JFC semi-final: Dunboyne too strong for Ballivor
September 15, 2018
Dunboyne's Sean McGrath gets in his shot as Jacob Ryan (Ballivor) makes a brave attempt to block during the Meath JFC semi final at Pairc Tailteann.
Dunboyne proved too strong for Ballivor in the second Teach na Teamhrach JFC semi-final at Pairc Tailteann on Saturday evening.
Dunboyne ....... 1-19
Ballivor ........... 2-13
Ger Robinson's men put a significant deposit on a final spot when outscoring Ballivor by 1-6 to 0-3 in the third quarter.
Team captain Barry Comer's 33rd minute goal made it 1-9 to 2-5 to Dunboyne. They took that lead to the finish.
Physique and experience were central to Dunboyne's success, while Ballivor were left to rue a number of missed chances in a spirited late rally that left them just a score short at the end.
Once they regained the lead Dunboyne put increasing distance between themselves and Ballivor.
Jack Cox and Sean McGrath shared eight points between them from play. By the end Dunboyne had 20 scores on board against Ballivor's 15 whose bid was significantly boosted by two first-half goals.
By the 54th minute six points separated the sides, 1-18 to 2-9. Ballivor outscored Dunboyne by 0-4 to 0-1 in the latter moments. In the last act of the game Brendan McKeon's attempt to salvage a draw for Ballivor came to nought when his 13-metre free was blocked by the massed ranks of the Dunboyne defence.
After the dramatic finale in the first semi-final, the second opened in a low key fashion. Dunboyne's second string side shaded the early exchanges.
Ballivor made a big break 12 minutes in when Martin Healy netted with aplomb to leave it 1-1 to 0-2. Darragh Nolan (free) pulled on back for Dunboyne before Adam Gannon pointed for the men in marooon with assistance from Brendan McKeon.
Dunboyne were slightly more wasteful the Ballivor in the first-half, registering six wides to their opponents' four.
Four points on the spin from as many different players moved Dunboyne 0-7 to 1-2 clear by the 20th minute. Ballivor finished the half with a flourish outscoring their opponents by 1-3 to 0-1 in the run-in to half-time.
Nicholas Potterton's speculative effort wound up in the Dunboyne net while team mate Mark Healy posted the final score of the half. Ballivor led by 2-5 to 0-8 at the break.
Ballivor - Conor Smith; David Raleigh, Gary Sherrock (c), Jamie Smith; Jacob Ryan, Thomas Raleigh, Enda Fitzgerald; Keith Keoghan, Kevin McKeon (0-3 fs); Brendan McKeon (0-3 1fs), Joseph McLaughlin (0-1), Mark Healy (0-1); Martin Healy (1-1), Nicholas Potterton (1-1), Adam Gannon (0-3). Subs - Killian Canavan for Fitzgerald (ht), Paul Fagan for McLaughlin (45), Christopher Dunne for Mark Healy (49)
Dunboyne - Johnny O'Connor; Pauric Lavin, Gary Timoney, Colin Clarke (0-1); Ben McBrine (0-1), Shane Weston, Eoin Ryan (0-1); Barry Comer (c) (1-1), Sean McGarrell; David Clarke, Darragh Nolan (0-4 3fs), Patrick Conway (0-2 fs); Jason Daly (0-1), Sean McGrath (0-4), Jack Cox (0-4). Subs - Ben Carolan for Lavin (44), Johnny Meehan for Conway (55), Mark Daly for Ryan (56), Tommy O'Connor for Clarke (58)
Referee - Paul Mooney (Syddan)
