Ballinlough 6-07 Rathkenny 1-05

Ballinlough and Rathkenny met in a pristine Moynalty on a late November’s evening to contest the U-15 Div.7 Championship Final and the first psychological battle was won by Ballinlough when Chairman Gary Corcoran won the coin toss to determine which side would line out in their traditional red, but it was the Rathkenny men who opened the scoring with a point from play in the first minute.

It didn’t take Ballinlough long to get settled with Shane Lynch firing over a free and Darren O’Higgins opening his account with a point from play in the third minute. Another Rathkenny point from play levelled up matters before Ballinlough took control of proceedings when Shane Lynch powered through and finished to the net with aplomb in the 11th minute. That goal was quickly followed up with a second when Darren O’Higgins secured possession from the kick-out and sent the ball back into the net in a matter of seconds. Rathkenny did hit back with a tidy point from a tight angle, but those two goals meant Ballinlough were leading at the water break, so when referee Martin Dawson called a halt the scoreboard read Ballinlough 2-02 to Rathkennys 0-03.

Upon the resumption of play Ballinlough came out all guns blazing and in particular Ryan Corcoran was to the fore as he hit 1-02 without reply to further enhance Ballinlough’s lead. Darren O’Higgins added another point in the 23rd minute, before Rathkenny finally got scoring again with a point from play. Indeed they were in on goal in the 25th minute only for Philip Daly to make a last ditch goal line clearance to deny them the opportunity. From that attack, the ball was worked up the field at lightening speed and from would could have being a goal against, turned into a goal for Ballinlough as Darren O’Higgins made no mistake from close range to finish the scoring for the first half, Ballinlough leading comfortably on a score line of 4-05 to Rathkennys 0-05.

When the second half begun Rathkenny came out of the blocks flying and were almost rewarded with a goal only to be denied by the reflexes of Cory Monaghan in the Ballinlough net, but they did manage a point from play in the 33rd minute, Shane Lynch then cancelling that out with a point of his own three minutes later. With scores at a premium in this quarter Rathkenny were to be gifted a life line of sorts when they were awarded a penalty in the 37th minute which was duly dispatched to the net.

While they had plenty of possession in the closing stages of the quarter, some tigerish defending from Ballinlough ensured nothing was coming easy for Rathkenny and they failed to capitalise on the momentum of the penalty goal by the time referee Martin Dawson called for the second water break, Ballinlough still leading 4-06 to Rathkennys 1-05.

The last quarter was much the same as the previous one with Rathkenny throwing everything at the Ballinlough defenders but repeatedly being twarthed in their efforts, and when Jaden Mollison broke down another attack he was quick to pounce on the loose ball and release it to the Ballinlough attackers further up the field. Once the ball was in the hands of Darren O’Higgins there was no doubting where it was going to end up as he completed his hat-trick in the 39th minute with a well taken goal.

That score seemed to knock the wind out of Rathkenny as they realised time was against them, the deficit too large, and while they did manage a point from play, it was Ballinlough who pushed on with John McCullen getting a point for himself before Rory Smith scored a fine goal in the 55th minute to conclude the scoring. All that remained was for referee Martin Dawson to sound the final whistle and when he eventually did so it was to wild cheers from the Ballinlough faithful who finally brought some silverware back to the parish after a few weeks of cup final defeats.

After the game Minor Board Secretary Brian Kelly presented the U15 Division 7 cup to Ballinlough captain Corey Monaghan.

A great way to end the year for this group of lads and a very special thanks to Declan and Greg for training the lads and keeping them playing football and sticking together as a group. Hopefully there will be plenty more silverware for these lads further down the line!

Ballinlough: C.Monaghan, P.Daly, A.Gibney, I.O’Neill, J.Mollison, C.Lynch, L.Harte, J.McCullen (0-01), S.Lynch (1-02), M.Tynan, D.O’Higgins (3-02), R.Smith (1-00), S.McDonnell, R.Corcoran (1-02), J.Brooks

Referee Martin Dawson

 

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