Unbeaten run continues
Our Premier Juniors remain unbeaten after taking a share of the spoils with Glen Rovers in front of a big home crowd on Sunday in the Red FM Division 3 League. It was disappointing to not have come away with the win after leading by 4 early in the second half and we will rue the fact we conceded a number of frees to bring the Glen back into the match.
Ballygiblin 0-13 Glen Rovers 0-13
It was a lovely sunny morning for the game but there was a strong cross-field wind to contend with and this led to a lot of wides on both sides, they were very evenly matched in a fast-paced game with no player getting too much space on the ball. The Glen opened the scoring with a point under pressure and we were unlucky with Sean O’Sullivan hitting 2 quick wides. The Glen then had a goal chance with only 3 minutes played but Fionn was on hand to make a vital clearance and Barry Coffey also saved our skins a minute later when he intercepted an attempted pass to a free man in the inside line.
We soon got to grips with their style of play and Dean Barry levelled on the 6th minute when Sean supplied a good pass across the 45. The Glen then pointed from a free before Colin English got another from play, the ball coming from a great block in defence by Fionn and Lorcan Finn subsequently been fouled lead to the free into to the corner for Colin to run onto. The Glen got a fine point on the run and followed it up with a wide. We then had a free after Shane Beston was initially fouled and advantage given, Ryan Donegan taking up the free taking duties, he slotted over to level 3 points each. We then had 3 wides in a row before the Glen pounced on a mistake in our backline and followed this up seconds later, getting on the end of a short puck out to suddenly put them 2 in front. Shane Beston got one back after a fine run and managed to slot over despite been pulled across.
James Mullins then prevented another score with a hook and with ball in hand there was some handbags for the ref to deal with before we got an indirect free near the 45. Colin took it short to Sean and they linked well with a couple of hand passes to make space before Sean put it over. With 5 minutes left in the half the Glen then went one up with a long range point but we finished the half strongly with a free after good work in defence by Cian O’Brien to hook and we got the ball forward to Colin who supplied Aidan who was fouled. We could have been further ahead with another 2 wides notched up before Ryan slotted over a 65 to leave one between them at half-time. Ballygiblin 0-07 Glen Rovers 0-06.
We started the second half where we left off with Colin slotting over 2 points within 2 minutes and he was involved again in Dean’s second point from play, getting on the end of a clearance in defence by Ryan. The Glen responded but they were off target in the first 3 attacks. They did get 2 back with silly frees conceded by us. But both teams would be wasteful with 3 further wides for us and 2 for them. We then got another point from a placed ball after Shane was again fouled as he burst through their defence, Sean O’Sullivan drifting back to make the initial clearance. We then gave away another close range free after doing everything right with 2 fantastic blocks in defence. We then pointed another free by George Pendle after Sean was slapped after offloading the ball to Dean. Ballygiblin leading by 3 as we headed for the final 10 minutes.
The Glen got one back from a free after we were over-elaborate with our hand passing and they then had another goal chance which we were quick to close down but the clearance was to a spare Glen man and he easily slotted over to bring our lead back to one. Both free takers then missed chances and the Glen had 2 further wides under pressure. We then swapped points within seconds, Dillon with a beauty from a tight angle in the full forward line. We were clinging onto a one-point lead heading for the last 2 minutes of normal time and the Glen were then awarded a free which might have been deemed a little harsh to level matters with a minute to play. The ref only played 25 seconds of injury time so there was no time for either side to get the winner.
Overall, another great performance and there was some brilliant hooking and blocking on display. The wind played havoc with some of our shooting, notching up more wides (14) than scores but the Glen were also wasteful with 11 wides.
Team: C Noonan, L Finn, F Herlihy, C O’Brien, J Mullins, B Coffey, M Lewis, R Donegan (0-04- 3F 1 65), S Doyle, S Beston (0-01), C English (0-03), D Sheehan (0-01), A Donegan, S O’Sullivan (0-01), D Barry (0-02). Subs: K Roche for S Doyle, G Pendle (0-01F) for A Donegan.
Next fixture is Saturday, 7th May at 4pm v Tracton in Minane Bridge.
JUNIOR CS HAVE FIRST WIN Ballygiblin 1-06 Ballyclough 0-06
Our Junior Cs took on Ballyclough on Saturday evening in a must win game to keep any hopes of qualifying alive, the game took place in the Mitchelstown pitch due to sanding earlier in the week in Ballygiblin. It was a tough low scoring encounter with frees hard to come by for both sides, but our goal was the difference in the end.
