Ballinasloe prove too strong

Ballinasloe came away from Saturday"s ADSL under-11 encounter with a deserved win after a confident performance which proved too much for home side St. Joseph"s. Goals from Colin Cotlan and Jordan O"Leary either side of half-time put the visitors into a strong position at a blustery Cushla Park. And although St. Joseph"s rallied with a late goal from substitute Kyle Tobin, Ballinasloe showed their class in going straight down the other end to seal the victory with their third goal. Fare was extremely scrappy for large periods of the first half with the strong, swirling wind not lending itself very well to proceedings. But it was the home side who seemed to get to grips with the game better with Ballinasloe limited to counter-attacks every so often. The first attempt on goal came from the boot of St. Joseph"s" Jamie McBride but, with goal chances at a premium, his tame shot was easily saved by Michael O"Neill in the Ballinasloe goal. The best the visiting side could offer was a speculative effort by Mark Richardson on 14 minutes which never looked like troubling St. Joseph"s "keeper Brandon Ryan. Two minutes later, Eoin Hannon and Darragh Lennon combined well down the right wing with the latter getting himself into an excellent position. But the cross was over-hit and the chance was gone. Still, Ballinasloe hadn"t threatened much but even at this early stage it was clear that Colin Cotlan and Conor Payne would be the main danger men for the men in yellow - the two combining very well at times. On 23 minutes, St Joseph"s created their best opportunity of the game when Niall Connaughton put Darragh Lennon through on goal. But the striker rather rushed his effort and the ball rolled harmlessly wide of the target. It was a miss that the home side would rue as just before the break, Ballinasloe took the lead with a breakaway move from midfield having absorbed a sustained period of St. Joseph"s pressure. The goal was simplistic in itself with Jordan O"Leary lofting the ball over the St. Joseph"s defence for Colin Cotlan to run on to. And with Brandon Ryan quickly advancing from his goal-line, Cotlan lifted the ball beautifully over the Joseph"s "keeper and into the net. A fine goal but a cruel one for St. Joseph"s to concede so close to the break. As the second-half began, that Ballinasloe goal appeared to have knocked the wind out of the home side. And soon it was the visitors who were on the front foot. Another long-range effort from Mark Richardson 5 minutes into the second period of play didn"t trouble Brandon Ryan but two minutes later the Joseph"s "keeper was helpless to prevent the second goal from going in. Fintan Parsons received the ball on the edge of the box but his fluffed shot fell to Jordan O"Leary who volleyed home to the far corner despite appearing slightly offside. That was the killer goal from a Joseph"s point of view and despite valiant efforts they never really looked like getting back into the game. Indeed Ballinasloe should have put the game beyond any considerable doubt. Conor Payne could have made it three-nil when he broke the offside trap on 40 minutes but his chipped effort cleared the crossbar. And seven minutes after that, a snap shot from O"Leary seemed destined for the back of the net but for the quick reactions of Brandon Ryan. O"Leary and Cotlan both had good chances to extend their side"s lead but in failing to do so they left the door ajar for St. Joseph"s. And just as the game ticked over into injury-time, the home side managed to find the back of the net. A throw in near the corner flag was flicked on at the near post by David Griffin. And there to meet it with a sweet, right-footed volley was Kyle Tobin to make the score 1-2. But 1-2 would soon become 1-3. With Joseph"s pushing everything they had towards finding an equaliser, Ballinasloe hit them with another counter-attack. This time it was Conor Payne who broke the offside trap and found himself in a race to the ball with Brandon Ryan. Payne won the race and neatly tucked the ball away to settle the tie. ST. JOSEPH"S: Brandon Ryan, Eoin Hannon, David McManus, Gary Nicholson, Harry O"Rourke, Niall Connaughton, Jamie McBride, Sean Fallon, David Griffin, Darragh Lennon, Callum McCormack. SUB USED: Kyle Tobin for S Fallon (44 mins). BALLINASLOE: Michael O"Neill, Carl Fehilly, Daniel Glynn, James Lynch, Shane Kelly, Ronan Broderick, Mark Richardson, Fintan Parsons, Conor Payne, Jordan O"Leary, Colin Cotlan. SUBS USED: Jack Dillon for J Lynch (42 mins), Liam Donagh for F Parsons (42).