Brave Ballina come up just short against impressive Corofin

Connacht Senior Football Championship Semi-final

Corofin 0-16 Ballina Stephenites 0-12

Michael Gallagher in Salthill

A fine game of football in wind-blown Pearse Stadium marked the end of Ballina’s championship season when the Mayo kingpins went under to an impressive Corofin outfit on Saturday afternoon.

The Stephenites started slowly but were within a kick of a ball of the Galway men going down the home straight before a late rally consigned them to defeat. The Ballina effort was gallant and courageous, and they played some fine football, but that will be of little consolation to the Moysiders in the aftermath of this hard-fought battle in Salthill.

There were times in the first half when Corofin looked imperious as they poured towards the town end with the hail and gale behind them.

Gary Sice rolled back the years once again with smart movement, defence-splitting, kick passes, tremendous tackling and three smart points. Michael Farragher was purring behind midfield, stopping Ballina runners, hoovering up wayward passes and launching punishing attacks.

The Galway champions were much the better team in the opening 30 minutes but Ballina defended like their lives depended on it with Liam Golden, Sam Callinan and James Doherty to the fore. Doherty arrived into the fray after 12 minutes when Ger Cafferkey had to leave the field with a leg injury.

Cafferkey’s absence added to Ballina’s woes after they had started the game without injured duo Padraig O’Hora and Dylan Thornton, and it took the Mayo men 15 minutes to find the target. In the end that scoreless period made a big difference to the outcome.

Corofin might have been the better team and clear leaders on the possession and territory stats at the end of the first half but they still only took a six point lead to the interval, 0-9 to 0-3, and the strength of the gale blowing down the pitch meant the advantage was less than the scoreboard suggested.

Ballina took off in pursuit of the leaders straight after the restart when Evan Regan converted a mark and the same man had sight of goal three minutes later only for his effort to be blocked by Corofin captain Dylan McHugh.

That inspired the home side and with Micheal Lundy, midfielder Patrick Egan, Sice and corner-forward Jack McCabe to the fore the Galway men settled and hit for home.

Ballina were hanging in there and their vocal following raised the roof when three points on the spin from Ciaran Boland, Frank Irwin and Jack Irwin closed the gap to just a kick of a ball, 0-9 to 0-12, after 48 minutes.

The Stephenites were rolling forward time and time again and seemed destined for take-off but Corofin are past masters at winning tight championship matches and they ended the contest in a three-minute streak.

Lundy clipped over a point from the right and McCabe raced through twice in a minute to punch points and seal the deal e minutes from the end.

The Mayo champions refused to bend the knee and drove down the pitch time and time again until the final whistle sounded with the men in gold and green four points clear and on their way to the Connacht final.

Ballina had represented themselves and Mayo with aplomb and while they were extremely disappointed at the end, there is a sense that their journey is only beginning.

A full match report and after match reaction with Ballina manager Niall Heffernan will be carried in Tuesday’s Mayo News.