Ballinrobe show true grit to overhaul Kilmaine in local derby
Ballinrobe 0-12
Kilmaine 1-7
By Michael Commins
In the soft aftermath glow of this intriguing local derby, the outpouring
of emotions ran high. ‘Mighty’ was a word to some up the feelings of the
Ballinrobe players and supporters as they laid claim to the Mayo U-21 ‘A’
trophy for the first time ever. County honours in any gaelic grade have
been rather rare for Ballinrobe in recent years and this was surely an
occasion to cherish, a time to celebrate, and a day they would remember
with affection for a long time to come.
It was won the hard way, coming from five points in arrears, but one could
also empathise with how the Kilmaine players felt on the day. Two points
ahead with eight minutes of normal time to play, they still looked likely
winners until Ballinrobe’s sprint finish changed the ending.
All week the build-up had been intense. Ballinrobe was decked out in the
club colours while Kilmaine’s support was as loyal as ever on the day.
Between 1,500 and 2,000 people were present for the local derby clash that
had dominated talk in these parts of South Mayo over the last few days.
Roundfort School Band led the parade and soon the action was underway on a
glorious Summer’s day.
At times during the first half when the Ballinrobe flame was in danger of
being quenched, the exploits of Micheal Keane must be recorded for
posterity. Deer-like he darted through the Kilmaine defence, a sense of
expectation accompanying his every move. Dodging and weaving with artistic
skill and sublime pace, Keane managed to steady the Ballinrobe ship as it
made its way through some very choppy waters.
Nor can the arrival of Alan Murphy be overlooked on this special day for
Ballinrobe. Murphy, who has played underage soccer at international level
for
Five points adrift at that stage, he kicked two fabulous points for
Ballinrobe that re-invigorated the team and brought them right back into
contention.
Numerous positional changes marked the start of the game and a lively
opening five minutes saw the teams tied at two points each. Andrew Casey
curved the ball sweetly through the Ballinrobe posts following a fine
delivery from Alan Burke. Mark Walkin pointed from a free and then Harry
Murphy edged Ballinrobe ahead after a pass from Kevin Feerick. But from
once Alan Burke raced through to land the equalizer for Kilmaine, the lads
in the red and green jerseys swung into action and soon Ballinrobe were
reeling under a barrage of swift attacking football as Kilmaine took a grip
on the match.
A measure of their dominance during this spell of the game manifested
itself in the 9th minute with a marvellous move from one end of the field
to the other, instigating by the excellent Donncha McDonagh and carried
along by Alan Burke and Paul Doherty before Andrew Casey was fouled in
front of goal. Casey popped the free over the bar and four minutes later
added a fine point from well out the field.
In between, Ballinrobe were awarded a penalty but Keith McTigue’s effort
was very well saved by Enda Loughlin. Kilmaine, with Pat Kelly giving an
exhibition at midfield and Alan Burke working extremely hard and with
classy performances from a number of players including Donncha McDonagh and
Mark O’Brien, rocked Ballinrobe in the 18th minute when Andrew Casey gave
Paul Tiernan no chance with a great goal following a wonderful move
featuring Brian Maloney, Alan Burke and Paul Doherty.
Ballinrobe spirit
Five points clear and very much on top, Kilmaine looked a good bet at this
chance. But the arrival of Alan Murphy had a profound effect on the
Ballinrobe team. Within minutes, he carved out two marvellous points from
play. Suddenly, you could sense a new spirit in the Ballinrobe team. It was
also aided by some resolute rearguard action, especially by Anthony
O’Toole, Padraig Costello, Ruairi Keane and David Colleran.
Heads were lifted again and Sean Grimes came close to raising a green flag
when his effort from 30 yards cme back off the crossbar. And two fine solo
runs by Liam Butler and ‘Speedy Gonzales’ Keane resulted in the latter
shooting a lovely point. With Kilmaine ahead by 1-4 to 0-5 at the interval,
nobody was going home for the tea.
In retrospection, a timely block down save by Paul Finnerty in the first
minute of the second half was to prove decisive. Pat Kelly had soloed right
through the defence but Finnerty got down to make the crucial block. Still,
Kilmaine bounced back with Kelly again leading the charge and Casey adding
the finish.
