Walsh stands up and delivers when need is greatest

COMETH the hour, cometh the man and all that.

It was hardly a crisis and yet it was important something be done all the same. Between the twenty fourth and the forty sixth minutes Ballydonoghue went without a score. Given the avalanche of scores that came before it was a striking interlude.

In that time St Senans had scored four points to reduce the margin to nine points – not insignificant we’re sure you’ll agree, but when you factor in the fact that Senans had two goal chances in that period, one of those cleared off the line by Diarmuid Behan, it was possible to imagine a scenario where against all odds Senans forced their way back into contention.

At half-time the Ballydonoghue players and management spoke as you’d imagine any team would in the same position. They vowed to press on and, yet, there they went almost quarter of an hour into the half and still to register a score.

Into the void stepped Eamon Walsh. Walsh has been really impressive throughout this campaign, none more so than in the semi-final victory over Listowel Emmets in Moyvane.

Thatday his scores from midfield helped them over the line. On Sunday he wasn’t about to leave a victory that was theirs for the taking slip away from Ballydonoghue, so up he stepped to send over a beautiful point into the scoreboard end. It raised the roof and from there Ballydonoghue pushed on powerfully for the finishing line. No looking back.

“We were a bit like that in the semi-final as well, we had a few spells without scores,” Walsh said after the match.

“I think it just settles the team a bit to make sure we keep the scoreboard ticking over, so look Senans are a great team, a great young team like ourselves and they’ll definitely have a North Kerry championship in the next couple of years.”

Speaking in the midst of raucous celebrations the magnitude of what Ballydonoghue had achieved still hadn’t fully come into focus.

“I don’t know has it sunk in yet, it’s a bit surreal, it’s unbelievable though, unbelievable,” he said when asked to sum it all up.

“We’ve had a serious long year now in fairness between county leagues and junior championships and everything, it tops it off nicely. For me it’s unbelievable, it’s better for the parish like, there’s people here from Ballydonoghue who just absolutely love the North Kerry Championship so it’s great to win it for them.

“Family and friends it’s just great to see everybody smiling, it’s unreal.”

Walsh is well aware of the hard work put in by club members over the last half decade to all enable this.

“We’ve had some serious underage teams the last number of years and they’ve been winning minor titles and under 21s and they’re the players now that are coming through to the team and it’s just all clicked together. Finally we have a good full panel of players and it’s just unbelievable.”

The quality of footballer and the quality of football being produced by Ballydonoghue at the moment is quite remarkable too. It has very little to do with what one would normally associate with north Kerry football at this time of year. A new north Kerry football is being born and Ballydonoghue are leading the way.

“I think the day of the hard footballer is gone really.

“We’re trying to bring the pace and the bit of skill to it a bit more. We got lucky too I suppose with the weather, usually the pitches are wet and it doesn’t make for a great game. I think there was a lot of skill on show today.

“Everything kind of fell for us in fairness, we got the few goals in the first half. I couldn’t believe it really when I saw the goals going in, so it was a bit surreal. I think so some people were saying Senans had a few easier games, but there’s no easy game in the North Kerry Championship.”

Not even in this final that Ballydonoghue won by sixteen points could they afford to take their eye off the ball for too long. Luckily Walsh never took his off it.