Ballymore come good at the right time

Ballymore 2-14 Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall 1-10

By Paul Doolin

Ballymore pretty much sealed their place in the knockouts stages of this year’s race for the Peter Geraghty Cup with their third win from three against a gallant but outplayed Castletown/Finea/ Coole/Whitehall.

It was nip and tuck throughout but Ballymore were able to convert periods of pressure a little bit better and took the opportunities when they arrived while their opponents struggled to string any sustained bouts of pressure and ultimately paid the price.

Never once relinquishing the lead, Ballymore always appeared to hold the aces and despite some utter defiance by CFCW, they were well worth their winning margin even if it flattered them slightly.

Ballymore started as they meant to go on virtually dominating the opening exchanges and had 2-1 on the board in the opening seven minutes, with a brilliant goal coming from wing back Eoin Ryan.

Derek Molloy pounced for a fisted three-pointer after a wonderful run and pass by Owen McCabe and Ronan McLoughlin added a long range point. CFCW's only reply came from a Joe Rabbitte free.

The Finea men then hit two in a row from the evergreen Kevin Brazil and another Rabbitte free. However a fisted Molloy effort and a beauty from McLoughlin restored a six-point advantage and it could have been more if John Gilligan converted a gilt edged goal chance.

The northern outfit got the break they needed though when a long range Rabbitte effort hit the post and dropped to Owen McMahon who slotted to the net. The former then kicked a monster two point free and just a point divided the sides.

Molloy and Gilligan pointed for Ballymore with two excellent points to keep the southerners on track before Mark Cunningham got the final score of the half for CFCW with the pick of the first half scores. Ballymore led by 2-5 to 1-6 at the break.

Substitue Brian Finerty scored from a free and the hardworking Eoin Ryan got one from play to extend the Ballymore lead on the restart. Ben Delaney pulled one back for CFCW with a super solo effort but they could not build on that momentum.

They were outscored four points to one in the next ten minutes with John Gilligan striking a monster two-pointer. Molloy also pointed after a field long move, with Finerty from a 45 and Eanna Keena also keeping the scoreboard ticking for Ballymore, while Mark Cunningham supplied CFCW's only reply with a superb solo effort.

The game was meandering to what looked like an inevitable conclusion as we headed well into the final ten minutes. CFCW, to their great credit, never threw in the towel and battled manfully to the finish with the impressive Cunningham adding his third and Rabbitte adding another from an almost impossible angle to give them slight hope but once again they could not sustain that effort.

A two-point free from Finerty sealed the deal for Ballymore and they eased over the line for a well-earned and hard fought victory that sees them remain unbeaten in this year's championship.

Man of the match: Eoin Ryan of Ballymore gets the nod but he was chased close by Derek Molloy, Owen McCabe and Jack Kearney, while Mark Cunningham and Joe Rabbitte stood out for the losing side.

Scorers - Ballymore: Derek Molloy 1-3; Brian Finerty 0-4 (1f, 1 45, 1tpf); Eoin Ryan 1-1; John Gilligan 0-3 (1tp), Ronan McLoughlin 0-2; Eanna Keena 0-1. CFCW: Joe Rabbitte 0-5 (2f, 1tpf); Owen McMahon 1-0; Mark Cunningham 0-3; Kevin Brazil and Ben Delaney 0-1 each.

Ballymore - Conor McNeill, Darragh Monaghan, Brian McCabe, Daniel Ennis, Eoin Ryan, Jack Kearney, Mark Scally, Owen McCabe, Ivan Smyth, Shane Kincaid, David Jelistratovs, Eanna Keena, Derek Molloy, Ronan McLoughlin, John Gilligan. subs: Brian Finerty for Smyth H/T, Colm O’Roarke for Jelistratovs 36 mins, Barry McDermott for McLoughlin 51 mins, Stephen Rooney for Keena 54 mins, Seamus Keena for Scally 62 mins.

Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall - Gary Sullivan, Glen Plunkett, Darragh O’Reilly, Matthew O’Reilly, Ryan Moore, Andy Dermody, Oisin Gaffney, Mark Cunningham, David Higgins, Emmett Corrigan, Joe Rabbitte, Aidan Daly, Owen McMahon, Kevin Brazil and Ben Delaney subs: Cian Shyrane for Higgins (inj) 12 mins, Warren Casserly for Shyrane 40 mins, Ciaran O’Donnell for McMahon and Stephen Smyth for Daly 57 mins.

Referee - Ken Gunning.