Edenderry……7-06
Ballyfore……..2-04
Last Sunday Edenderry and Ballyfore met in Division 2 Football League in front of a good crowd for this local derby at Edenderry.
With a aid of the stiff breeze in the opening half Ballyfore started very well, and went in front when Ger Dunne sent a 45′ over the bar, after Wayne Mooney made a fine block to deny them an earlier score at the expense of a 45′. From Edenderry’s first attack of the game they were awarded a penalty when Con Costello deemed that Stephen Murphy was fouled in the square. Robbie Glennon’s resulting kick was well saved by the Ballyfore goalie, but Robbie made no mistake with the rebound as he fired to the roof of the net. Edenderry soon had the ball in the net for a second time, when Stephen Murphy made a great run through the centre of the Ballyfore defence and offloaded to big full forward Adrian Mahon. Mahon then turned and passed to Mark Young who finished excellently to the net as the Ballyfore goalie advanced. Then Ballyfore scored a goal and a point in quick succession to reduce Edenderry’s lead to a solitary point. The goal was a result of a long delivery into the Edenderry area which bounced and caused confusion in the Edenderry defence, and the ball then hopped into the roof of the net. That score was followed up with another point from Ger Dunne who converted a free. Michael Bryan then put two points between the teams when he kicked a good point from an acute angle. Edenderry added two further goals before the break, the first from Robbie Glennon, after being set up by Martin Keogh who burst through the Ballyfore defence with a powerful run. The second goal came from midfielder Basil Malone who coolly finished to the net after been found with a brilliant pass from Adrian Mahon.
Halftime, Edenderry 4-01 Ballyfore 1-02.
At the break the Edenderry management made a double substitution with Paddy Lynch and Brian Quinlan replacing Michael Bryan and Colin McNamara respectively. The first score of the second half went to The Reds when a Robbie Glennon attempted a point, but the ball dropped short and went through the ‘keepers hands into the net. Derek Kelly was then introduced in his first Senior appearance for the club, when he replaced Richie Dalton, who had played two practice matches for the Offaly Seniors in the same weekend. The Edenderry management then introduced the experienced Shane Connell into the action in place of Mark Young. Basil Malone kicked a point for Edenderry after Derek Kelly and Robbie Glennon combined well in a good move to put Basil through. Basil was on the scoreboard again, this time he scored a goal after Adrian Mahon sent a pin-point long ball to Robbie Glennon who slipped a quick ball to Basil, who crashed the ball to the net. Johnny Blong was then brought into the game in place of Adrian Mahon. Edenderry were fortunate not to concede a goal when a powerful Ballyfore shot rebounded off the crossbar. But shortly after that Ballyfore did score a maximum, when big full forward Gordon Nutterfield blasted the ball into the roof of the net from a close range free. Edenderry then had a goal disallowed when the lively Paddy Lynch finished to the net after good move, but then was ruled out for a ‘square ball’. Martin Keogh then scored a point after his shot was deflected over the bar by the Ballyfore goalie. Edenderry half-back Colm Byrne then added his sides’ seventh goal when he tapped the ball into the net after the ball broke across the Ballyfore goals. Edenderry finished out the game with three unanswered points. The first came from Paddy Lynch, the second was scored by Martin Keogh who finished well, after Paddy Lynch laid off after a long ball from Colm Byrne, and the final point went to Robbie Glennon who finished with a personal tally of three goals and a point.
While the scoreline would appear comfortable for Edenderry, it does not tell the full story as Ballyfore gave Edenderry plenty to think about. If it was for The Reds ability to score goals they would have struggled badly, as they failed to get going in the point scoring department. Edenderry’s next game will be against Doon on Saturday 21st March at 3pm in Doon.
Team: Colin McNamara; Wayne Mooney, Adrian Murphy, Sean Pender; Colm Byrne (1-0), Richie Dalton, Johnny Hurst; Colm Cummins, Basil Malone (2-1); Stephen Murphy, Martin Keogh (0-2), Robbie Glennon (3-1); Mark Young (1-0), Adrian Mahon, Michael Bryan (0-1).
Substitutes: Brian Quinlan, Paddy Lynch (0-1), Derek Kelly, Shane Connell, Johnny Blong, Shane Delaney, Daniel Ryan, Ciaran Cummins, Colin McCormack, Keith McGuinness, Adrian Forde, David Farrelly, Brendan McCabe, Joe Murphy.
Referee: Con Costello.
