SFC Section B
Ballina2-12
Louisburgh1-11
Sean rice
Louisburgh
FOR 14 minutes, Ballina Stephenites relived their old blistering form ... and spent the remainder of the match hanging on against a spirited Louisburgh revival.
An astonishing first half pulsed with excitement as the former All-Ireland champions wended their way to a nine-point lead inside 15 minutes, before Louisburgh boldly stormed back to leave the outcome in doubt by half time.
Their recovery was no more than a remote possibility over the opening 14 minutes. Intent on emitting a message that they were back in business, Ballina overwhelmed the home side, driving forward in waves, mixing the short game with the long, productively.
In five minutes they had kicked five points to Austin O’Malley’s lone reply from Louisburgh’s only attack. Five minutes later the west side had slipped further behind after Brendan O’Hora slammed home Ballina’s first goal. And four minutes later Pat Harte had bagged his fourth point. The goal was a product of direct play strategy. Eanna Casey knocked the high ball across the front of the goal, and Brendan O’Hora took full advantage of the gift. The Ballina men were rampant; Louisburgh totally at sea.
We had already consigned the home side’s hopes to the ranks of the irredeemable when manager Frank Noone intervened with a move that was to have a big bearing on the remainder of the game – the introduction of Marcus O’Malley to the half back line.
The attacking instincts of the new man brought more action up front, a shift from the one-way traffic of the opening quarter. And when O’Malley joined with Jarlath O’Malley and Stephen O’Grady in search of some sort of fillip, it had instant results. The ball from O’Grady was half blocked, but still managed to reach Niall Corrigan on the edge of the square, and the corner forward fisted it past David Clarke into the net.
For a couple of minutes that score seemed just token resistance to the smooth-running Ballina machine, especially after Harte’s instant response. But there was more life to Louisburgh now, more confidence, and John Hegarty, James Gibbons and Corrigan joined with their star forward Austin O’Malley to fling over their second point.
Soon the trickle became a flood. By the 28th minute the lead was down to two points and Louisburgh hopes soared – then plunged again – when, in a flash of brilliance, Ger Brady ran on to a swift pass from Lorcan Healy and rammed the ball into the corner of the net. It was a killer blow.
Still, only four points separated them at the break – 2-8 to 1-7 – and we wondered if anything to come could have lived with the pace and excitement of the first half. Nothing did. But it was even enough, each scoring four points, and Ballina forced to defend their lead with every sinew. In that respect, Kenny Golden, Martin Wynne and Shane Sweeney were unrelenting.
The visitors did not sustain their opening momentum because Louisburgh challenged them at midfield, where Brendan Heneghan and Owen O’Grady came to grips with Harte and David Brady. Further back the field, Tom McDonnell, Alan Mayberry, Alan Moran and Marcus O’Malley defended ferociously.
But Ger Brady, working tirelessly, was their leader up front, receiving good response from Stephen Hughes and Lorcan Healy.
Ballina Stephenites
D Clarke; K Golden, J Devenney, M Wynne; B Ruane, S Sweeney, E Devenney; P Harte (05, 2fs), D Brady; L Healy (0-1), G Brady (1-1), B O’Hora (1-0); C Leonard, E Casey (0-2,1f), S Hughes (0-3).
Subs used: P McGarry for E Devenney; E Devenney for B O’Hora; R Campion for L Healy; M Murphy for P Harte.
Louisburgh
R O’Grady; A Mayberry, T McDonnell, F Morahan; M Nee, S O’Grady, A Moran; B Heneghan, O O’Grady; J O’Malley (0-2, 1f), J Hegarty, S Gibbons; J Gibbons (0-2), A O’Malley (0-7, 3fs), N Corrigan (1-0).
Subs used: M O’Malley for F Morahan; James O’Malley for S O’Grady; J Gallagher for S Gibbons; Paul J O’Grady for James O’Malley.
Referee: M Murphy (Ballinrobe)
