Mellows undone by strong revival
OULART-THE BALLAGH LIAM MELLOWS 2-16 2-10
A STUNNING second-half revival saw Oulart-The Ballagh win this battle between two first round victors in the Top Oil Intermediate ‘A’ hurling championship Group B tie in St. Patrick’s Park, Enniscorthy, on Friday as Liam Mellows were reeled in after a very strong start.
The Coolgreany side were full value for their 2-8 to 0-6 interval lead, but there was no sign of panic from their rivals whose superior quality shone through on the re-start as they hit a match-winning 2-10 while conceding a mere two points, both from placed balls.
And while the half-time switch of the experienced Michael Jacob from centre-back to full-forward contributed handsomely to the turnaround, the main reason was undoubtedly the excellence of Ian Storey in the Oulart-The Ballagh defence.
County footballer Conor Carty had been a menace in the early stages, and his two goals left Liam Mellows ahead by 2-3 to 0-2 after 13 minutes.
However, once Storey was given the task of policing him, the threat he posed was curbed, and the remainder of the Gorey District side’s attack struggled to make an impact.
Carty had pulled on a breaking Colin Kennedy free for his opening goal, before he latched on to a Richard Farrell pass and raced past Seán Murphy to add a second.
Liam Mellows will regret the fact that half of their eight wides came in that early spell of dominance, including a couple of missed ’65s, while Stephen Doyle had made a breathtaking reflex save to keep out a Brendan Halpin shot in the third minute.
A timely tackle by Ian Storey denied another goal chance to Stephen O’Rafferty, but Liam Mellows were still in a strong position at the break when they led by eight points.
Oulart-The Ballagh introduced Niall Redmond at centre-back and pushed Michael Jacob up to full-forward, and their opponents were restricted to a pointed Eoin Cullen free in the 33rd minute (2-9 to 0-7), and a converted Colin Kennedy ’65 at the start of the last quarter (2-10 to 1-10).
Darren Nolan had driven a shot through a hole in the net for the first Oulart-The Ballagh goal in the 44th minute, but thankfully a vigilant neutral umpire ensured the green flag was raised. Three placed balls from Ben O’Connor then brought his team level before Nolan gave them the lead with eight minutes left.
And this impressive comeback win was wrapped up less than 60 seconds later when a great run down the centre by Cormac Finn ended in a first-time pick and strike to the top right corner of the net by Michael Jacob.
Oulart-The Ballagh: Stephen Doyle; Seán Murphy, Ian Storey, Jack Roche; Darragh Nimmo, Michael Jacob (1-0), Tomás Dunne; Cormac Finn (0-1), Peadar Mythen (0-3, 1 free, 1 ’ 65); James O’Toole, Ben O’Connor (capt., 0-10, 5 frees, 1 ‘65), Adam Nolan; Cathal Kenny (0-1), Darren Nolan (11), Darryl Gray. Sub. - Niall Redmond for Gray (HT).
Liam Mellows: Marc Halpin; Frank Roche, Risteárd Kinsella, Andy Merrigan; Aaron Condren, Colin Kennedy (0-4, 3 frees, 1 ’65), Ross Cody; Danny Gardiner, Stephen Maloney; Joe Gardiner (0-2), Richard Farrell, Eoin Cullen (0-3 frees); Stephen O’Rafferty (0-1), Brendan Halpin, Conor Carty (2-0). Sub. - Chris Callanan for O’Rafferty (HT).
Referee: Roly Buckley (Ballyhogue).