Brilliant Ballyduff get back on top of the pile
REPLAYS don’t always replicate the drawn encounter, but this particular contest lived up fully to all of the expectations and produced one of the best finals in recent years.
Goals, as they almost inevitably are, were central to the outcome and provided Ballyduff with the platform to win a historic twenty fifth title. In the build up to the game most of the discussion revolved around the potential impact both Pádraig Boyle and Shane Conway might have for the respective sides. But then sport at times throws up the most unlikely of scenarios and on the day it was another Boyle who produced a match winning masterclass.
Aidan Boyle was withdrawn and reintroduced in the drawn game and coming into last weekend’s game had scored just 0-3 in the championship to date. However, not for the first time in a final he was a trump card for his side and the central figure in Ballyduff’s attacking strategies.
Opting to launch a series of aerial deliveries from the outset Ballyduff reaped rich rewards with the towering full-forward a pivotal figure on the edge of the small square, with his ability to rule the skies and capitalise with three first half goals.
He also played a part in the fourth and really Lixnaw, despite a variation of tactics and a change of personnel, just couldn’t cope with his imposing presence. He was just one of many who contributed handsomely to Ballyduff’s victory, but his particular role and, the manner of it had the most profound influence on the outcome.
The absence of John Griffin which lessened Lixnaw’s chances considerably meant that they had to reshuffle their formation which saw Shane Conway start in what was an unfamiliar role for him in midfield and it was Ballyduff who got the tonic of a third minute goal from Aidan Boyle.
Lixnaw did respond and registered points from Ricky Heffernan and Brendan Brosnan, but Ballyduff struck for their second goal in the eleventh minute when Boyle once again provided the finish after Martin Stackpoole had saved the initial effort.
It was all route one from Ballyduff, but it certainly wasn’t just hit and hope with all of their deliveries being measured and landing right in the danger zone on the edge of the small square.
Behind by those two goals 2-3 0-3 at the end of the first quarter Lixnaw had been struggling up until that particular juncture to unlock a pretty resolute Ballyduff rearguard unit.
However, some surging runs from Ricky Heffernan brought about a better return and a goal from him, at the end of a trademark run struck low, to the corner of the net reduced the deficit to 2-3 to 1-4 and brought Lixnaw right back into the game.
Some indisciplined tackling by the Ballyduff defence allowed Mike Conway to bring his side level from placed balls 1-6 2-3 by the twenty first minute and with both sides shooting some fine scores from distance just a single point 2-7 1-9 separated the teams coming up to half time.
However, with Aidan Boyle completing his hat-trick of goals Ballyduff retired in front 3-7 1-10 at the interval with Mike Conway having scored five points for Lixnaw in that opening half.
Lixnaw introduced Maurice Corridan at the start of the second half in their efforts to rectify their defensive frailties and they started quite brightly with two excellent individual scores from Shane Conway and James Flaherty who had also been introduced as a half time substitute.
Ballyduff, however, continued to create goal chances with Padraig Boyle creating the chance for Daniel O’Carroll whose well struck effort was expertly saved by the Lixnaw goalkeeper at the expense of a ‘65.
However, just when Lixnaw had brought themselves back to within striking distance Aidan Boyle opened the door for the team captain Mikey Boyle, and he delivered an emphatic finish for his side’s fourth goal in the 36th minute.
Again it provided Ballyduff with some breathing space even if, the Lixnaw challenge remained extremely vibrant with John Buckley playing a captain’s role. Their momentum remained in full flow with Jeremy McKenna on route to goal being fouled in the forty third minute. A goal at that particular juncture which looked extremely likely would have reduced the deficit to just a single point.
As it was, Ballyduff retained a four point lead 4-10
1-15 to the end of the third
quarter, and, when Padraig O’Grady was dismissed in the forty sixth minute having been shown a second yellow card for a foul on Shane Conway a window of opportunity opened for Lixnaw who had previously taken full advantage in similar type circumstances in their semi final win over St Brendans.
However, Ballyduff dug deep with Mikey Boyle outstanding in a defensive role alongside such as Eoin Ross, Ally O’Connor and Paud Costello all of whom scaled supreme heights in a pulsating finale. Lixnaw continued to keep the scoreboard ticking over, and trailed by just two points, 4-12 to 1-19, as the encounter drifted to its conclusion.
