Ballingarry blow Moneygall away in Division 3 decider

FBD Insurance County Hurling League Division 3 Hurling Final

Ballingarry 1-24 

Moneygall 1-13

By Liam Hogan at Templetuohy

Ballingarry’s 11-point victory over Moneygall was most deserving and it could have been much greater as they were simply too good on the night against a very disappointing Moneygall team that never reached the heights expected from such an experienced team in the grade.

Yes, Moneygall had to line out without the services of county player Sean Kenneally and their experienced centre-back Brendan Tuohy. Tuohy did make an appearance in the 50th minute but by then the game was well and truly over as Ballingarry were much too fast and hungry for success. 

Eight Ballingarry players made the scoreboard including Dylan Walsh.  The former county minor hurler has always been their talisman and Saturday evening was no exception as the sharpshooter finished Ballingarry’s top scorer with 0-11 including five points from play. He was much more and could afford to miss three frees as well. 

Picking off the points was no bother to the winners as wing forward Conor Vaughan scored three from play with Michael Ivors, who lined out at the left corner, travelled every inch of the opposition half time scored 0-4 while midfielder Declan Hayes scored two and if that was not all the likes of Thomas Walton and Jack Fennelly could leave their half-back positions to pick up fine scores from distance. 

Put simply the Northmen were caught in the headlights as nobody on the starting line reached their potential except for Joe Fogarty. The former Tipp senior could do no more and finished the game's top scorer on 1-10 including 1-3 from play with is goal arriving in added time which only served to put a gloss on the scoreboard. 

There were very few positives from Moneygall and apart from Joe Fogarty, one could suggest goalkeeper Ciaran Quinlan, and Jack Kirwan at full-back while the half-backline of Liam Carroll, Cathal Greene and Conor Ryan never gave up but could only do so much against the incessant tide of the South men. 

Ballingarry played with the breeze in the first half and had Moneygall in trouble from the very start when corner forward Diarmuid Ryan forced Ciaran Quinlan to make a great save at the expense of a 65 after just eighteen seconds. Dylan Walsh scored the resulting placed ball. Ciaran Quinlan’s decision to restart with a short puck out was spilled and Patrick Burns took advantage by cutting a gap in the Moneygall cover before firing low past Quinlan and the game was only 90 seconds old. 

Such was the one-way traffic that Ballingarry were 1-4 to 0-1 ahead by the eighth minute before Joe Fogarty picked up his and Moneygall’s second point and his second from play. The one-way traffic continued and Ballingarry was 1-8 to 0-3 in front by the thirteenth minute with Dylan Walsh scoring twice, from play and a 90-metre free with Jack Fennelly and Conor Vaughan also on target.

In fact, Conor Vaughan might have scored a goal in the 15th minute but missed an open goal. Patrick Fogarty made it 1-8 to 0-4 after becoming the second Moneygall player to score. 

Moneygall did manage to find some breathing space as two Joe Fogarty frees had the deficit cut to six with five minutes to the break but there was no stopping Ballingarry as they scored four unanswered points through Dylan Walsh (free), Conor Vaughan (his second), Michael Ivors (his third) and Declan Hayes who was unmarked when catching Ciaran Quinlan’s puckout. 

Joe Fogarty replied with his sixth point (fourth free) before Jack Fennelly fired home his second to make it 1-15 to 0-8 as the teams headed to the dressing rooms. 

The second half was thirteen seconds old when Paddy Fogarty pointed his second point, a score that caused some confusion with the lone umpire back on duty. Dylan Walsh’s free in the 33rd minute restored normality but Moneygall began to believe and three unanswered points arrived the first from a 65 by Joe Fogarty after Ballingarry keeper Paidi Maher denied Joe Fogarty. 

A minute later Fogarty landed a score from play and he followed up with another converted free in the 36th minute. 

However, Ballingarry regained lost ground over the next ten minutes by outscoring Moneygall 0-3 to 0-1 with Declan Hayes, Conor Vaughan and Dylan Walsh scoring. Joe Fogarty’s free in the 45th minute was the sole reply and Moneygall’s last score until he scored his side’s only goal some fifteen minutes later. 

Meanwhile, Ballingarry sensed victory and were able to score five more points, some with ease with Walsh scoring three, two from play as the silverware was heading south for a win that atoned for the loss to Newport in last year’s League final and missing out on a place in the championship knockout stage due to a change in the point difference rule. 

Meanwhile, Moneygall should be back at full strength for their North semi-final clash with Shannon Rovers in two weeks. Can they recover? 

Scorers for Ballingarry: D Walsh (0-11, 0-5f, 0-1 65); M Ivors 0-4; C Vaughan 0-3; P Burns 1-0; J Fennelly (0-2, 0-1f); D Hayes 0-2; Adam O’Connell 0-1f; T Walton 0-1. 

Moneygall: J Fogarty (1-10, 0-7f); P Fogarty 0-2; Eoin Whyte 0-1.   

Ballingarry: Paidi Maher; Ger Ryan, Paul Butler, Mikie McGrath; Patrick Ivors, Jack Fennelly, Thomas Walton; Declan Hayes, Ben Ivors; Conor Vaughan, Paddy Burns, Ian Ivors; Diarmuid Ryan, Dylan Walsh, Michael Ivors. 

Subs used: Adam O’Connell for B Ivors (51); Shane Cleere for D Ryan (59), Eamon Corcoran for Hayes (59), Michael Ryan for Walsh (59), Sean Doheny for P Ivors (59).

Moneygall: Ciaran Quinlan; Gearoid Larkin, Jack Kirwan, Roddy Teehan; Liam Carroll, Cathal Greene, Conor Ryan; Adam Hogan, Aodhan Ryan; Joe Fogarty, Bob Kenny, Niall Maher; Patrick Fogarty, Mark Fanning, Eoin Whyte. 

Subs used: Dylan Maher for E Whyte (46); Tommy Devereux for Kenny (50); Brendan Tuohy for C Ryan (50). 

Referee: Sean Everard (Moyne Templetuohy)