Michael Darragh Macauley of Ballyboden St Enda's in action against Ciaran Kyne of Clontarf during the Dublin County Senior Football Championship Round 1 match between Ballyboden St Endas and Clontarf at Pairc Uí Mhurchu in Dublin.
Dublin Senior 1 Football Championship Round 1
Group 1
Ballymun Kickhams 3-18 Skerries Harps 0-12
Thomas Davis 2-14 Round Towers Lusk 0-11
Group 2
Lucan Sarsfields 0-19 Ballinteer St. John’s 0-9
St. Jude’s 1-10 Na Fianna 0-8
Group 3
Ballyboden St. Enda’s 4-20 Clontarf 2-8
St. Vincent’s 2-15 Whitehall Colmcille 1-13
Group 4
Castleknock 2-15 St. Oliver Plunketts Eoghan Ruadh 1-11
Kilmacud Crokes 6-13 Raheny 0-10
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Reigning Dublin SFC champions, Ballyboden St. Enda’s, got the defence of their title off to a convincing start by storming to a 4-20 to 2-8 victory over Clontarf.
For much of the first half it looked like Clontarf could spring a surprise as they surged into a six-point lead courtesy of two goals from the impressive Kevin Lillis.
But shortly after his second strike ‘Boden hit back with a goal of their own through Warren Egan and from there gradually warmed to the task.
The sides were level at the break, 2-6 to 1-9, but the champions were absolutely dominant in the second-half.
A steady stream of points saw them move five ahead and they then finished the match with a torrent of goals to win in the end by 18 points.
The other match in Group 3 was a closer affair between neighbours and rivals St. Vincent’s and Whitehall Colmcille.
St. Vincent’s have had the upper hand in the rivalry in recent years and they looked like they were on the way to a routine enough victory when a Sean Lowry goal on 37 minutes put them 1-11 to 1-4 ahead.
But Whitehall rallied and by the closing minutes had reduced the gap to just two points. St. Vincent’s only made the match safe in injury-time when Tomás Quinn converted a penalty that gave them a 2-15 to 1-13 victory.
Niall Coakley of St Judes celebrates after scoring a goal against Na Fianna during the Dublin County Senior Football Championship Round 1 match between St Judes and Na Fianna at Parnell Park in Dublin.
There was a west-Dublin derby too today, as Castleknock and St. Oliver Plunkett Eoghan Ruadh locked horns.
There was little between the teams for most of the first half until a Conor Chawke goal for was followed by a flurry of points to give Castleknock a 1-9 to 0-7 half-time lead.
Castleknock looked set for a comfortable victory when Gerard McDermottroe converted a penalty seven minutes into the second-half.
But Plunketts rallied and had the gap down to just three points when Bernard Brogan struck for a goal 13 minutes later. Credit to Castleknock, they regained their composure and didn’t concede again on the way to a seven-point victory.
The meeting of St. Jude’s and Na Fianna didn’t quite live up to its billing.
Niall Coakley’s goal just before half-time for St. Jude’s was the decisive score of the match because it gave his team a five-point lead and Na Fianna never really looked like clawing back that deficit.
Ballymun’s victory over Skerries Harps was an eye-catching one. They scored 3-18 on the way to a 15-point victory and look like one of the teams to beat already.
Kilmacud Crokes will surely be in the shake-up too. They produced the performance of the round to hammer Raheny by 21 points.
