Ballyboden show 'good game IQ' to pass Athy test with flying colours
UNITED FRONT: Ballyboden St Enda's ahead of the match. Pic: INPHO/James Lawlor
Respectability came late for Athy in this Leinster final in which Ballyboden’s blitz in the third quarter put the game beyond any doubt.
Scoring seven points, Kevin Feely came back on his shield but Athy were otherwise outclassed in the opening 22 minutes of the second half and outscored 1-7 to 0-1.
This felt like a statement of intent before their next opponents, the Munster winners, were confirmed but Ballyboden St Enda’s manager Eamon O’Reilly believes they have the capacity for a lot more following a first half when Ryan Basquel’s goal was the difference, 1-7 to 0-7.
“I'd still say there's room for improvement with our performance. If you look at the first half, I think we were absolutely smashed in the breaks. That was a big thing for us to get on top of in the second half.
“The boys readjusted at half-time and got on top of that, which was a huge turning point in the game, allowing us that third quarter drive on. We have a very settled dressing room at half-time, so we're not looking to paint off the walls or anything like that.
“We have a very controlled dressing room. We go through our process at half-time and we work things out. We've done that in most of the games we've played so far.
“That's the great thing about having a team with very good game IQ: you're able to make alterations within game that isn't phasing the lads as you're going along.”
The rumour was Ballyboden weren’t overly excited to be playing this final in Croke Park but their forwards made it their playground, scoring 1-14 from play.
In fairness, Athy came to play football too but too often their passing let them down and the slippy conditions accentuated their spills. Case in point was Ryan Basquel’s first-half goal which was carved out by a brilliant outside-of-the-boot pass by Ross McGarry but initiated by Colm Moran losing the ball.
McGarry was involved again when Patrick Dunleavy kicked high to the net from close range to seal the victory as early as the 44th minute. Ben Purcell grabbed a late goal and Feely fought against the dying of the light but Ballyboden were already in festive mood.
In midfield, Céin D’Arcy’s energy was infectious and he was still full of beans in the closing stages as Ballyboden kept up their high-scoring rate going back to the Dublin championship, the quarter-final win over Castleknock being a rare exception.
“We all love the game of football and we've been presented with the opportunity this year with the new rules,” said O’Reilly. “We felt that we needed to change our style of play this year to come up with those rules.
“We felt within the identity of the club that if you go back to 2016, you look at all of that, there's that expansive type of football that Andy's [McEntee] team won the championship with, the All-Ireland, back in 2016.
“It is there, but if we need to mix it up, we need to mix it up and the boys will do whatever they need to do to get over the line on a given day.” O’Reilly was effusive in his praise for a group who have expressed their full commitment to the cause throughout the year. “This actually shows what type of team we have – Ryan Basquel is getting married just before Christmas and Ryan had a stag last June in order to basically be fully free for the championship.
“So, that shows the type of individuals that we have in the dressing room and even from that stag, we had a match on the Tuesday night and the guys came back early.
“Whatever we ask them to do over the next three weeks, I know the boys will do it because they are bought into what they're trying to achieve and to date they've achieved it.”
Ballyboden are favourites not just to get the better of the Munster representatives on January 3/4 but they’re expected to become the capital’s third All-Ireland champions in four years too.
Not that O’Reilly was entertaining any of that chatter. Although, he was happy to discuss how Ballyboden are occasionally viewed cynically as a super club.
“I think that's a big thing that gets missed when there's all this negative connotations around the clubs in Dublin. Clubs in Dublin are massive communities and it means an awful lot to all of us to be part of that community.
“It gives us identity and it gives us a place within a huge city. So Ballyboden St. Enda's is a massive part of every one of our lives and we're so grateful to be part of that.”
: R. McGarry (0-5, 1 free); D. Sweeney (2 frees), C. Basquel (1 tp) (0-4 each); R. Basquel, P. Dunleavy (1-0 each); R. O’Dwyer, C. D’Arcy (0-2 each); P. Healy (0-1)
K. Feely (0-7, 4 frees, 1 tp); S. Moore (0-4, 1 tpf, 1 free); B. Purcell (1-0); N. Kelly (free), R. Kelly, C. Moran, P. Healy (0-1 each).
: H. O’Sullivan; C. Flaherty, B. Bobbett, R. Baynes; P. Warren, P. Healy, P. Dunleavy; C. D’Arcy, A. Gavin; R. McGarry, J. Holland, R. O’Dwyer; R. Basquel, C. Basquel, D. Sweeney.
Subs for Ballyboden St Enda’s: C. O’Dwyer for R. Basquel (47); H. Donaghy for P. Warren (49); S. Clayton (c) for R. Baynes (54); K. Kennedy for C. Basquel (60); D. O’Reilly for R. O’Dwyer (60+1).
: J. Roycroft; M. Spillane, P. Spillane, D. Lawler; M. Hyland, C. McCarron, S. Moore; K. Feely, D. Hyland (c); B. Maher, B. Kelly, C. Doyle; R. Kelly, C. Moran, N. Kelly.
Subs for Athy: B. Purcell for C. Moran (42); S. Bride for M. Hyland (47); C. Kelly for B. Kelly (48); C. Keaveney for B. Maher (54); K. Farrell for C. Doyle (57).
: A. Coyne (Westmeath).
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