Ballagh’ finally hold their nerve
Sean Rice
I N Weathering the elements and the storm of Charlestown’s sizzling recovery, Ballaghaderreen finally exorcised the demons of self-doubt that had threatened to spoil their hopes of a long awaited senior title.
This time there was no surrender to the forces of uncertainty that in the sternest of tests had plagued their football over the past few years. Lack of talent had not been their problem as much as lack of composure when the gauntlet was down.
They won their only title thirty-six years ago before any member of the present team was born. Based in a town outside this county has not made it easy for them where support is half-hearted and defeat derided by some of their own townspeople.
To have survived in Mayo football at all is a triumph for the club. To have reached the pinnacle of success is a victory for their perseverance in the face of overwhelming odds these past few years.
In the end the pain of so much disappointment prepared them well for the victory they chiselled out against Charlestown on Sunday. I’m not so sure their spirit would have sustained another defeat.
For the past two years they had been installed as firm favourites to take the title. Their league performances were eye-catching. They had shown flair and colossal strength in winning, creating an image of almost invincibility.
But in the ultimate test against the cream of the county they fell short. In the season just finished their patchy league form offered no hint of a championship title. Morale it seemed was still low.
Ironically, the struggle to reach the final this season was perhaps key to their success. They would have learned more from their close shave with Ballintubber than from any other marking. In that quarter-final their mental state of preparation was a valuable lesson. Any sense of overconfidence had been wrung from their system by the time they reached the final.
They needed all their wits about them in dealing with Charlestown. Anyone would have thought the game was as good as over at half-time when Ballagh’ led by nine points, and went even further ahead minutes into the second half.
In the first half they produced their best football of the championship. They had displayed that quality on other occasions but without the linch-pin of mental security that stood to them on Sunday. Previously, their weakness lay mainly in defending a lead, in believing they had won before the final whistle sounded . . . only to become entangled in a late winning blitz by the opposition.
There was none of that on Sunday. Everyone else must have thought they had made enough use of the wind to succeed . . . except Ballagh’ themselves. They knew they were still in a big battle. Experience has been a tough taskmaster.
With the howling wind they found their rhythm quicker than in any other game. Curiously, they also won more of the breaks. The bunching of midfielders committed James Kilcullen and Barry Kelly to break rather than catch which ought to have benefited Charlestown more than their opponents.
But Ballagh’, strangely, were sharper. And Moran and Barry Regan roamed hungrily around the fringes of the goalmouth. Moran was the playmaker, Regan the scorer. The full-forward was in regal form, converting almost all of his chances. By half-time he had accumulated six points, four from frees.We had marked in Regan at the interval as the probable man of the match, even though Stephen Drake was once more splendidly resourceful in defence. There were beams of distinction also spreading from Barry Kelly, Gary Conway, Pearce Hanley and Peter Kelly who replaced Barry Solan early in the half.
But the award of man of the match eventually went to Barry Kelly for his indefatigable work in the second half, particularly when Ballagh were under strain and in danger of collapsing under the weight of Charlestown’s thrilling recovery.
On candlepower in the first half, Charlestown switched to wind power after the break and suddenly came to life. Hauling themselves back into the game through use of the wind-assisted high ball together with the fiery performances of defenders David Caffrey, Dermot Higgins, Kevin Deignan, and Tom Parsons in the middle of he field, dispelled thoughts of a stroll for Ballagh .
Subdued by the attention of James Kilcullen in the first half, Parsons unshackled himself after the break and on a few occasions showed why his fielding ability is a step above the rest.
The Mayo star had hoped to be equipped with a county title as he flew out yesterday to join the Irish squad in Australia, but in the end had to make do with a major role in initiating the score that brought the final ten minutes to a thrilling climax.
Ollie Flanagan in the Ballaghaderreen goal was unable to hold onto the high ball lobbed in by Parsons, and in the melee that ensued Paul Mulligan managed to poke the ball into the net.
It left the game on a tightrope of suspense. Charlestown, almost resigned to defeat, were revitalised. Ballaghaderreen were confronted with the litmus test of their ability to hold out in the face of unrelenting pressure.
One great duel was played out between Stephen Drake and Tony Mulligan. Drake had the measure of the full-forward in the first half, but with high ball raining down on them after the break a massive struggle ensued. The much taller Mulligan won the fielding battle but failed to get by the determined Ballaghaderreen man who cleared his lines spectacularly in the final minutes.
Pearce Hanley was prominent in relieving the pressure on occasions. They brought him back from Australia during the AFL off-season and I’m not so sure Ballaghaderreen would have succeeded without him. Although technically limited, the big man came to their rescue on many occasions since his first game, against Ballintubber and his influence has been significant.
It will bother Charlestown no end that a team steeped in experience should have been so profligate at such a crucial stage in the game. Having scored the only goal in the 50th minute they had enough chances to earn a draw at least.
But somehow they could not find the target afterwards. The tension got to them. They, too, had to do battle with the mind games. Dermot Higgins after a searing run unattended down the field drove the ball wide; Paul Mulligan, normally the essence of accuracy, hauled wide from in front of the goal. Ollie Conway did likewise. All of them amounted to a couple of moments of hara-kiri for the second year in a row.In the end, however, the better side won. They may not have scored in the final twenty-five minutes of the match, but in defending their lead Ballaghaderreen held their nerve, and the hope now is that they will go on to emulate Ballina and Crossmolina on the national scene.
