Spoils are shared
Finn saves day for Oulart-The Ballagh
BALLINASTRAGH GLS 2-9 OULART-BALLAGH 4-3
JIM FINN was the Oulart-The Ballagh hero with a goal in the first minute of added-time to send this Enniscorthy Guardian Juvenile hurling Roinn 1 shield final to a replay in rainy St. Patrick’s Park on Tuesday.
The Enniscorthy District boys had trailed by six but Martin O’Connor got his side back into the contest with a cracking finish from distance with just two minutes left. Then with time running out, Finn struck.
There was plenty to do when Declan Sinnott got the ball just inside the ‘45. He soloed through, dragging defenders away from Finn. Sinnott picked the perfect time for the pass and his teammate did the rest with superb control and a tidy finish past J.J. O’Neill.
Ballinastragh had looked the better team for large parts of the 3-17 to 6-8 draw in the group stages between the sides. While this followed a similar pattern, the wet and wild conditions in Enniscorthy prevented any such score-fest.
That said, neither Caleb Murphy nor Joe Curtis seemed too worried by the rain. Both Gaels attackers were superb, racking up all but one point of their side’s total. Conor Hughes played a more defensive role than in the round-robin game and he did it expertly.
What Oulart-The Ballagh did incredibly well once again was create goalscoring opportunities. They battled away for long periods without looking like they were going to open the Gaels up, but then a sharp pass, quick turn and they were in on goal - an impressive ability to possess.
Despite an Adam McRedmond point, Oulart-The Ballagh found themselves 1-3 to 0-1 down after 23 minutes. Ballinastragh had the early advantage of the breeze and they found the net with a longrange Murphy free.
With pressure on O’Neill from Sinnott and Pierce Redmond, the latter forced the ball over the line from close range to give his side a foothold, but Mickey Higgins and Murphy added late points to see the Gaels into a 1-6 to 1-1 interval advantage.
Despite an early Curtis point, a fantastic individual goal by Chris Lawless looked to get Oulart-The Ballagh going. However, his side were in big trouble when Murphy raced away to net and soon added another point to increase the lead to six.
Yet there was a sting in the Oulart-The Ballagh tail and Finn’s injury-time major saw the game end level. Neither side was keen to play extra-time, and with no Coiste na nÓg official present to enforce their own rules, referee Damien Donovan called a halt.
Ballinastragh Gaels: J.J. O’Neill; Jake Kinsella, Ben Morris, Jason Bolger; Garbhan Finn, Tom Mordaunt, Conor Jones; Paddy D’Arcy, Cillian Byrne; Conor Hughes (capt.), Robert Murphy, Conor Kinsella; Caleb Murphy (2-5, 1-3 frees), Joe Curtis (0-3), Mikey Higgins (0-1). Subs. - Seán Hughes for Higgins, inj. (55), also Jordan Kinch.
Oulart-The Ballagh: Lee O’Connor; John Roche, Jack Corrigan, Aaron Doyle; Aaron Byrne, Billy Dunne (capt., 0-1), Darragh Hayes; Martin O’Connor (1-0), Chris Lawless (1-0); Adam McRedmond (0-1), Daire Swords, Jim Finn (1-1, 0-1 free); Pierce Redmond (1-0), Declan Sinnott, Lorcan Nimmo. Subs. - Dan Nolan for Roche (51), also David O’Gorman, Stephen Davitt, Dylan O’Gorman, Edward O’Dowd, Jake Cox, Berti Finn, Gerard Kennedy, Cian McCormack, Aaron Kirwan-Doyle.
Referee: Damien Donovan (Volunteers).