Ballinrobe silence big guns Ballaghaderreen

Ballinrobe silence big guns


SFC Section 4
Ballinrobe 1-11
Ballaghaderreen 0-5

Mike Finnerty
Charlestown

THIS sensational result was the talk of the county last weekend, and rightly so. Very few outside of the Ballinrobe camp saw this upset coming as the 3/1 outsiders ambushed high-flying Ballaghaderreen and blew the ‘Group of Death’ wide open in the process.
There was nothing fortunate or flukish about Ballinrobe’s victory either; they won most of the individual battles, were organised and motivated, and, for once, managed to convert enough possession into match-winning scores.
The match, undoubtedly, turned on a magnificent penalty save from Ballinrobe goalkeeper, Kenneth O’Malley, five minutes into the second half. The Mayo panellist got down brilliantly to deny Andy Moran a goal that would have put Ballagh’ in front and in a strong position to kick on.
Instead, O’Malley’s save both inspired and galvanised his team-mates and they got their second wind to close the game out. Over the final thirty minutes, they outscored the demoralised and shell-shocked 2008 county champions by 1-5 to no score.
Ballinrobe’s defensive unit shut up shop completely while Ronan Macken and Donal Vaughan marshalled the midfield. The decisive scores came from the hard-working Peter Staunton, the outstanding Mark Walkin, Sean Burke, Conor Keane and Kevin Murphy.
The game was over as a contest when the winners grabbed the goal that capped a very satisfying night’s work as impact sub’ Shane Owens ran forty yards before curling the ball past Ollie Flanagan. It was a goal that encapsulated the mood of the evening.
Norman O’Brien’s team were full value for their nine-point victory which was built on the old-fashioned principles of collective hard work and discipline and peppered with individual excellence.
In this regard, all six backs deserve special mention for their diligence and authority as they restricted Ballagh’s lethal attack to just five points from play. The injured (and absent) Barry Regan was badly missed by the losers as Andy Moran was left to plough a lone furrow up front.
The ‘county man’ tried hard and scored two points but was well-shackled by James O’Malley overall while James Kilcullen was eclipsed by Ronan Macken in the air and on the ground.
SeΡn Grimes also turned in a commanding display at centre-half back while Donal Vaughan’s quality was evident throughout as he locked horns with the indefatiguable Barry Kelly.
The sides were level on four occasions during an entertaining, free-flowing first half but two scores without reply from Donal Vaughan and Mark Walkin meant Ballinrobe deservedly led at the break by 0-6 to 0-4.
The rank outsiders took the game to their much-fancied opponents from the very start and with the likes of Ruairí Keane, David McDonnell, Donal Vaughan, Peter Staunton and Mark Walkin setting the tone, Ballinrobe gave as good as they got.
Five of their six points came from play as full-forward Mark Walkin (3) and midfielder Donal Vaughan nailed some inspirational scores.
Ballagh’ kicked five poor wides in that opening half but a couple of well-taken points from rangy full-forward Ronan McGrath and two from Andy Moran kept them in touch.
Moran’s missed penalty in the 35th minute turned out to be a watershed moment as Ballinrobe never looked back from there to the finish. Even the injury-time dismissal of Colm Killeen for a second booking didn’t affect the final result.
Knockmore visit Ballinrobe in the second round and will be on high-alert now.

Ballaghaderreen
O Flanagan; K Rogers, S Drake, T Regan; D Drake, G Conway, S Finn; J Kilcullen, B Kelly; A Moran (0-2), D Keegan, G Fitzgerald; J Dillon, R McGrath (0-2), P Kelly (0-1).
Sub used: M Solan for Keegan; A Hanley for Fitzgerald.

Ballinrobe
K O’Malley; P Finnerty, D Killeen, R Keane; J O’Malley, S Grimes, D McDonnell; R Macken, D Vaughan (0-2); P Staunton (0-1), R McGreal (0-1, 1f), C Keane (0-1); D Reilly, M Walkin (0-4), S Burke (0-1).
Sub used: C Killeen for McGreal; K Murphy (0-1) for Reilly; S Owens (1-0) for C Keane.

Referee: V Neary (Bonniconlon)