Ballinlough 0-9, St Ultan's 0-8

Life is tough for St Ultan's at the moment. They arrived in Ballinlough on Friday night for a first round Feis Cup tie against the hosts looking for a win that might help them turn the corner following two pointless outings in the SFC against Seneschalstown and Blackhall Gaels. Manager Martin Barry had every reason to adopt a positive approach to the game, but once again the performance came up short. And the injury list got a little bit longer when midfielder Paul Murray was withdrawn at half-time with a hand injury. It was the type of change Barry would not have wanted to make. Contrast that to the line his opposite number had to take as he prepared for a game which actually started about 30 minutes behind schedule. Ballinlough manager Vinny Ryan probably told his players that this was a good opportunity to assess their form against a team struggling for survival in the SFC. Lose and he could claim that they were beaten by a senior team, win and he could claim that they had beaten a senior team - a bet he couldn't lose - although they were without county player Peadar Byrne as well as Keith McGuinness and Cian Mallon. The victory will be a huge boost for Ballinlough as they prepare for a top of the table IFC clash against neighbours Gaeil Cholmcille in the next round - both are unbeaten and local pride will have to be maintained. Despite the defeat, St Ultan's can take a lot of positives out of the game. The players showed plenty of character, discipline was satisfactory and the apathy which was apparent in the humiliating defeat by Blackhall Gaels in the SFC at Skryne was not evident, although only half of that team actually finished this game. Ciaran Rogers is also likely to return to the panel shortly following a spell in Australia. St Ultan's may be at a low ebb at the moment, but they are likely to improve over the next month or so. The real problem, which they must address, is converting a greater percentage of the chances they create. Gary Gorman's return would also be a big boost. The first-half wasn't too bad as they managed points from Cian Rennicks (two frees) and Conor Martin. It was a poor return, but that was all they created, they didn't even register a wide. Ballinlough enjoyed the majority of possession and reeled off points from Lorcan Maguire (three frees), Ken Rothwell (two), Colm Mallon and Seamus Fagan. Finishing was their problem, reflected in six wides. They could have been out of sight as two of those wides were gilt-edged goal chances. Only Rothwell knows how he missed from about three metres and Kevin Devine was equally culpable before the break, it just didn't look as bad as a defender got in the way. Ahead by 0-7 to 0-3 at the interval, Balllinlough drew a third-quarter blank on the scoreboard as St Ultan's reduced the deficit to the minimum (0-6 to 0-7). Cian Rennicks sent over two more frees and Shane Mulroe also split the posts as the game gained momentum. Alan Rogers joined Richie Lynagh at midfield and Gearoid Rennicks had to revert to centre-back as Barry was forced into positional changes to compensate for the departure of the hard-working Murray. Twenty minutes in the second-half under pressure Ballinlough managed a point. It arrived from their best player on the night, Benjy Smith, who frequently raided down the wing from his corner back position. The point lifted the siege and as the temperature increased referee John Farrelly flashed some yellow cards. Soon after Cian Rennicks pointed another St Ultan's free and then they wasted numerous chances, the worst of which was a point attempt which dropped short. Rothwell punished that at the other end following a poor clearance and then St Ultan's closed the gap again, but like many of their scoring attempts, they came up short on the night. The next test facing St Ultan's is a SFC game against Dunshaughlin. Ballinlough - B Balfe; B Smith (0-1), P Muldoon, R Farrell; E O'Reilly, L Maguire (0-3 frees), J Byrne; S Fagan (0-1), D Muldoon; C Mallon (0-1), S Byrne, C Briody; J O'Higgins, K Rothwell (0-3), K Devine. Subs - K Mallon for Briody 45 mins; J O'Keeffe for O'Higgins 49m. St Ultan's - R Daly; C Timmons, C Lynch, J Bennett; B Brady, A Rogers, D Costello; P Murray, R Lynagh (0-1); G Rennicks, C Rennicks (0-5 frees), S Mulroe (0-1); C Martin (0-1), S Rennicks, C Smith. Subs - A Smith for Murray half-time; D Lynch for Costello 57 mins Referee - John Farrelly (Syddan). The game was originally scheduled for 7.45, but was changed to 7.30 on Thursday. St Ultan's were there in plenty of time, but Ballinlough were unaware of the time change, according to club official James Brady.