Ballinrobe 2-11
Ballintubber 0-7
Fortune favours Ballinrobe
IGNORE that scoreline. Ballinrobe may have booked their place in the final
of this coveted competition but Ballintubber are done little justice by the
magnitude of a ten point margin. This was a lot tougher and closer than the
outline of that scoreline suggests.
Against that, Ballinrobe fully deserved to win this sun-drenched semi-final
which unwrapped itself in the shadow of the Partry mountains last Monday.
They had a number of elements which swung the outcome in their favour: Paul
Tiernan, their goalkeeper, who pulled off three wonderful second half
saves; Sean Grimes and Harry Murphy whose second half display was a mix of
style and substance; and Michéal Keane with whom the term ‘match-winner’
seems to sit easily.
They had also enjoyed the greater slice of good fortune. This manifested
itself in goals at the beginning of either half which will give
Ballintubber ‘keeper Declan Dillon sleepless nights aplenty.
His team had a day to forget all-round. Three of their first fifteen did
not start because of injury; they conceded a goal from sixty yards after
four minutes; they lost influential forward Gary Dillon to a serious head
injury after eight minutes; they conceded a second freakish goal three
minutes into the second half and their wides tally was simply appalling. It
does not make pretty reading.
With a blazing sun beating down on a firm pitch, the scene was set for an
afternoon of distinction and, after twenty seconds, Ballinrobe’s Michéal
Keane scampered away to rifle over the opening score.
On four minutes, bullish midfielder Sean Grimes arrowed a shot from sixty
yards which Declan Dillon spilled into the net. Ballintubber were four
points down before the crowd had adjusted their sun-glasses.
By the eighth minute Gary Dillon had popped over two frees with menacing
ease and the margin had been reduced to three points (1-2 to 0-2). Then
Dillon received a nasty cut to his head in an accidental collision with
Paul Tiernan and he left the field on a stretcher after a seven minute
stoppage. His loss was enormous.
Fifteen scoreless minutes followed as the ball pinged around the field in
the warm air. Ballinrobe, in dire straits at midfield, were playing second
fiddle to Niall Munroe, John Kelly, Brian Feeney and Pat Coonan in the
quest to win breaking ball.
Only points from Shane McDonagh and Alan Staunton were Ballintubber’s
meagre reward however. The kicking of terrible wides was their greatest
affliction.
At the other end, while living on scraps, Ballinrobe had two exquisite
points from Mark Walkin and Michéal Keane. The latter’s duel with Paul
Earley was proving fascinating and was one of many talking-points at the
interval as Ballinrobe led by 1-5 to 0-4.
The dynamism of Keane was infectious and he drilled over another point
twenty seconds after the restart to stretch the lead. Three minutes later
came a defining moment when a long searching ball from Mark Walkin was
dropped into the net by half-time substitute Keith McTigue.
Ballintubber goalkeeper Declan Dillon was left flailing in the breeze as
the ball dribbled into the net. 2-6 to 0-4 and looking bleak.
Paul Tiernan then produced a string of superb saves to deny Kieran Lally
and Tommy Kilcoyne what seemed certain goals but two frees in succession
from Shane McDonagh kept Ballintubber within touching distance.
Ballinrobe though had moved to steady the ship at half-time and there had
been a marked improvement. Paul Finnerty, Anthony O’Toole, Rory Keane and
the midfield pairing were the greatest examples of this.
It was their diligence which allowed Mark Walkin to arc over two long range
frees and keep an eight point margin secure: 2-8 to 0-6. In fact,
Ballintubber failed to score for the final eleven minutes while Ballinrobe
hit three unanswered points. Kevin Feerick, Keith McTigue and Mark Walkin
all delivering insurance scores with Feerick’s earning the biggest cheer of
the day.
They will need many more like it next Sunday.
Ballinrobe: P. Tiernan; P. Costello, P. Finnerty, A. O’Toole; C. Killeen,
R. Keane, D. Colleran; S. Grimes (1-0), H. Murphy; R. Macken, A. Golden, M.
Walkin (0-6, 5fs); K. Feerick (0-1), M. Keane (0-3), L. Butler. Subs: K.
McTigue (1-1) for Macken; J. O’Malley for
Ballintubber: D. Dillon; C. Feeney, P. Earley, J. Nestor;
Earley, J. Kelly; B. Feeney, P. Coonan; Kieran J.C. Lally, A. Dillon, K.
Lally;
T. Kilcoyne for G. Dillon (inj); C. Lydon for Kieran J.C. Lally; D. Hayes
for P. Earley.
Referee: M. Daly (Ballyhaunis)
