St. Michaels 4-14
Ballivor 4-9
AET

Half time St. Michaels 1-4, Ballivor 3-2.
End of normal time St. Michaels 3-8, Ballivor 4-5

The Carlanstown/Kilbeg combination of St. Michaels collected their first piece of silverware in nine years as a stand alone team at minor level as they overcame a gallant Ballivor side in this cracker of a match played in Martry on Monday evening last. In biblical terms they kept the best wine until last as unquestionably this was their best overall team display of the year, they performed with passion and spirit, they hassled and harried and scrapped for every ball, but it takes two teams to make a game and the Ballivor supporters weren't left wanting either as their players played their hearts out. The teams were level on three occasions and it was edge of your seat stuff throughout the 80 minutes of play.

The St. Michaels supporters were hit a body blow as early as the second minute when team captain Ronan Lynch had to be carried from the field of play with an ankle injury, however club physio Trevor Mulvaney had him back in action midway through the half. Peter O'Connell opened the scoring with a point on 4 minutes and five minutes later Peter burst through the Ballivor defence for a brilliant individual goal. Ballivor were slow starting, recording their first point on eleven minutes and in a two minute spell midway through the half they hit the net twice to put them 2-1 to 1-2 ahead, Peter O'Connell 0-2 and Jamie Reilly 0-1 completed the first half scoring for St. Michaels. Ballivor struck again in the 26 minute with a point and they found the net again in the 2nd minute of added time to put them 3-2 to 1-4 ahead at the break.

Ballivor were first on the scoreboard in the second half with a point on two minutes, and as Jamie Reilly and Jordan Moran came into their own at midfield, points from Peter O'Connell 0-2 and Ben Tobin 0-1 left 3 just points between the sides, then Ben Tobin won the ball on the 45m line and headed goalwards, he shimmied around the advancing full back and placed it high in the roof of the net to level the match at 2-7 to 3-4. Ballivor went one ahead a minute later, but it was now the turn of Adam O'Brien to find the back of the net on 46 minutes to put St. Michaels 3-7 to 3-5 ahead. Ballivor now threw everything they had at St. Michaels and were rewarded with a goal after a goalmouth scramble on 58 minutes to put them one point up with time quickly running out, however on the 60th minute Ronan Lynch was fouled along the sideline and he calmly slotted the resultant free from a very acute angle over the bar to level the match for the third time and bring the match to extra time.

The first period of extra time seen both sides record 3 scores but it was Peter O'Connell's 1-1 and a point from Ronan Lynch that pushed St. Michaels to a 4-10 to 4-8 lead after 70 minutes. Ballivor reduced that deficit to a single point on 71 minutes but they failed to score for the remaining 9 minutes of extra time as Ronan Lynch added a further 4 points, one from the penalty spot to leave them the victors on a score line of 4-14 to 4-9 in what was a memorable game of football.

ST. MICHAELS: Aaron Kernan, Christopher Drew, Daniel Murphy, Thomas O'Brien, Matthew Halpin, Lee Morris, Jordan Moran, Jamie Reilly 0-1, John O'Brien, Ronan Lynch 0-6, Gary Dolan, Bobby Farrell, Peter O'Connell 2-6. SUBS… Ben Tobin 1-1 for Ronan Lynch, Ronan Lynch Bobby Farrell, Adam O'Brien for Lee Morris, Luke Moran for John O'Brien, Dean Moran for Adam O'Brien.

Pascal Reilly, PRO St. Michaels. Tweet

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