Ballymore edge Ballyteague to claim top spot and automatic quarter final place in Kildare IFC
The Auld Shebeen Bar Intermediate Football Championship Group C, Round 3
Ballymore Eustace 0-13
Ballyteague 0-12
Ballymore Eustace have beaten Ballyteague to claim top spot in Group C in the Intermediate Football Championship. Ballyteague needed to win to claim prime position in the Group C table and an automatic quarter final spot. With the final attack of the game the trailing side won a free-kick just outside the 45.
Brian McGrath knew a draw wasnt enough for his side and instead of converting for his sixth point of the game he dropped the ball short into a crowded goalmouth. Somehow the ball missed all parties involved and bounced over the end-line. Ballymore booked themselves a quarter-final spot with the narrow victory.
It looked early on like Ballymore were ready to run away with this game. At the 15th minute, the scores sat at 0-6 to 0-1 in the eventual winners favour. Along with the ominous scoreline Ballyteague created little in the way of chances and had just survived a scare as goalkeeper Derrick Mooney denied a certain Ballymore goal.
Credit for Ballyteague’s comeback can be attributed to Jimmy Hyland. Ballyteague scored five points in a row to level with Hyland scoring four of them. Three of which were frees but most were won by the man himself.
The sides entered the break level at 0-6 each and on-lookers will have expected Hyland to be the man to lead Ballyteague forward in the second 30 but his free taken just before the half was his last.
The tension was palpable as the sides were drawn level once by Brian McGrath on 41 minutes. McGrath, the man fans call ‘Hopper’, was brilliant on the day and stood up for his team in what was a crucial game for both sides.
Shane Barrett responded with an excellent score for Ballymore and as we reached the closing stages it was always the eventual winners leading the way with Ballyteague trying to claw their way back in. But the leaders had their chance to put this gme to bed on 53 minutes when they found themselves through on goal but their goalbound effort would be sliced wide.
The miss was an undoubted blow to Ballymore but the biggest disappointment for their opponents will be the seven wides they kicked in this game. The misses alongside a failure to get Jimmy Hyland more on the ball and in the second half will be the two major takeaways as they now look forward to a preliminary quarter-final.
It’s an automatic quarter-final for Ballymore in top spot and despite injuries they remain a strong outfit in this year’s Intermediate Football Championship.
Scorers: Ballymore Eustace, Simon Murphy 0-4, Eoin Kavanagh 0-3, Shane Barrett 0-2, Eoin Clarke 0-1, Darragh Gilroy 0-1, Sean Broderick 0-1, Caolan Halpin 0-1.
Ballyteague: Ballyteague, Brian McGrath 0-5, Jimmy Hyland 0-4, Stephen Ennis 0-2, Cathal Hanafin 0-1.
BALLYMORE EUSTACE: Tommie Archbold; Seamus Kelleher, Darragh Kelleher, Caolan Halpin; Brian Crowe, Michael Stewart-Byrne, Darragh Gilroy; Shane Barrett, Eoin Clarke; Ben Noone, Charlie Litton, Aaron Deegan; Sean Broderick, Eoin Kavanagh, Simon Murphy. Subs: Callum McClintock on for Darragh Gilroy (Half time), Sean O'Sullivan on for Eoin Clarke (45 minutes)
BALLYTEAGUE: Derrick Mooney; Gary Nugent, Paraic Hanley, Ryan Webb; Glen Thorpe, Gerry Melia, Cian Loughlin; Seamus Hanafin, David Randles; Brian McGrath, Tommy Callan, Jimmy Hyland; Stephen Connolly, Cathal Hanafin, Stephen Ennis. Subs: Donal Dempsey on for Paraic Hanley (21 minutes), Keith Donohoe on for Stephen Connolly (40 minutes), Barry Dempsey on for Seamus Hanafin (53 minutes).
Referee: Colm Kearneyv