Ballinagh 0-15
Lavey 1-12

Extra-time couldn't separate Ballinagh and Lavey tonight at Kingspan Breffni Park as Stephen Jordan's late point saved a draw for the New Inns men.

After making a dream start with a first minute goal from Gerard Smith, Lavey could only keep Ballinagh at bay for so long as Niall McDermott (0-10) and Kevin Smith (0-4), whom combined for all but one of their team's tally, were faultless from frees and  had the champions in front after eight minutes of the second-half.

Ballinagh would only bump their advantage by one through their deadly duo and it gave Lavey a fighting chance, which they took by hitting three scores in the final quarter via Chris Conroy, Karl Duke and Darren Monaghan before Smith's late free sent the game into the added periods.

It was there that Ballinagh looked the more likely side, as two more McDermott frees gave them the slender advantage for the second-half. Lavey dug their deepest in the final 10 minutes though and outweighed a Colin Gumley single with points from Darren Monaghan and Jordan to save a mid-week date with Darragh McCarthy's men for the coveted quarter-final berth.

Lavey's start was a sensational one which saw Cavan U21 star Smith race forward from the throw-in, tearing through Ballinagh's centre, and driving an unstoppable shot to the roof of Declan Beard's net.

Frees from reliables McDermott and Smith were the Ballinagh response but Lavey weren't about to let their lead slip that easy and moved two clear by the 10th minute thanks to Smith.

McDermott and Chris Conroy traded points before two McDermott frees brought the champions level by the 16th minute but they struck two poor wides that had gave them the chance of a first lead.

Darren Jordan's brace at the other end ignited the New Inns men again and when Conroy tapped over a free they looked likely to build more on to their lead before half-time.

Ballinagh held firm for the closing stages of the half, however, and Smith second free saw them only trail by two (1-5 to 0-6) for the break.
Smith and McDermott tied it up with frees inside five minutes of the resumption and the latter had McCarthy's side into their first lead when he latched on to loose possession and tapped over off his trusty left boot.

Karl Duke had the response this time, with a superbly flighted point which drew a huge roar from the Lavey crowd, but their opponents continued to draw frees for the deadly McDermott to shoot over, registering his fifth in the 41st minute. The Cavan forward would be on target again for his second from play to stretch his side's lead to two before Conroy (free) halved it at the other end.

A slick move involving Joey Jordan and Smith helped to set-up Duke to regain level for Michael Tynan's charges and they were in the lead after the next attack when Darren Monaghan shot over from 40 metres.

The closing minutes would be a battle and it was set-up perfectly when Smith stroked over his fourth free of the night with the pressure on.

Lavey looked to have got the break they needed when Conroy broke forward in the dying stages with the goal at his mercy and offloaded to Smith, who went for goal and saw his shot somehow kept out by a combination of Beard, Killian McBride and Anthony Gaynor.

Conroy would still have the chance to win it for Lavey with the resultant '45', but the All-Ireland JFC winner struck narrowly wide and Ballinagh held on for extra-time.

The Saffrons edged the early stages of the first period with two McDermott frees outweighing an effort from Ray Cullivan in the 65th minute, leaving it at 0-14 to 1-10 for the short break.

Ballinagh would have to replace Blake Carthy with David Finnegan after the substitute's careless tackle of Stephen Jordan earned him a black card and a free which eventually saw Lavey locate Darren Monaghan in enough space to shoot over.

The holders looked like they'd hit back in the best possible fashion when Smith was threaded through on goal but he was denied the net by a fantastic save from Killian Torsney which saw the rebound fall to Gumley and the substitute blasted over what appeared to be the winner.

However, in their typical fashion, Lavey refused to throw in the towel and grabbed their last chance with both hands when Monaghan held up possession along the left flank and offloaded to Stephen Jordan, who held his nerve to strike the equaliser with a minute to go

Both sides will meet again this Wednesday night (8.15pm) at the same venue to decide which one goes through to the quarter-finals.

Ballinagh: Declan Beard; Conor Smith, Anthony Gaynor, Killian McBride; Damien McInerney, Patrick Carroll, Niall O'Reilly; Padraic O'Reilly, Eamon McEvoy; David Finnegan, Kevin Smith (0-4, 4f), Fergus Bogue; Enda Brady, Niall McDermott (0-10), Ronan Reilly. Subs: Colin Gumley (0-1) for E Brady (45mins), Terry Smith for D Finnegan (60), Blake Carthy for C Smith (60), Philip Bogue for D McInerney (60), Conor Smith for Fergus Bogue (69), David Finnegan for B Carthy (71, b/c),

Lavey: Killian Torsney; Dean Rutherford, Fergal Smith, Kevin Donohoe; Aaron Smith, Joey Jordan, Stephen Jordan (0-1); Ray Cullivan (0-1, 1f), Shane Conaty; Chris Conroy (0-3, 2f), Karl Duke (0-2), Darren Jordan (0-2); Darragh Conaty, Gerard Smith (1-1), Darren Monaghan (0-2). Subs:  Jake Buckley for D Conaty (45mins), Paul Gilchreest for S Conaty (54), Senan Gilchreest for G Smith (70),

Ref: Noel Mooney (Cavan Gaels)

Tweet

Most Read Stories