ST VINCENT’S 0-19
BALLYMUN KICKHAMS 0-13
— Niall Kelly reports from Parnell Park
ST VINCENT’S CONTINUED their march towards a Dublin three-in-a-row as they powered past Ballymun Kickhams in Parnell Park.
Mossy Quinn kicked nine points to help the Marino men to a comfortable six-point win and a place in the quarter-finals.
With no fewer than 10 All-Ireland winners in the starting lineups, the latest meeting of the northside rivals was expected to be a heavyweight clash.
There were few fireworks though as Vincent’s pulled clear with a dominant performance that saw them put up eight unanswered scores when the game was still up for grabs.
The only flash came in the final minutes with Ballymun long beaten. Corner-back Karl Connolly clashed with Vins sub Joe Feeney and he was shown the line for his second yellow card.
After taking the lead through a Jason Whelan point in the first minute, Ballymun’s indiscipline proved to be their undoing early on. It gifted Vincent’s six points from frees in that first half, with Quinn taking full advantage and Diarmuid Connolly floating over a highlight reel score from all of 50 metres.
When Vincent’s first score from play finally arrived in the 23rd minute, it really should have been a goal. Substitute Kevin Golden combined brilliantly with Shane Carthy to set Connolly free but his shot was deflected over the bar by a sprawling save from Ballymun keeper Evan Comerford.
Quinn added another free before Nathan Mullins stretched Vincent’s lead to five, with the industrious Carthy again playing a central role in the build-up.
It put Vincent’s a comfortable 0-9 to 0-4 ahead with just four minutes to play in the first half, but Ballymun were not to be so easily dispatched and reeled off four unanswered scores to go in just a point behind.
Whelan and Connolly added points in quick succession before James Burke swerved over a fine score in additional time, and Rock tacked on one last free.
And Ballymun resumed exactly where they left off, John Small slicing through the heart of the Vins midfield to point the equaliser.
The opportunity was there for Ballymun to turn the screw and gain revenge for their defeat here in the 2013 final, but Whelan and Andy O’Brien kicked bad wides.
Aware that their stranglehold on county and province was on the line, Vincent’s sparked to life. The unerring Quinn added two more frees before Mullins burst forward again to kick his second of the day.
Golden, Cormac and Cameron Diamond, and Joe Feeney all weighed in as the holders flexed their muscles and racked up an eight-point margin.
When Rock pointed a free with eight minutes to play, it ended a 20-minute drought for Ballymun. He had a chance to close the gap even further but missed a penalty late on and had to settle for a point.
Elsewhere, St Jude’s beat St Brigid’s by 0-13 to 0-9 while Lucan Sarsfields enjoyed a comfortable 4-14 to 0-7 victory over St Patrick’s Palmerstown.
Scorers for Vincent’s: T Quinn 0-9 (7f, 1 45), D Connolly (1f), N Mullins, K Golden 0-2, Cameron Diamond, Cormac Diamond, J Feeney, S Carthy 0-1 each.
Scorers for Ballymun: D Rock 0-4 (3f, 0-1p), J Whelan 0-2, A Hubbard, D Gibney, K Connolly, J Burke, J Small, L O’Donovan, P Small 0-1 each.
ST VINCENT’S
1. Michael Savage
2. Cameron Diamond
3. Jarlath Curley
4. Michael Concarr
5. Brendan Egan
6. Ger Brennan
7. Nathan Mullins
8. Eamon Fennell
9. Shane Carthy
10. Gavin Burke
11. Diarmuid Connolly
12. Cormac Diamond
13. Ruairi Trainor
14. Ciaran Dorney
15. Tomás Quinn
BALLYMUN KICKHAMS
1. Evan Comerford
2. Karl Connolly
3. Philly McMahon
4. Alan Hubbard
5. Eoin Dolan
6. John Small
7. James Burke
8. James McCarthy
9. Dave Gibney
10. Andy O’Brien
11. Dean Rock
12. Davey Byrne
13. Jason Whelan
14. Kevin Leahy
15. Fiach Andrews
Ref: David O’Connor (Naomh Mearnog).
Dublin SFC QF Draw
Naomh Jude v Na Fianna
Lucan Sarsfields v St. Vincent’s
St. Anne’s v Clontarf
Ballyboden St Enda’s v St. Oliver Plunkett Eoghan Ruadh
