Ballinlough take another step forward in hunt for silverware

Ballinlough welcomed St.Patrick’s to their excellent home ground on Tuesday evening for round three of the Div.1 Group A Reserve Cup and recorded a deserved 2-16 to 2-6 victory.

They approached the game not quite sure how much they needed to win by, but knowing a win was absolutely needed to progress to the semi-final stages of the competition.

The home side got off to a dream start with Paddy Briody splitting the posts in the second minute before Mark McCullen fired to the net from close range a few minutes later, great credit must be given to referee Shane Mooney who applied the advantage rule perfectly to allow McCullen continue the play and finish to the net.

A fine individual effort from Jamie Casserly saw him collect possession from the kick-out and fire the ball over the bar again before McCullen doubled his goal tally when a ball dropped short and amongst the pandemonium there were legs everywhere but Mark McCullen got something on it to ensure it crossed the line and the green flag raised.

Straight from that goal St.Patrick’s kicked into action and worked the ball up the field at pace but they were denied their opening score when Mattie Farrelly got down quick to deny a decent goal chance in the seventh minute. The visitors finally got off the mark with two pointed frees in as many minutes before Brandon Brunton pointed for Ballinlough at the other end in the 12th minute.

Against the run of play St. Patrick’s managed to grab a goal for themselves in the 13th minute while Ballinlough were then left to rue some poor shooting before Mark McCullen got things back on track with two points from play by the 18th minute.

It was then St. Pat's turn for some wayward shooting but that was largely down to the fact the Ballinlough rearguard were defending tigerishly and putting immense pressure on each opposition attack to keep them at bay.

An unfortunate error with a short kick out for Ballinlough resulted in a hop ball in the 24th minute with St.Patrick’s winning possession and pointing to lower the gap, but Ballinlough hit back with a superb point from Jack Smith and a Séan Tunney free in the 28th minute.

The final score of the half went the way of the visitors with St.Patrick’s pointing in the 29th minute, so when Referee Shane Mooney blew the half time whistle Ballinlough led handsomely on a scoreline of 2-7 to St.Patrick’s 1-4.

The second half started at a blistering pace for Ballinlough with half time substitute Junior O’Reilly sticking the ball over the bar with his underused left foot and his first touch of the game, before Brandon Brunton found the posts again seconds later.

Great strength and skill from Jamie Casserly in the 33rd minute saw Ballinlough extend their lead before more good defending at the other end, in particular Ben Jordan ensured the visitors were kept at arms length.

Another half time substitute who was keen to make an impact was Conor Briody and when he collected the ball in the 37th minute, he made no mistake firing the ball over the bar.

A first point of the half for St.Patrick’s came in the 41st minute but they were finding scores increasingly hard to come by, Ballinlough’s full-back David Rogers putting in an exceptional display of reading and controlling the game from the back.

Manager Conn Cleary was surely delighted to see yet another of his substitutes work the scoreboard when Oisin McDermott pointed in the 45th minute to extend Ballinlough’s lead once more.

A St Patrick’s free in the 48th minute kept them ticking over but it wasn’t nearly enough as Ballinlough were in rampant form, as Sean Tunney, Junior O’Reilly (another left footer!) and Podge Muldoon all pointed from play by the 54th minute, Podge’s score in particular was down to the great work and passing of the ball from Niall O’Reilly.

St. Patrick’s to their credit kept battling and when they were awarded a close range free in the 55th minute, they were quick witted enough to go for goal and catch the Ballinlough defense on the hop, thankfully a big enough lead was accumulated at this stage that a goal wasn’t too detrimental to the home sides efforts.

Just to put the icing on the cake the final score fell to the impressive Brandon Brunton who turned his man and fired over the bar in the 56th minute, so when Referee Shane Mooney blew the full time whistle, Ballinlough took a much deserved win on a scoreline of 2-16 to St.Patrick’s 2-06.

Ballinlough - M.Farrelly, B.Jordan, D.Rogers, L.Finnegan, P.Briody(0-1), H.Briody, N.McDonnell, P.Muldoon(0-1), S.Tunney(0-2(1f)), J.Smith (0-1), N.Farrelly, J.Casserly(0-2), R.McGuinness, M.McCullen(2-2), B.Brunton(0-3). Subs - J.O’Reilly (0-2) for M.McCullen H/T; C.Briody (0-1) for N.McDonnell H/T; O.McDermott (0-1) for P.Briody 38 ; N.O’Reilly for J.Casserly 43’