Gaels comfortable over 13 man Ballymote
SHAMROCK GAELS BALLYMOTE 2-13 0-08
SHAMROCK Gaels overcame thirteen man Ballymote in the first round of the Intermediate Championship in Bunninadden last Sunday.
THE Gaels went into this game as strong favourites however their task was made that much easier after Ballymote’s centre back Robbie Flannery was shown a straight red after twenty minutes and when Niall Brennan was shown a straight red midway through the second half, it was game over for a gallant Balymote. THE Gaels were aided by a strong breeze in the first half and with Ballymote defending deep, the Gaels were forced to shoot from distance which seen some excellent long range points from Paul Higgins, Karl McKenna and James Carroll.
THEY should have scored a goal mid-way through the first half when Ciaran O’Connor turned over a short kick out and put Darragh Hailstones through who narrowly put the ball wide. Ballymote on the other hand kept in touch with two points from Marty Underwood and a free from mid-fielder Niall Colsh to leave the minimum between the teams mid-way through the half. THE game then turned in the Gaels’ favour when Robbie Flannery, having won a free reacted and saw red to give the momentum to the Gaels who went on to stretch their lead to three points at half time. BALLYMOTE introduced Mark Irwin at half time to try and gain some momentum, however it was the Gaels who started the brighter and raced into a six point lead after five minutes with two points from David Quinn and a free from Darragh Hailstones.
NIALL Brennan kept Ballymote in touch with a long range point, however this was to be his last action as he also was shown a straight red for a retaliation. THE Gaels were now in complete control and despite a gallant effort from Ballymote, they found scores hard to come by and although the result of the game was never in doubt, the Gaels only scored their two goals in the closing minutes. THE first came from a great catch on the square from Joe Henry after a Paul Higgins long ball and he calmly found Frank Quinn who finished to the net.
THE second came into injury time when Shane Deignan was taken down by Michael Rafferty to concede a penalty which was converted by David Quinn to give the Gaels an eleven point win. Ballymote have it all to do to advance in the championship while the Gaels also will need to improve if they are to top the group and grab that automatic semi-final slot. SHAMROCK Gaels: Daniel Lyons, Ben Tuohy, Evan Lyons, Andrew Flynn, Gavin McMorrow, Paul Higgins (0-1), Karl McKenna (0-1), Michael Kilkenny, David Quinn (1-4), Ciaran O’Connor (0-1), Brian Boyd (0-1), James Carroll (0-1), Shane Deignan, Darragh Hailstones (0-3), Keith McMorrow. Subs: Joe Henry for B Tuohy, Declan Willis for G McMorrow, Frank Quinn for James Carroll, Daire Kearns for C O’Connor, Dillon McDermott for M Kilkenny, Patrick Benson for K McKenna. BALLYMOTE: Michael Flannery, Kenny Meehan, Derek Tighe, Colm MCann, Malachy Healy (01), Robbie Flannery, Oisin Conlon, Niall Colsh (0-1), Michael Doddy, Gabriel Rafferty, Michael Rafferty, Niall Brennan (0-1), Jack Hever (0-1), Adam Cunnane, Marty Underwood (0-2). Subs: Mark Irwin (0-2) for A Cunnane, Sean Stagg for N Colsh, Aidan Caffrey, Gerry Brennan, Colin Byrne. REFEREE: John Doyle