St Marys 1-19 Boardsmill 1-5 

St Marys began their Championship campaign with a comprehensive victory against Boardsmill at an excellently appointed Bective grounds on Sunday morning. 

3 of the Marys 4 competitive defeats in 2025 had come courtesy of our opponents, so there was no illusion before the game that the team had to be at their best to get the better of the opposition. 

Marys started the game with a ferocious intensity, giving their opponents no time to settle and raced into a 1-2 to 0-0 lead inside the first 10 minutes. Cormac Victory and Andrew Brien converted early scores, before Caimin Hughes registered the opening goal. Hughes turned over possession in his own half and after great work by Sean Nulty, Hughes found himself 1 on 1 and at the second attempt found the roof of the net to put early daylight between the teams. Boardsmill opened their account through a Niall Durkan free before Brien scored a free of his own. Stevie Gibbons kicked a score from a tight angle to bring it back to 4 points, but Marys will have felt they should have been further ahead at the end of the first quarter, the shooting at times was quite erratic despite the wind behind them. Joey Greene was next to point after great work by Dylan Bagnall in the build up, before Nulty got on the end of a Hughes pass and finished smartly between the posts. Brien was next with a free, before his brother Maithiu found the target with the help of the post. Cathal Sheridan was next on the scoreboard after phenomenal defensive work to turn over a promising Boardsmill attack. On the stroke of half time Brien pointed a free after Boardsmill were punished for having 2 men up. 

Half time St Marys 1-9 Boardsmill 0-2

After an excellent first half display, St Marys knew they would still have to put in a big performance in the second half against the wind. Much like the previous game against Drumconrath, Marys conceded a 2 pointer right from the throw in, Durkan converting a free from distance. Nulty pointed again after a free flowing passing move in response, before Boardsmill came close to hitting the net, rattling the crossbar which was a let off for Marys. Andrew Brien was next to point twice from play after great work at the back, in-between a Victory point after a surging run from Tadhg Dixon. Substitute Sam Victory then pointed soon after his introduction, followed by Bagnall after referee Ian Dowdall, who was excellent it must be said on the day, overruled the original wide call by the umpire. Evan Dixon then pointed for Boardsmill, who to their credit were creating chances but were running into an inspired Marys rearguard. Andrew Brien and Sam Victory were on target before the newly engaged Captain James Lynch, fresh from his annual pilgrimage to Salou, added his name to the scoreboard after a surging run through the middle and a neat one two with Ben Loughran. Cian O’Brien then marked his introduction to proceedings with a nicely taken point after good work by Hughes. With the last action of the game, Boardsmill got in for goal, Durkan finishing to the back of the net. 

A great days work for Marys, opening their campaign with a win and the 11 names on the scoresheet is a testament to the team effort across the board. Next up is the first round of Reserve Championship against St Vincents next Saturday, followed by Round 2 of the Junior B Championship against a Drumconrath side that will be aiming to exact revenge for the league final loss last month. 

St Marys: Adam Byrne; Liam Lynch, John Spain, Conor O’Brien; AJ Bradshaw, Dylan Bagnall 0-1, Maithiu Brien 0-1; Joey Greene 0-1, Tadhg Dixon; Ben Loughran, Cathal Sheridan 0-1, Caimin Hughes 1-0; Andrew Brien 0-7(5f), Sean Nulty 0-2, Cormac Victory 0-2. 

Subs: Sam Victory 0-2 for Nulty, James Lynch 0-1 for Sheridan, Andy Everard for Spain, Cian O’Brien 0-1 for C Victory, Neil Floyd for Conor O’Brien. Peter Waters, Tadhg Lynch, William McSweeney, Eoin Jackson, Robbie Callaghan, Peter Gogan.

Referee: Ian Dowdall

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