Ballagh’ boys do four in a row

Ballagh’ boys do four in a row


BALLAGHADERREEN claimed their fourth consecutive All-Ireland Open Club 40X20 Championships in style on Saturday. The ace Mayo club demolished top Antrim side Gort na Móna in a one-sided final at Abbeylara, Co Longford, winning 78-21.
The Antrim men kept their ‘trump card’ Ricky McCann in reserve for the second singles match, but the ploy backfired spectacularly. The Mayomen had accumulated enough points from the first singles match and the sole doubles match to secure a handsome victory, without the need to resort to the second singles match.
In the first singles match, Ballaghaderreen powerhouse and current All-Ireland Hardball (60X30) Men’s Senior Singles champion, Dessie Keegan, highlighted the gulf in class between the sides. He blitzed through against Gort na Móna’s Eddie Mallon over two games, winning 21-3, 21-1.
The newly-formed Ballagh’ doubles combination of stalwart Vinny Moran and rising young star Stephen Cooney dispatched the challenge of Gort na Móna duo, Paddy Crothers and John McGarry, with consummate ease. The westerners prevailed convincingly in the first game on a 21-5 scoreline, they only had to reach a scoreline of 15-12 in the second game before the northerners conceded defeat as they were too far in arrears to catch up.
This was a repeat of last year’s final, which was a much more thrilling and closely-fought affair. Played with the same core personnel on board, it ended in victory for the Connacht men on a total scoreline of 97-76.
The pivotal difference this time around was the absence of Gort na Móna’s talismanic anchorman, Ricky McCann, and Ballaghaderreen’s hard-hitting Joe McCann from the final act. In not playing Ricky McCann in the first singles, the Antrim men took a calculated gamble which ultimately led to one of the most crushing finals defeats in the recent history of these championships.
“We are thrilled to have won the Open Club four-in-a-row,” said a delighted Keegan afterwards. “More importantly, we are proud to be bringing the title back to Ballaghaderreen for our coach, John Gaffney, who unfortunately could not travel to the final. Also, it is terrific that a very talented young player like Stephen Cooney has gone to the next highest level in national handball, and this can only augur well for the future of the sport.”

BALLAGHADERREEN
D Keegan, V Moran, S Cooney,
J McCann. Sub: Paul Flynn.