Rathnew hold out for narrow victory against game Ballinacor
RATHNEW 1-10 BALLINACOR 1-08
AN impressive opening 15 minutes helped Rathnew hang on for another narrow victory in this D’Arcy Sand IFC Group 2 game at Joule Park, Aughrim, on a dull Wednesday evening.
The Village played some outstanding football in the first half which saw the open up an eightpoint lead but they could only manage three scores in the second half and were forced to nervously hang on to eke out another narrow victory.
Ballinacor were completely overrun and outplayed for most of the first half but Brian Hanlon’s net finder just before half-time reignited their flame of belief and they came out in the second half a much hungrier team and were unlucky not to get something out of the game.
The game started at a fast pace and an end to end nature as the sides scored 3 times in as many minutes from the start.
It was Ballinacor who opened the scoring with a James Murphy point in their first attack before Dean Franey hit over the bar for Rathnew after being well set up by Stewart Murphy.
The third score went to Rathnew and it was a big one as Jordan Graham finished to the net after being found by a Jamie O’Connor hand pass across the square. A great start for Rathnew but Ballinacor wouldn’t have to wait long for a chance to cancel Graham’s major.
Within two minutes a long searching ball was launched inside where Ger Byrne let it bounce past him and marker James Manley before collecting the leather and rounding keeper Dylan Keogh only to be sent tumbling by the back tracking Manley. A penalty was given and Byrne dusted himself down ready to bury it.
After a stoppage due to injury he finally ran up but unfortunately for both he and Ballinacor he sent it wide to the left and Rathnew were let off the hook.
Rathnew really kicked on and Edward Doyle added a pointed free before the impressive Ronan Doyle kicked a sweet point on the turn. Rathnew were getting a real strangle hold at midfield and it for a while each pass seemed to stick and each shot seemed to go over as Ballinacor succumbed to wave after wave of attacks from the village.
Doyle and Philly Murphy added points as well as wing back Philly O’Neill who kicked a screamer from 30 yards after a great ball from Jonah Graham to leave Rathnew 1-6 to a point up after 15 minutes and in cruise control.
Ballinacor managed to stem the flow somewhat and a few skirmishes broke out which seemed to take the sting out of the Rathnew start as Paddy Byrne finally kicked another point for Ballinacor after 21 minutes.
Rathnew added a point but then Ballinacor gave themselves a huge lift going into half time as they scored 1-1 in the space of 15 seconds.
Firstly, an incisive run from Christopher Murphy cut Rathnew open as substitute Kevin Byrne finished for a point. The resultant kick out was a poor one and went straight to a Ballinacor man as Brian Hanlon punished Rathnew to the maximum as his low finish to the net meant there was only 4 in it at the break.
Rathnew and Edward Doyle kicked the first score upon the restart but Ballinacor went on to kick three in a row to leave just 2 points in it with 20 minutes still to play.
Try as they might though Ballinacor simply couldn’t claw back the lead as the village men managed to keep them at arm’s length. If Ball could’ve been within touching distance going into the last ten minutes it would have been very interesting but it was Rathnew who took the match by the scruff of the neck at the crucial time.
The likes of Philly O’Neill, Ross Quinn and Jonah Graham won some crucial balls which set Rathnew on their way as substitute Johnny Byrne kicked two crucial points to increase their lead to 4.
The second point caused a stir up as there was confusion whether the ball had hit the stanchion at the back of the net or the cross bar before bouncing out and being finished to the net.
It was correctly ruled to have hit the stanchion though and a point was awarded.
Philly O’Neill got his marching orders after picking up a second yellow with five to play and though Ballinacor added two late Conor Parsons pointed frees it was too much to do in too little time as Rathnew hung on.
Scorers - Rathnew: Edward Doyle 0-4 (3f), Jordan Graham 1-0, Johnny Byrne 0-2, Philly O’Neill 0-1, Ronan Doyle 0-1, Philly Murphy 0-1, Dean Franey 0-1.
Ballinacor: Conor Parsons 0-4 (2f), Brian Hanlon 1-0, Ger Byrne 0-1, Kevin Byrne 0-1, Paddy Byrne 0-1, James Murphy 0-1.
Rathnew: Dylan Keogh, Ross Quinn, James Manley, Paddy O’Connor, Jamie O’Connor, Gay Byrne, Philly O’Neill, Stuart Murphy, Jonah Graham, Edward Doyle, Philly Murphy, Séamus Cosgrove, Ronan Doyle, Dean Franey Jordan Graham. Subs: Johnny Byrne for Séamus Cosgrove (37 mins), Jay Dolan for James Manley (43 mins).
Ballinacor: Ciarán O’Neill, John Devitt, Martin Byrne, Chris Kennedy, James Byrne, Philip Byrne, Christopher Murphy, Daniel Dowling, Paddy Byrne, David Carter, Conor Parsons, Brian Hanlon, James Murphy, Ger Byrne, John Byrne. Subs: Kevin Byrne for David Carter (23 mins), Seán Boyle for Brian Hanlon (49 mins).
Referee: Mattie Dowling