Keena the driving force for brilliant Ballinahown outfit
St Colmcille’s NS, Ballinahown 10-18 St Michael’s NS 4-4
Inspired by the prodigious talents of joint-captain Senan Keena, St Colmcille’s NS, Ballinahown captured the Division 6 football title at TEG Cusack Park on Thursday afternoon.
The winners dominated the first half and led by eight points at the interval, 1-13 to 2-2, before notching nine goals in the second half. Senan Keena fisted home their second major just moments after the restart when Noah McManus and Adam McQuaid carved an opening, and that was the catalyst for a devastating period of dominance.
Kieran Ryan, joint-captain, was also impressive and he followed up that early goal with 1-1 of his own. Senan Keena’s emphatic finish to the net three minutes into the second half seemed to reinforce the message that there would be not stopping them on the day.
By the tenth minute of the second half, they had 8-16 on the board, following an unanswered 7-3 and the outcome was well and truly decided at this stage. Kieran Ryan shot over a neat score; Adam McQuaid soloed through and found the net with a low strike; Noah McManus sent a couple of daisy-cutters past the opposing ‘keeper; and Keena rounded off a prolific period with his side’s eighth goal.
St Michael’s found a response of sorts, scoring 2-2 in the final 20 minutes, and it was Anna Mae Lynam who scored their third goal after Billy Nolan’s initial effort came off the crossbar. Liam Carey caught the eye with a pointed free off the turf before setting up Ronan Grennan for a goal. Billy Nolan’s late shot bounced over the crossbar to give the Castletown Geoghegan side their final score of the day.
It was a final dominated by the brilliance of Senan Keena and he picked up the player of the match award before joining Kieran Ryan on the podium to accept the cup from Derek Butler, Cumann na mBunscol Iarmhí chairman.
Prior to that blistering period in the second half, it was close and Liam Carey’s lovely finish found the net in the sixth minute to level matters, 1-1 to 0-4, but when Charlie Corcoran powered home St Colmcille’s first goal on eight minutes, it seemed like there was the potential for more from a free-flowing Ballinahown outfit, and so it proved.
The winners scored 1-6 without reply in a six-minute first half spell, Keena showing fine composure to fist over a point that put them nine clear, and they never looked back. This was their day and victory was achieved in an impressive and resounding fashion - a dream performance on the big occasion.
Player of the match: Senan Keena (St Colmcille’s). With 4-11 of his side’s tally, one of the most impressive scoring totals of the week, this was a remarkable performance from Keena.
Scorers - St Colmcille’s NS: S Keena 4-11 (0-2f), N McManus 3-1, K Ryan 1-5, A McQuaid 1-1, C Corcoran 1-0. St Michael’s: R Grennan 2-0, L Carey 1-1, A Mae Lynam 1-0, B Nolan 0-3 (1f).
St Colmcille's NS, Ballinahown: Rian Hennessy, Oisín Trainor, Harry McGuinness, Billy McGinley, Fionn Ryan, Eli Dullea, Adam McQuaid, Kieran Ryan, Senan Keena, Michael Daly, Charlie Corcoran, Noah McManus, Cormac Briody, Shane Kelly, Dylan Egan, Mason Simpson, William Byrne, Oscar McGowan, Calan Brazil, Brian Costello Coughlan, Dean Costello Coughlan, Kyle Egan, Charlie Dolan, Rory Collins, Thomas Webb.
St Michael's NS, Castletown Geoghegan: Oisin Dalton, Anna Mae Lynam, Rhian Clarke, Saoirse Mangan, Billy Nolan, Liam Carey, James Rami, Leuan Clarke, Ella Whelan, Hamish Creighton, Caoimhe Dalton, Shane Cunningham, Flynn Redmond, John Maxwell, Grace Claffey, Senan McCormack, Saoirse Peters, Ben Gorman, Ronan Grennan.
Referee: JJ Brady (Milltownpass).