cards for large spells.
Jude’s had other ideas, however, and a hat-trick of late points from Niall Coakley offered Jude’s a vital edge. Colm Murphy and Kieran Doherty were also in fine scoring form throughout, as the home team held off the spirited challenge of Brigid’s.
Meanwhile, Na Fianna and Thomas Davis remain in fourth and fifth respectively as a result of their away triumphs over St Sylvester’s (2-13 to 1-8) and Lucan Sarsfields (0-12 to 0-7).
Towards the foot end of the table, Ballinteer St John’s gave themselves some leg room with a 2-18 to 1-14 victory against Naomh Olaf at Marley Park.