Shane Conway with a snap shot on the turn very nearly levelled matters after Daniel O’Carroll had put his side three points in front, and it was fitting that O’Carroll would seal the deal as he had played a major role in his side’s success with four points from play.
Indeed, his return after a summer in the States, along with Jack Goulding who also made a significant contribution to the win was central to Ballyduff’s resurgence in this particular championship campaign.
No doubt but that Ballyduff are pretty formidable when it comes to finals and this particular win returns them to the top of the Roll of Honour and back as the hurling kingpins in the Kingdom.
A case of what might have been for Lixnaw with John Griffin’s injury being a huge blow to their chances. A score of 1-19 would win most games, but then, when you concede four goals one’s chances of success are lessened considerably.
BALLYDUFF: PJ O’Gorman, Ally O’Connor, Padraig O’Grady, Cathal Kearney, David Goulding, Paud Costello, Eoin Ross, Daniel O’Carroll (0-4), Anthony O’Carroll, Liam Boyle (0-1), Aidan Boyle (3-1), Jack O’Sullivan (0-1), Padraig Boyle (0-4f), Mikey Boyle (1-1), Jack Goulding (0-1) Subs: John Hussey for L Boyle, 44, Gary O’Brien for J O’Sullivan, 52, Paul O’Carroll for A O’Carroll, 57, Liam Boyle for P Boyle, 63
LIXNAW: Martin Stackpoole, Declan McCarthy, Pat Corridan, Darragh Shanahan, Brendan Brosnan (0-3, 2 ‘65’), Stephen Power, Conor O’Keeffe, Jeremy McKenna, Brian McAuliffe, John Buckley (0-2), Ricky Heffernan (1-1), Raymond Galvin, Colin Sheehy, Michael Conway (0-10, 9f), Shane Conway (0-2) Subs: Maurice Corridan for D Mc Carthy, halftime, James Flaherty (0-1) for C Sheehy, half-time, Gerald Stackpoole for S Power, 38, Liam Mullins for R Galvin, 47, Enda Galvin for J McKenna, 53
REFEREE: Cathal McAllister (Cork)
WHAT torture he must have been feeling. This is not how it was supposed to go. This was not the day he had in mind. His job was out there, amongst his team mates, in the thick of it. Instead of green and gold upon his back it was rain-gear. Instead of midfield he prowled the sidelines.
For a guy like him, for a guy who knows full well what he’s capable of, the frustration must have been close to overwhelming. So much to be done and, yet, stuck with no way of doing it.
Injury comes to all sports people. It’s the price of doing business. You know that going in. You accept it. To miss a final though, that’s something else entirely. If anybody deserved to be out there on that pitch last Sunday afternoon it was John Griffin. He’s the guy who knits it all together, the guy who makes Lixnaw tick.
One man who knew exactly what was going through Griffin’s mind on Sunday afternoon is Aidan Boyle. He’d been the solider just twelve months before. The injury was different. The effect the same.
Stranded on the sidelines (in crutches), watching on hopelessly as his team, his friends and colleagues, came up short in a county final and it a replay too to boot. Fate has a strange way of playing itself out.
The experience of last year made Boyle stronger. The experience of this year will likely do the same for his former inter-county colleague. It’s no consolation now of course, but in time Boyle’s story should serve as an inspiration.
And inspirational is just what Boyle was on Sunday afternoon. Everything he touched turned to gold – “They were even saying at half-time ‘if Aidan falls it’ll land into his hand,” he told us after the match and, you know what, they were bang on the money.
Boyle was close to unmarkable if not downright unmarkable. He went through a couple of markers by the end of the game with nobody able to really tame him. Come the close of play he’d nabbed 3-1 (all from play) and directly assisted an additional 1-1.
It’s no exaggeration to say he was the difference between the sides at the finish. The heartache of 2016 made the glory of 2017 all the sweeter for the big full-forward. You could, of course, say the same for the team as a whole.
Ballyduff had come so close last year that it really would have been too much to take to lose a second final in-a-row after a replay. There was a dogged determination to them on Sunday, which spoke to their intent and desire.
Sometimes they went over the line – they picked up six yellow cards and a red card
– and sometimes it worked against them – they coughed