Ballivor 4-16 Longwood 2-4

Near-neighbours Ballivor and Longwood made their short journeys to Clonard on a very wet Sunday afternoon for this Intermediate Football Championship clash. Both teams knew what was on the line and what it would take to get over that line. For Ballivor, a win guaranteed a quarter final place, but a loss would have possibly brought them into the relegation play-offs depending on the result in the other game. For Longwood, they needed to win by a large margin to overturn Ballivor’s superior score difference.

Ballivor were probably favourites going into the game and that tagline didn’t weigh them down as they proved to be too strong for the men in white and black. It only took 20 seconds to register the first score of the game through a fisted point from Paddy Conneely straight from the throw-in. Ballivor dominated the opening quarter with two points from Nicky Potterton and one each from Kevin Mckeon, Adam Gannon and David Raleigh, with just two points in reply from Longwood.

The next two scores were both goals. One for each side. First Nicky Potterton showed blistering acceleration to get away from his marker and bury the ball into the Longwood net. However, it was cancelled out moments later as Longwood turned the ball over in their own half, broke quickly and Thomas Coloe finished the move.

On 18 minutes a trip off the ball caught the eye of the referee and resulted in Ciaran Dowling being shown a black card and sent to the line for 10 minutes. Ballivor managed the black card period excellently and held the ball very well. They held Longwood with the extra man to just one point during this time while Brendan Mckeon also kicked a free to keep the scoreboard moving for Ballivor. 

The scoring had slowed down but the intensity did not, with lots of big hits going in all over the pitch, not all of them clean. Ciaran Dowling had just returned from his time in the sin bin when he was on the end of one of these hits, receiving a very forceful shoulder to the head. A hit that ultimately ended his match and forced Ballivor into a substitution, as with all head injuries, chances cannot be taken. Many in attendance were baffled with how the challenge went unpunished.

Adam Gannon kicked another point and then just before half time, Ballivor raised the green flag again. Nicky Potterton is claiming that it’s his goal although the dubious goals committee have ruled it was an own goal. Potterton’s attempted hand pass across goal was caught by a Longwood defender who carried the ball over his own goal-line. As unusual a goal as you’re likely to see, not that Ballivor were complaining as they led by 2-8 to 1-3 at half time.

The second half started similarly to the first. This time it took Ballivor 45 seconds to put the ball between the posts, Mark Healy the scorer. Ballivor put their foot down and started to put real daylight between themselves and the opposition. With a strong bench Ballivor were able to keep fresh legs coming on the subs made a big difference. Stefan Kelly, who replaced Ciaran Dowling as a temporary sub due to the head injury, made a huge impact. Scoring 2-1 in the time that he was on the pitch. His first goal was a perfectly weighted lob over the Longwood keeper and under the crossbar. His second goal, Stefan used all his height to rise above the Longwood defenders and punch the ball into the net and he could have made it a hat-trick when he rattled the crossbar from 14 metres out.

Another sub got on the scoreboard for Ballivor, Cealain Geraghty calmly slotted over a free just before the end to put the icing on the cake.

Ballivor qualified for the quarter-finals in second place in the group behind Walterstown. Longwood will be in a relegation play-off where they need to win one of potentially three games to remain in the Intermediate grade for next year. For Ballivor, the potential opponents are Navan O’Mahony’s, Duleek/Bellewstown or St.Pats. We will find out who it is on Monday evening at 8pm on the Meath GAA YouTube channel or live on LMFM radio. 

Thanks to Clonard for their hospitality and a great pitch on what was a truly awful day weatherwise. Thanks to WeAreMeath for providing excellent live commentary. And Thanks to the officials in tough conditions. Up Ballivor

Ballivor: Tosh Raleigh, Jamie Smyth, Stefan Connolly, Brian Conneely, Brian O’Halloran, Mark Healy (0-2), Brendan Mckeon (0-2), Evan Fitzgerald, Paddy Conneely (0-2), David Conneely, David Raleigh (0-2), Ciaran Dowling, Nicky Potterton (1-3), Adam Gannon(0-2), Kevin Mckeon (0-1).

Subs: Stefan Kelly (2-1), Martin Healy, Keith Keoghan, Podge Geoghegan, Ciaran Browne, Cealain Geraghty (0-1)

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