Ballinrobe responded with what was to be a critical score, a great piece of
work involving Harry Murphy, Alan Murphy and Micheal Keane with Keane
shooting a crafty point. No surprise to find that it was Keane who
registered their next point too from an incredibly tight angle. The
Kilmaine forwards dissipated a number of good scoring chances at this vital
stage of the game when a little more accuracy may have tilted the scales in
an irreversible manner.
David Colleran and the splendid Anthony O’Toole tore down the field and
Alan Murphy once again displayed his versatility when swinging over his
third point of the afternoon and Ballinrobe were now back on level terms
with thirteen minutes left on the clock.
When Paul Doherty from play and Andrew Casey from a free put Kilmaine two
points clear, Ballinrobe’s resolve was tested to the limit. But with
whole-hearted spirit they fought back. Micheal Keane laid a nice pass out
to Ronan Macken and he did very well to hit the target with his first
attempt. And with just three minutes of normal time to play, Sean Grimes
moved the ball to the flying Micheal Keane who swerved briskly into space
and planted the equaliser.
Another day out looked the most likely outcome but Ballinrobe pressed again
and when Alan Murphy was fouled, Mark Walkin converted the free. Kilmaine
had a glorious chance to snatch victory a minute later when a long delivery
from Patrick Kelly found Joey Maloney well placed and as he rounded Paul
Tiernan his drive for goal crashed into the side-netting and wide. Two
minutes later, Aiden Golden provided the pass for Sean Grimes to extend the
lead and Ballinrobe cheers echoed around Hollymount as referee Vincent
Neary sounded the full-time whistle.
Anthony O’Toole and Padraig Costello turned in strong performances in the
Ballinrobe fullback line with Paul Finnerty coming much more into the game
during the second half. Paul Tiernan was a very competent goal. Ruairi
Keane and David Colleran also coped admirably with the challenge of the
Kilmaine half forward line. Sean Grimes and Harry Murphy had a real duel
with their Kilmaine opponents and this was a very evenly contested sector.
Micheal Keane was truly outstanding while Alan Murphy was the kind of sub
that any team would love to bring into the action. His contribution was
central to the Ballinrobe success story. Liam Butler was another to turn in
a solid performance while Aidan Golden, Mark Walkin, Keith McTigue and
Ronan Macken also had good spells during the afternoon.
Patrick Kelly and Alan Burke served Kilmaine exceptionally well at
centrefield and made a huge contribution to the team. So do did the
great-hearted Donncha McDonagh while Mark O’Brien was consistent from start
to finish. Andrew Casey and Paul Doherty were the most effective players in
the Kilmaine attack. Enda Loughlin did well as goalie, John Donnellan
worked hard in the defence while Johnny McDonagh, Declan Heneghan and Conor
Maloney were others to the fore.
Amid much excitement, the Cup was presented to Sean Grimes by P.J. McGrath,
chairman of the Mayo GAA Board. The U-21championship was sponsored by
Supermacs. Sean Grimes is a lucky captain … he was also at the helm when
Full credit to both teams for what was a very sporting occasion and it was
clear there was a great sense of respect among the players of both teams
for each other.
Ballinrobe: P. Tiernan, P. Costello, P. Finnerty, A. O’Toole, C. Killeen,
R. Keane, D. Colleran, S. Grimes (0-1), H. Murphy (0-1), L. Butler, A.
Golden, M. Walkin (0-2), K. Feerick, M. Keane (0-4), K. McTigue. Subs: A.
Murphy (0-3) for K. Feerick, R. Macken (0-1) for C. Killeen.
Kilmaine: E. Loughlin, J. Donnellan, D. Murphy, D. McDonagh, K. Coyne, M.
O’Brien, J. McDonagh, P. Kelly, A. Burke (0-1), C. Maloney, B. Maloney, D.
Coyne, D. Heneghan, A. Casey (1-5), P. Doherty (0-1). Sub: D. O’Dea for D.
Murphy, J. Maloney for D. Coyne.
Referee: Vincent Neary (Bonniconlon).
