Red and blacks hold late burst
Hogues miss out on decider
BANNOW-B’MITTY 2-12 BALLYHOGUE 2-8
WHILE Bannow-Ballymitty controlled this game for most of the 60 minutes, they had to withstand a dramatic finish before holding off a late Ballyhogue surge to emerge with a four-point victory in this Ashdown Park/Amber Springs Hotels Intermediate football championship semi-final replay at Innovate Wexford Park on Saturday.
While the spirit of Bannow-Ballymity and their footballing qualities shone through for most of the game, a battling Ballyhogue kept their hopes alive in a hugely entertaining contest.
With one minute remaining they were 2-11 to 1-7 adrift, but then came a dramatic 60th-minute goal from substitute Seán Ring, followed by a quick Noel Roche pointed free.
The drama was by no means finished as Denis Leacy finished a low cross to the net three minutes into additional time which was disallowed for a square ball, with the officials deciding the player was inside the small square before the ball. Eventually this led to player of the match Niall Harney pointing at the opposite end to secure his side’s final passage.
Harney exploded into the game from the very outset, with a third-minute point followed by an excellent eighth-minute goal having combined with Ben Brosnan to give his side a 1-1 to nil lead.
The accuracy of Noel Roche hauled his side back into the game but approaching the break, three minutes into additional time, the ‘Hogues men were handed a lifeline when ’keeper Philip Murphy was deemed to have footblocked an Eddie Galavan effort.
It was a harsh call as Murphy spread himself to make the save as the full-forward shot from some four metres away, with the ball striking the feet of the diving ’keeper, but it was by no means a footblock/tackle. Noel Roche goaled the resulting penalty but straight from the kick-out Kieran Butler netted at the opposite end, finishing with a low shot that gave his side a 2-4 to 1-4 interval lead.
The third quarter saw little separate the sides from the start after Adam Diskin and Noel Roche (free) had exchanged points, and with eight minutes remaining still just three points (2-7 to 1-7) separated the sides.
Points from Arthur Sweetman, Harney (45-metre free), Ben Brosnan and Kieran Butler stretched their side into a 2-11 to 1-7 lead with just one minute remaining.
The game had entered additional time when Ballyhogue came with an explosive finish but they eventually ran out of time, having come so close to forcing extra-time.
Bannow-Ballymitty: Philip Murphy; John Staples, Niall Murphy, M.J. Doran; Nicky Doyle, Arthur Sweetman (0-1), Micheál Murphy; John Sinnott (0-1), David Currid; Niall Harney (1-4, 0-2 frees), Adam Diskin (0-1), Darren Sinnott; Richie Walsh, Kieran Butler (1-1), Ben Brosnan (0-4, 1 free). Subs. - Mark Wallace for M. Murphy (temp.), Wallace for Sinnott, Graham Sinnott for Walsh, Mark Sinnott for Diskin, Barry Sinnott for J. Sinnott (black card, 60).
Ballyhogue: Myles Roche; Tomás Moriarty, Seán Rochford, Arthur Dunne; James Parle, Richard Dunne, Graham Parker; Shane Byrne, Syl Byrne; Shane Murphy, Shane Doyle, Conor Byrne; Jim Bob Levingstone, Eddie Galavan, Noel Roche (1-8, 0-8 frees, 1-0 pen.). Subs. - Daniel Pim for Murphy, Michael Condon for C. Byrne, Dylan Dalton for Parker, Tony Ryan for Dunne, Seán Ring (1-0) for Levingstone, Denis Leacy for Galavan.
Referee: Damien Donovan (Volunteers).