St Vincent’s 1-17 Ballyboden St Enda’s 5-11

Daire Walsh

The old adage of ‘goals win games’ rang true at Pairc Naomh Uinsionn last night as champions Ballyboden St Enda’s secured a spot in the the knockout rounds of the Dublin SFC.

Complimenting Colm Basquel’s opening half brace, substitutes Simon Lambert, Donough McCabe and Tom Hayes all shook the net for the rampant visitors.

Playing on their home turf, the Marino men largely dominated possession during the early moments. However, they recorded a total of nine wides in as many minutes to let their southside counterparts off the hook.

By contrast, ‘Boden were able to capitalise on the first-quarter opportunities that fell their way. After wing-forwards Alan Flood and Darren O’Reilly both dissected the uprights, Colm Basquel calmly stroked a low strike beyond the reach of Michael Savage in the 13th minute.

Either side of the opening period water break, Vins finally discovered a coherent rhythm up front. Following a brace of Tomas Quinn frees, Greg Murphy and Gavin Burke (two) found the range to bring them back on level terms.

Yet, Boden were left relatively unfazed by this scoring blitz from the hosts. Supplementing a Warren Egan single, Basquel bagged his second goal on 23 minutes.

Following traded scores between Conal Keaney and Diarmuid Connolly, a goal-bound Quinn effort marginally cleared the crossbar. The evergreen Vins corner-forward subsequently added a routine free in response to Basquel and Ross McGarry points at the opposite end, to leave Vins four points in arrears (2-6 to 0-8) at the interval.

The hosts were a galvanised unit on the resumption and forced their way back on level terms by the 39th minute. Murphy (two), Connolly, Burke and Carthy all found the target, while the sole ‘Boden contribution came from a Basquel free. Although momentum now appeared to be with Vins, the holders reinforced their superiority.

Complementing points from corner-back Kieran Kennedy and Egan, Lambert rounded off an extended attack with a smooth finish.

Vins replacement Albert Martin pointed to keep his side in touch, but McCabe’s three-point strike left them with far too much ground to make up in the final-quarter.

A Hayes goal created additional daylight and thoug h Shane Carthy fired past Darragh Gogan to cap a spirited rally from Vincent’s, they must dust themselves down for a do-or-die clash with Clontarf in the final round.

Scorers – Ballyboden St Enda’s: C Basquel 2-3 (0-3f), S Lambert, D McCabe, T Hayes 1-0 each, W Egan, R McGarry 0-2 each, K Kennedy, D O’Reilly, A Flood, C Keaney 0-1 each. St Vincent’s: T Quinn 0-5 (4f), D Connolly 0-4 (2f), S Carthy 1-1, G Burke, G Murphy 0-3 each, A Martin 0-1.

BALLYBODEN ST ENDA’S: D Gogan; K Kennedy, S Clayton, C Flaherty; J Holland, R McDaid, D Nelson; MD Macauley, D O’Mahoney; A Flood, W Egan, D O’Reilly, R McGarry, C Basquel, C Keaney. Subs: B Bobbett for Holland (28), S Lambert for O’Reilly (38), T Hayes for Nelson (41), D McCabe for O’Mahoney (43), C O’Reilly for Keaney (57).

ST VINCENT’S: M Savage; S Lambe, J Curley, F Breathnach; M Concarr, C Wilson, S L’Estrange; C Diamond, N Mullins; S Carthy, D Connolly, G Burke; L McGovern, G Murphy, T Quinn. Subs: A Martin for Mullins (41), E Fennell for Breathnach (57), E Varley for Murphy (59), A Giblin for McGovern (62).

Referee: J King (Garda/Westmanstown Gaels).