A comeback to beat the band
Crossabeg share the spoils
DIVISION 2
ELEVEN points adrift at the interval, Crossabeg-Ballymurn staged a magnificent second half recovery to edge out a draw with Ballyhogue in this exciting All County Football League Division 2 game played in Bree on Saturday evening last.
Crossabeg-Ballymurn staged a storming second half revival for they looked dead and buried at the interval.
They blew away the opposition during the third quarter with two goals from substitute Eoin McDonald within six minutes of the restart hauling them right back into contention and it was their clinical second half finishing, compared to their erratic shooting in the first thirty minutes, that proved the real difference.
Ballyhogue controlled the opening thirty minutes to such an extent their lead could have been far greater at the break, but their second half collapse was totally unexpected, which can be contributed to slack marking in defence allowing the space for the opposing attack, McDonald in particular from his full-forward role, to exploit with the result their cushion of an eleven point interval lead was quickly eroded.
After two Noel Roche pointed free had put his side into a 0-2 to 0-1 lead after nine minutes, Cian Lambert responding for the opposition, the opening goal arrived one minute later. A Roche free rebounded off the upright, with full-forward Eddie Galavan winning possession but was fouled, leaving Roche to goal the resulting penalty, giving his side a 1-2 to 0-1 lead.
Three minutes later it was corner-back Colm Parnell who had joined the attack to fire home an excellent goal from fourteen meters and with Roche kicking over some excellent points from long range frees the homeside went in with a 2-6 to 0-1 lead.
The game was turned right around within six minutes of the restart. After Cormac O’Rourke had pointed came the two quickfire McDonald goals reducing the deficit to 2-6 to 2-2.
Three unanswered points followed from O’Rourke, two, one free, and Cian Lambert to leave the minimum separating the sides, but Ballyhogue looked to have lifted the siege when they responded with a thirty-eighth minute Sean Ring goal, to move into a 3-6 to 3-5 lead.
Two further Noel Roche points, one from a forty meter free, extended his side into a six points lead, 3-8 to 2-5, but the Wexford District side responded with an excellent Mark O’Connor goal, finishing with a rising shot from twenty-one meters to the top right hand corner of the net. It was Sam Kelly who went on to kick the levelling point capping what was a dramatic second half. BALLYHOGUE: Daragh Cloke-Rochford; Tom Moriarty, Sean Rochford, Colm Parnell (1-0); Enda Minogue, Daragh Byrne, Tadgh Malone; Peter Kelly, Graham Parker; Matt Hope (0-1), Noel Roche (1-6, 1-0 pen, 0-5 frees), James Parle; Dylan Dalton, Eddie Galavan, Sean Ring (1-1). Subs; Peter Rogers for Parnell (black card); Liam Rossiter for Galavan; Myles Roche for Cloke-Rochford; Shane Roche for Hope.
CROSSABEG-BALLYMURN: Ben Turner; Matty Sludds, Martin Redmond, Eoin O’Connor; Jack Fortune, Seamus Carroll, Conor Devereux; David Kehoe, Bill Eviston (0-1); Cormack O’Rourke (0-3, 0-1 free), Sam Kelly (0-1), Cian Lambert (0-2); Peter Dunne, Robert Byrne, Mark O’Connor (1-1). Sub: Eoin McDonald (2-0) for Byrne (inj.)
REFEREE: John Carton (Monageer-Boolavogue).