Ballinacor saved by O’Neill’s penalty heroics

BALLINACOR AUGHRIM 1-15 2-07

THE stakes were high in this Ballinacor v Aughrim Intermediate Football relegation game played in Avondale on Sunday morning. Ballinacor had lost their game to Kilmacanogue by five points. Aughrim had won their game against Kilmacanogue by one point.

An Aughrim win would see them through. Ballinacor needed to win by more than three points.

For a long time that all appeared academic. Even though Conor Lambert got Aughrim off to a good start with a point in the first minute, Ballinacor immediately got down to putting scores on the board.

Conor Parsons levelled and the full forward line as a unit began to amass a formidable lead. Paddy Byrne, Ger Byrne and Conor Parsons were proving very difficult to handle and were very adept at creation scoring opportunities.

They had a few wides but nonetheless, five of the six Ballinacor forwards had scored by the quarter hour mark.

At this stage they led by 0-6 to 0-1 and were very much in control of the game. A

ughrim came more into the game from now until half time with half backs Ian Clancy, Robert Lambert and Eoin Forsythe pushing forward to overcome the dominance of Danny Dowling and Peter Kennedy at midfield.

Two pointed frees from Robert Lambert reduced the leeway by 20 minutes.

A wonderful point from a sideline kick by Conor Parsons followed by a Ger Byrne point (when a goal seemed inevitable) increased the gap again.

Danny Owens scored Aughrim’s fourth point and Robert Lambert added another free at the end of normal time.

Paddy Byrne closed the scoring for the half to leave Ballinacor ahead by 0-9 to 0-5 at the break. Their full forward line had contributed seven points of their total. Aughrim, for their part would have been happy to be only four points adrift, having played second fiddle for long periods of the first half.

The second half continued in the same vein with Ballinacor slowly adding on the points. Aughrim were holding possession well but lacked the confidence and ability to score. Paddy Byrne with three points and Conor Parsons with another had Ballinacor 0-13 to 0-5 ahead by midway in the half.

The mood of the game changed at this stage. Ballinacor lost Chris Kennedy to a red card following a tackle on Eoin Forsythe. A flare up followed this incident resulting in Robert Lambert and Davy Carter also being dismissed. Aughrim came more into the game from here on but continued to be handicapped by their failure to score.

Ian Clancy came forward to point. Ballinacor began to put pressure on themselves with needless frees and Aughrim continued to win a lot of possession. When Aughrim won a penalty, Conor Phelan drew the short straw.

He struck it well but Ciaran O’Neill saved brilliantly to his right. Substitute Paul Lacey added another Aughrim point but with the scoreline at 0-13 to 0-7 there seemed little danger to Ballinacor. Substitute Jamie Nolan and Paddy Byrne pointed for the Glenmalure men and when Paddy Byrne goaled three minutes into added time that seemed to be that.

A delay for an injury to substitute John Keenan, plus another delay while the referee sorted a flare up near the sideline meant a sizeable period of added time.

Substitute Michael Dowling was red carded in this incident and play continued until almost ten minutes of added time had elapsed. A late goal from Ian Clancy brought proceedings to a close.

In the end, a brilliant stop from a penalty by goalie Ciaran O’Neill saved Ballinacor’s status.

Footnote: This game doubled up as the final of the Dawn Lacey Cup, a tournament organised by the Aughrim Club to commemorate the late Dawn Lacey. The trophy was presented to the victorious Ballinacor team.

Scorers – Ballinacor: Paddy Byrne 1-7, Conor Parsons 0-3, Ger Byrne 0-2, Brian Hanlon, Dave Carter, James Nolan 0-1 each.

Aughrim: Conor Lambert 1-1, Ian Clancy 1-1, Robert Lambert 0-3, Danny Owens 0-1, Paul Lacey 0-1.

Ciaran O’Neill; John P Byrne, Martin Byrne, Stephen Dowling; John Devitt, James Byrne, Chris Kennedy; Davy Dowling, Peter Kennedy; Brian Hanlon, Davy Carter, Kevin Byrne; Conor Parsons, Ger Byrne, Paddy Byrne.Subs: Jamie Nolan for Ger Byrne, David Green for Kevin Byrne, Mick Dowling for Brian Hanlon.

Brian Lynch; Jamie Fleming, Oisin Doyle, Willie Kavanagh; Ian Clancy, Robert Lambert, Eoin Forsyth; M Brennan, Paddy Phelan; Jack Byrne, Conor Lambert, Danny Owens; Dermot Whelan, Rory O’Brien, Conor Phelan. Subs: Paul Lacey for Jamie Fleming, John Keenan for Willie Kavanagh, Richard Keegan for Jack Byrne, Patrick Kavanagh for Dermot Whelan, William Byrne for John Keenan.

Brendan Furlong. (Ti- nahely)