Sean Rice
THE vicissitudes of the championship: Castlebar and Claremorris qualify for the quarterfinals; Ballina bow out; Breaffy, by dint of a late goal, are in and Shrule, despite winning their match by a cricket score, are out.
In their defeat to Castlebar in the first round, Ballina lacked the shape of a team in full stride toward another county title. We didn’t dare rule them out, though, because they were no better last year in the early rounds — until they discovered the value of David Brady as a full-forward.
There was no David Brady this year, however, to rescue their hopes, and it was lack of fire power that denied them vital scores against Claremorris. Most of their old stars have faded now, but they will be remembered for the manner in which they represented this county on the national scene, especially that All-Ireland victory that did us all proud.
They may not be the finished article, but Castlebar Mitchels showed more heart in qualifying for the quarter-finals of the senior championship than they had done in their previous encounter against Claremorris.
They were not expected to survive against Burrishoole. And were it not for two goals by substitute Sean Ryder they might not have withstood a fierce attacking blitz by the home side in the final minutes.
That late revival yielded nothing much, other than the belief that if Burrishoole played throughout the hour with the abandon shown in the final stages, they would not have been on the end of an 11-point hammering.
Lack of fitness was their stumbling block. The desire was there, but the necessary preparation was not done, it seems, to realise it. They ran out of steam too quickly and paid a heavy price.
Castlebar were prepared for a fight, but must have been surprised at the ease with which they took charge. Yet, it took Eamon Tiernan’s goal five minutes before the interval to boost their chances.
You still wondered whether the seven-point lead they enjoyed eleven minutes into the second half was sufficient to stave off the expected Burrishoole rally. But when substitute Sean Ryder carved out two goals doubts visibly disappeared from the Mitchels’ play and they romped home.
While the team as a whole were back in form, Sean Ryder bolstered the forward line with impressive penetration when he came on in the second half, and Richie Feeney continued his impressive work rate, under the encouraging eye of Peter Ford.
Nobody worked harder for Burrishoole than Liam O’Malley who led their belated flourish, but apart from Enda McManamon and Conor Moran, the assistance he received was disappointing.
For sheer drama it was hard to beat Ballintubber’s progress at the expense of Garrymore. Doubts about the fitness of some Garrymore players forced team changes. But the return of Jimmy Killeen strengthened their hopes of qualifying for the quarter-finals.
Throughout the first half they played like a team heading for success, and when they got back on track with a shock goal by county minor captain Shane Nally, in which Killeen and Enda Varley each had a hand, eight minutes into the second half you expected the senior experience of the South Mayo side to copperfasten their lead.
But prompted by the driving force of Jason Gibbons in the middle of the field and the likes of the Dillons and Damien McGing up front, Ballintubber beavered back into contention and eventually ground out a dogged victory.
There was no room for elegance, no room for the feint hearted. At your peril you held on to the ball too long. And yet, ironically, the goal that won the match was the essence of subtlety.
Damien McGing, foraging gainfully all through the hour, found himself inside the Garrymore cover for a long ball delivered from the halfback line. As if functioning on radar, Jason Gibbons stormed through the centre, took the precision pass and almost tore the net from its ties. A goal it was to grace any occasion in any arena.
Gibbons was the main man. Ballintubber had the Dillons, John Feeney, Michael Nestor, Damien McGing etc, but it was Gibbons with his majestic fielding in the middle of the field and his focused attacking antennae that mapped out their victory. In addition to his goal he also contributed two points scored under heavy pressure.
He looked county standard.
