Ballinagore denied surprise win as reds rally to claim a draw

Ballinagore and Coralstown/Kinnegad fought out an entertaining draw in the Group 2 of the SFC, in this game played at the excellently appointed Lakepoint Park, St. Loman"s, Mullingar, on Wednesday evening of last week. Ballinagore will be disappointed not to have had their maiden victory in the senior championship as they held a six-point lead after 12 minutes of the second half. However Joe Giles" Coralstown/Kinnegad charges showed all their battling qualities as they came back before eventually equalising in 'added-on' time. Following their first round win over St. Loman"s, Mullingar, they are now in a strong position to qualify for, at the least, the quarter-final of the championship, while Ballinagore, if they continue this form, also have a strong possibility of making the knock-out stages. Over the course of the game Ballinagore defended superbly with corner-backs Louis Ennis and Pat Heduan particularly prominent. Ennis, in particular, had a superb first half. His direct opponent, Eamon Fleming, had moved outfield but Ennis stayed 'at home' and cleared a number of Coralstown/Kinnegad attacks. Midfielders Eoin Miller and Stuart Gavin had a superb battle against the Coralstown/Kinnegad pairing and honours were probably even over the hour. The youthful pairing of James Durkan and Thomas McDaniel were outstanding all through with their incisive running and accurate shooting a feature. Michael Ennis, fresh from an outstanding performance in Croke Park three days earlier, ran himself into the ground in pursuit of club glory. For Coralstown/Kinnegad Evan Curran was very solid in goals with his long and accurate kick-outs very impressive. David Cole and Ronan Doyle were the pick of their defence with David Kilmartin working very hard making a fantastic effort to curb the Michael Ennis threat. Their midfield pairing of Fergal Dardis and Niall Kilmartin seemed to share that area with Dardis" high catching a feature of the first half. Mark Gorman was the pick of their attack, with Enda Leonard giving able assistance weighing in with their vital goal which hauled them back into the contest. Second-half substitute Wayne Fox added considerable punch when introduced. Ballinagore: Paddy Maloney, Louis Ennis, Enda McCann, Pat Heduan, Martin Linnane, Peter Heraty, Peter Deegan, Eoin Miller, Stuart Gavin, JJ Hegarty, James Durkan (1-6, 1-0pen, 0-2fs), Michael Ennis (0-1), Thomas McDaniel (0-3), Paul Robinson, David Deegan. Subs: Dan Gavin for Peter Heraty (44 mins), Kieran Deegan for Martin Linnane (54). Coralstown/Kinnegad: Evan Curran, Jason Lynch, David Cole, Andrew Cannon, David Kilmartin, Ronan Doyle, Derek Griffin, Fergal Dardis, Niall Kilmartin, Alan Giles (0-3, 2fs), Ronan Foley (0-1), Mark Gorman (0-3), Eamon Fleming (0-1), Enda Leonard (1-1), David Flynn. Subs: Wayne Fox (0-1) for Ronan Foley (35), Stephen Bracken for Derek Griffin (42), Jamie Wilson for David Flynn (54). Referee: Brendan Keena (Ballynacargy).