Strong first half sets up Bellaghy win over old foes Ballinderry

Bellaghy 1-22 ... Ballinderry 0-18

Bellaghy claimed a place in round 2A of the O’Neills Sportswear sponsored Derry senior football championship after they proved too strong for old foes Ballinderry.

Played in near perfect conditions, this tussle was a far cry from the great battles of years gone by. These two greats dominated the landscape of Derry football for twenty years, but Sunday’s tussle will go down as one of their tamest encounters.

Bellaghy effectively won this encounter in the first half when they hit an unanswered 1-8 in a 9-minute spell.

Matthew Smyth was black carded for cynically stopping a Bellaghy breakaway in the 11th minute, and boy did the Bellaghy blues make the most of the powerplay.

Helped by a Peter Cassidy goal, the Wolf Tones surged into a 1-9 to 0-4 lead by the time Smyth returned and despite the best efforts of Ryan Bell and Niall O’Donnell, but in the end, it was a deficit that proved too much for Jarlath Bell’s side.

Between them Bell and O’Donnell accounted for 0-14 of the Shamrocks total, while at the other end, Bellaghy were able to boast a spread of eleven different scorers.

All of five minutes had elapsed when O’Donnell opened the scoring for Ballinderry.

O’Donnell’s effort may have sneaked into the net but thanks to Peter Stuart’s out stretched hand. Instead of a dream start, O’Donnell had to settle for just a point.

Oisin McErlean soon restored parity before the impressive Charlie Diamond kicked a two-pointer in the 10th minute.

Smyth then kicked a wide for Ballinderry but worse to come moments later when he was blacked carded for dragging down Bellaghy’s Luke Diamond.

Charlie Diamond pointed the resulting free, and after Damon Gallagher further extended Bellaghy’s lead before Peter Cassidy delivered the killer blow.

Paul Cassidy’s long ball picked out the unmarked Bellaghy midfielder who made no mistake from 20 yards. Cassidy’s finish was every bit as impressive his performance as finished low into the corner across the face of Ben McKinless.

Two further Gallagher points saw Bellaghy open up a 10-point gap but the closing stages of the all belonged to Ballinderry.

Ryan Bell broke Bellaghy’s scoring sequence in the 18th minute and this was the signal for a Ballinderry comeback.

Spearheaded by Sucky and O’Donnell, the Shamrocks managed to eat into their arrears and at the break only three points separated the sides with Bellaghy leading 1-11 to 0-11.

Ryan Bell continued where he had left off by kicking two early points in the second half but a classly effort from Eoghan Brown was followed by scores from Declan Cassidy and Oisin McErlean as Bellaghy continued to keep the Shamrocks at bay.

A Peter Stuart 45 and a Charlie Diamond point opened up a six-point lead for Bellaghy and as the half progressed, Ballinderry were finding it difficult to come up with any serious questions for the Bellaghy defence.

Charlie Diamond brought his tally for the day to 0-6 to finish top scorer for the winners before late efforts from Brown and Dara Doherty confirmed a safe passage for Bellaghy who will now face off against Slaughtneil for a place in the quarter-finals.

IN PICTURES: Bellaghy progress after strong first half over Ballinderry

Up next for Ballinderry is the scenic route where Kilrea lay waiting in the last chance saloon.

Teams and Scorers:

Bellaghy: Peter Stuart (0-1 45), Marc McClenaghan, Karl McCallion, James Diamond, James Donnelly (0-2), Conan Milne, Declan Cassidy (0-1), Peter Cassidy (1-0), Oisin McErlean (0-2), Eoghan Brown (0-3), Paul Cassidy (0-1), Luke Diamond, Damon Gallagher (0-4), Charlie Diamond (0-6 2p 1f), Ciaran Chambers (0-1).

Replacements: Ruairi McErlean for McCallion (HT), Dara Doherty (0-1) for L Diamond (47), Blood Subs. Sean Turner for Chambers (51), Chambers for D Cassidy (55), D Cassidy for Turner (58).

Ballinderry: Ben McKinless, Luke Bell, Oisin Duffin, Dara McGuckin, Shea McCann (0-1), Eoin McCracken, Ruairi Forbes (0-2), Ryan Bell (0-9 1 2pt), Niall O’Donnell (0-5), Ryan O’Neill, Shea McGuckin, Jack Bell, Cohen Cassidy, Shea Coleman, Conor O’Neill (0-1).

Replacements: Eoin Devlin for Smyth (HT), Darren Lawn for Cassidy (47), Daniel McKinless for McGuckin (51), Eoin McCracken for L Bell (55).

REF: Mr Thomas Devlin (Newbridge)