Solid display earns place in the last four for Ballivor

There is a strong tradition of Meath success in the Leinster Club JFC and Ballivor maintained that trend at Crettyard on Sunday when they advanced to the last four with a comfortable win over Laois champions Spink. Some people questioned Ballivor's resolve ahead of their first appearance at provincial level. They lost the A FL Div 4 final to Bective just seven days earlier and with key players like Tony Fox and Derek Doran on the injured list there was a fear they would fail. However, Ballivor answered their critics emphatically with a superb performance that saw them dominate every sector of the field and left the Laois junior champions a long way behind. It was a vintage display from Ballivor with every player stepping up to the plate to ensure victory. Apart from a six-minute spell midway through the opening period when Spink got their noses in front, Ballivor were vastly superior. There were fears in the opening half that Ballivor would rue many of their early misses and with overly-fussy referee Fergal Smith denying them several clear-cut chances for perceived technical fouls there was a sense it might not be Ballivor's day. Evidently that wasn't to be the case. Ballivor quickly settled into a style of playing direct ball into the danger men Adam Gannon and Mairtin Doran and with Noel Kirby and Fergus McMahon dominating midfield they soon seized the initiative. Spink were very limited and managed just two points from play with one of them coming from a long punt forward that bounced in front of Kevin McKeown and over the bar. There goal was a scrambled effort with the last kick of the game and their goalkeeper John Dunphy was one of their leading scorers. The hosts, who are paired with Ballinakill for hurling, did make life difficult for Ballivor with some heavy tackling, but the pace of Doran, Padraig Geoghegan, Clayton Keegan and Gannon caused them many problems. When they did manage to venture inside scoring distance, Ballivor repelled them with David Raleigh (pictured), Brendan McLaughlin, Cillian Canavan, Brian Perry and Sean Heavey all impressing. Ballivor were prolific in attack as they lorded possession and kicked 12 points from play with four of Gannon's half dozen points coming from frees, but they were also wasteful with 13 wides suggesting they could have won by a bigger margin. It was clear from the off that Ballivor were the superior team. Doran, Kirby and the hard-working Calvin Ryan all kicked wides in the opening four minutes before former Meath player Doran eventually opened the account. Heavey won the subsequent kick-out and fed Geoghegan who promptly doubled the advantage. Spink responded five minutes later with goalkeeper Dunphy trooping forward to kick a 46-metre free over the bar before Heavey restored Ballivor's two-point cushion. Two points from the lively James Doone had Spink level and after Doran squandered a decent chance the hosts went in front for the only time when Dunphy left his goals again to convert a 35-metre free to make it 0-4 to 0-3. Falling behind spurred Ballivor into life. They owned the last 11 minutes of the half with points from Gannon (four), Doran, Ryan and McMahon boosting them to a deserved 0-10 to 0-4 interval lead. Within six minutes of the resumption any hopes Spink held of a revival were gone when Gannon (free), Ryan and Keegan stretched Ballivor's lead to 0-13 to 0-4. Spink replied with Dunphy's third pointed free, but Ballivor still held the upperhand. Gannon struck the upright with a free and after the Spink defence failed to clear their lines Gannon forced Dunphy into a fine save. From the resultant '45' Heavey and Gannon combined to set up Joe McLaughlin for a point. William Barry's effort that bounced over the bar and Doone's free closed the gap to 0-7 to 0-14, but Gannon and Keegan responded in kind before the hosts claimed that late goal with Doone getting the final touch after McKeown had saved well from Daithi Brennan. That goal was the last action of an enterprising performance by Ballivor, who will aim to retain the provincial crown for Meath. Ballivor - K McKeown; D Raleigh, B Perry, B McLaughlin; C Canavan, S Heavey (0-1), S Corrigan; N Kirby, F McMahon (0-1); P Geoghegan (0-1), J McLaughlin (0-1), C Keegan (0-2); C Ryan (0-2), M Doran (0-2), A Gannon (0-6 four frees). Subs - R Sherrock for Ryan 49 mins, P Kelly for Doran 53m, T Raleigh for J McLaughlin 55m, E Kirby for Geoghegan 56m, K Reilly for Canavan 58m. Spink - J Dunphy (0-3 frees); P Gorman, J Miller, M Fenlon; E Jackman, J Walsh, M Downey; S Miller, S Dwyer; T Doone, C Dwyer, W Barry (0-1); J Doone (1-3 two frees), L Lawlor, D Carter. Subs - T O'Shaughnessy for Downey 38 mins, D Brennan for C Dwyer 43m, M J Lawlor for Barry 59m. Referee - Fergal Smith (Offaly).