Belturbet 0-16
Ballyhaise 0-9

Belturbet's strong finish saw them emerge seven-point victors over Ballyhaise when the two sides clashed in Ballyconnell on Friday evening last.

Ballyhaise landed the first score of the contest with a very fine point coming off the boot off Shane Briody from the right hand wing in the first minute. Conal McGinley then landed a superb score with a free off the ground from the right hand touchline with five minutes gone to level proceedings.

Aaron Watson raised Ballyhaise's second white flag a minute later after good set up play from Padraig Moore. Sean Og Lawlor laid on the assist for Enda Henry to kick his first point of many to tie the game at 0-2 each with eight minutes gone. Enda Henry's free moved Belturbet in front for the first time in the ninth minute and the Rorys kicked on from there kicking another five points in succession to move themselves into a dominant position.

Henry turned provider for Niall O'Reilly to blaze over a point and Naill Lawlor bent over a point after good link up play between Conal McGinley and Stuart Dunne to leave it 0-5 to 0-2 with 11 minutes played. Enda Henry was doing untold damage in the full forward position and he rode several tackles before clipping over a point after being teed up by Niall Lawlor. Enda Henry's free and Stuart Dunne's excellently taken point rom play left Belturbet holding a 0-8 to 0-2 cushion just past the sixteen minute mark.

Ballyhaise's Martin Conaty got his side a badly needed point in the 17th minute after being picked out by Michael Brady. Belturbet midfielder Conal McGinley cracked over a superb point in the 20th minute to restore his side's six point lead which saw his side carry a 0-9 to 0-3 lead into the half time interval. The Rorys were hugely dominant in the first half with Mark Teevan and Conal McGinley dominating the midfield sector and their pace and running game cut Ballyhaise open on multiple occasions. The entire defensive unit mopped up a lot of ball throughout the match getting vital interceptions in which laid the platform for the attack to break regularly at high speed. Belturbet  could have had the game wrapped up very early had their finishing not been so profligate kicking eleven wides in the first half.

Shane Fitzpatrick and Conor Vaughan combined in the second minute of the second half to work Enda Henry into space and he dissected the posts with his shot to extend Belturbet's lead out to seven points.

Ballyhaise's Martin Conaty tapped over a free and struck a fine point from play to reduce the deficit to five points five minutes into the second half. Padraig Moore registered two quickfire points one of which was a tremendous effort from the right hand wing to leave it 0-10 to 0-7 with 41 minutes elapsed. Michael Brady then stroked over a 45 to leave it a two point game as Ballyhaise hit a scoring purple patch. Donal McDonald wasted little time in making an impact upon his introduction arcing over a wonderful point from an acute angle on the right hand flank in the 49th minute which seemed to steady the ship for the Rorys.

Enda Henry's 51st minute free stretched the lead out to four points. Ballyhaise kicked their final point of the contest in the 54th minute via the boot of Martin Conaty who converted a free. Belturbet strung a good move together with Niall O'Reilly, Luke Smith and Brendan Vesey all linking the play up the pitch before feeding the ball to Enda Henry who drilled over the bar. Donal McDonald fisted over a point to leave it 0-14 to 0-9 with four minutes of regulation time left. Donal McDonald and Enda Henry with the last kick of the game tagged on points for Belturbet to ensure they maintain their position near the summit of the league table.

Belturbet: Danny Anscombe, Kevin McConnell, Peter Shannon, Luke Smith, Shane Fitzpatrick, Mark Lawlor, John Cahill, Mark Teevan, Conal McGinley(0-2 1f), Niall O'Reilly(0-1), Stuart Dunne(0-1), Niall Lawlor(0-1), Sean Og Lawlor, Enda Henry(0-8 3f), Conor Vaughan. Subs: Brendan Vesey, Donal McDonald(0-3), Killian Murray.

Ballyhaise: Gary O'Rourke, Desmond O'Reilly, Barry Kelly, Niall Conaty, Aodhagan Watters, Aaron Watson(0-1), Shane Briody(0-1), Conor McEntee, Michael Brady(0-1 145), Barry Reilly, Martin Conaty(0-4 2f), Darren Reilly, Colm Reilly, Ryan McCrudden, Padraig Moore(0-2). Subs: Ryan Brennan, Don Gorby, Jamie Donohoe.

Referee: James Clarke.

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