We opened the scoring with a point from Diarmuid Lynch after a good dispossession. Ballyclough looked to have gotten their first a minute later but Jodie Finn in goal stopped it going over and cleared. We then added a free from George from midfield. We were tenacious in defence and were stopping Ballyclough in their tracks. They had 4 wides by the 15th minute though the last could have easily been a goal when a long sideline cut went across the face of goal and was caught on the near post by the Ballyclough forward, but his snapshot was thankfully wide. They eventually opened their scoring on the 16th minute from play but we responded with a lovely point from George under pressure. Ballyclough would again be wasteful with 2 further wides before we stuck for goal, Kieran Doherty with a fine strike to the net to leave us leading 1-03 to 0-01 with 10 minutes left in the half. Ballyclough then scored a free and followed it up with 2 further points before the half-time whistle to leave the sides Ballygiblin 1-03 to 0-04.
Ballyclough got another point within seconds of the resumption and only for a great block on their full forward could have got another. We were finding it hard to find our range and despite good work had 7 wides in the opening 17 minutes before we finally got our first point of the half from James Crotty on the 18th minute. Thankfully Ballyclough didn’t capitalise on our misses and were wasteful themselves. Both defences on top and a lot of scrappy play meant shots on target were hard to come by. We edged further ahead on the 25th minute with Owen Burke pointing from a placed ball after James Crotty was fouled around the middle. Ballygiblin 1-05 to 0-05 ahead.
Ballyclough then got a few frees in the dying minutes as they dropped them in short to try and get the elusive goal, our defence were strong though with Adam Barry defiant and Stephen Kenneally bursting out with the ball. Ballyclough did point from a free 2 minutes into injury time but we had the final say of the night on the 35th minute with Diarmuid pointing a huge free after Owen was fouled. Ballygiblin winners 1-06 to 0-06.
Overall, not a great match with the play scrappy at times but in fairness both teams were dogged in defence and no one giving an inch.
Team: J Finn, S O’Connell, J O’Donoghue, C O’Brien, Barry, K Roche, J Lewis, O Burke (0-01F), J Crotty (0-01), G Pendle (0-02 1F), D Lynch (0-02 1F), S Dwyer, N Fitzgerald, A Donegan, K Doherty (1-0). Subs: S Lane for C O’Brien, S Kenneally for K Roche, P Finn for G Pendle, K Finn for N Fitzgerald, D Noonan, K Doherty.
U19 COUNTY LEAGUE
After a good win over Clyda Rovers in the opening game our U19s travelled to take on Charleville in their home ground. It was a goal fest with 10 goals scored but unfortunately, we came out on the losing side Ballygiblin 4-14 to Charleville 6-16.
Next fixture is May 4th at 7pm v Kanturk/Banteer in Kanturk.
GOLF CLASSIC – 27TH MAY
The annual Ballygiblin Golf Classic will be held in Mitchelstown Golf Club on Friday, 27th May, 2022. Although the classic wasn’t held since 2019 due to Covid, we have been busy on and off the pitch. We are looking to build on the club’s success in 2021 and want to ensure our players of all ages and levels have the best facilities available to them.
Since out last golf classic and thanks to some of the funds raised in 2019, we were able to purchase some additional land behind the goals at the Kilbehenny side of the club. We have recently applied to Cork County Council for planning permission to construct an all-weather training pitch and 100m long hurling training wall and have already set up a team of experienced people who will work towards applying for grants for this new development. This is the biggest project the club has undertaken in recent years and the proceeds of this classic will go towards this new development.
Format: 3-person team event (men, women or mixed teams). Entry fee: €150 per team (including refreshments and meal on completion of round). Tee times: Up until 1pm or shot-gun start at 4.30pm sharp. Prizes: Valuable prizes for GUI and Non-GUI, Nearest the Pin and Longest Drive. The presentation of prizes will take place in Mitchelstown Golf Club at approx 9.30pm on Friday 27th.
We would also welcome support in terms of sponsorship of tee boxes on the day at a rate of €50 and anyone who sponsors one will have their name printed at that Tee Box for the duration of the Classic.
All sponsors of teams or tee boxes will have their name added to the list of sponsors which will be displayed at Mitchelstown Golf Club throughout the classic. The list of sponsors will be displayed at Ballygiblin GAA Club grounds for the remainder of 2022.
To get involved, please contact: Brian Molan 086-8053590, Eibhlín O’Brien 086-8647356, Sean O’Sullivan 087-6161949 or Paul Hennessy 086-1630232.
CONGRATULATIONS AND GOOD LUCK
Congratulations to Greg Carroll and Laura Manning on their recent nuptials. Also, we would like to wish Michael (our Brick) Walsh and Roisin O’Brien all the best on their travels to Australia. We hope to see him back in Ballygiblin jersey again soon.