Ballyfin crowned ACHL Division 6 champions after strong finish against Borris-Kilcotton

Ballyfin were crowned Laois Shopping Centre ACHL Division 6 champions on Thursday evening following a strong second-half display that saw them overcome Borris-Kilcotton’s third team on Pitch 2 at the LOETB Centre of Excellence.

It was a tightly contested first half, but Ballyfin pulled clear after the interval to record a seven-point win and earn promotion to Division 5.

Ballyfin 3-19

Borris-Kilcotton 2-15

Chris Dunne opened the scoring for Ballyfin from a free inside two minutes. However, Borris-Kilcotton hit back almost immediately when a long delivery from David Scott somehow made its way to the net. Ballyfin responded in style, as Kevin O’Rourke found the back of the net with a clinical finish past Timmy Guidera. With just four minutes gone, the sides were level at 1-1 each following a Kyle Abraham point for Borris-Kilcotton.

Ballyfin then took control of the contest with a purple patch that yielded 1-3 without reply. Dunne slotted over two more points to bring his tally to three, Ronan Carroll got on the scoresheet, and Sean Duff blasted a powerful shot through Guidera for their second goal.

But Borris-Kilcotton weren't going away and launched a quickfire comeback. David Ryan struck for 1-2 in just a few minutes, and points from Chris Jones and Daire Fogarty (free) nudged them in front, 2-5 to 2-4 by the 16-minute mark.

Momentum continued to swing as Ballyfin rallied once again, registering four unanswered points. Shane Connolly clipped over two, while Dunne (free) and Steven Bergun pushed them back into a three-point lead.

John Wall and a Fogarty free reduced the margin to one, but Connolly responded with his third from play. Wall and Connolly exchanged further scores before Ballyfin finished the half strong, points from Dunne and Connolly saw them head into the break 2-12 to 2-8 ahead.

The second half began with both teams trading scores evenly. Dunne (free), O’Rourke and Duff hit the target for Ballyfin, while Jack Finnegan, Wall, and Fogarty (free) replied for Borris-Kilcotton. Then came a decisive moment, Sean Duff netted his second goal with 20 minutes to go, pushing Ballyfin seven clear.

David Scott (free) and Connolly traded points again, but Borris-Kilcotton needed goals to close the gap. Instead, they had to settle for two more frees from Fogarty and Scott, which cut the deficit to five.

Ballyfin stayed composed, with Ronan Carroll and a Dunne free stretching the gap again. Late frees from both Fogarty and Dunne brought the game to a close, as Ballyfin ran out deserving winners to cap a memorable Division 6 campaign.

SCORERS– Ballyfin: Chris Dunne 0-8 (0-5 frees), Sean Duff 2-1, Sean Connolly 0-6, Kevin O’Rourke 1-1, Ronan Carroll 0-2, Steven Bergin 0-1. Borris-Kilcotton: David Scott (0-2 frees) and David Ryan 1-2 each, Daire Fogarty 0-5 frees, John Wall 0-3, Jack Finnegan, Chris Jones and Kyle Abraham 0-1 each.

BALLYFIN: Eoin Connolly; Jordan Egan, Dermot McGill, Thomas Lynch; Conal Rowney, Richard Downey, Ciaran Quinn; Shane Connolly, Sean Duff; George Lanham, Glen Connolly, Ronan Carroll; Chris Dunne, Kevin O’Rourke, Steven Bergin. Subs: JJ McHugh for G Connolly (30 mins), Oran Callanan for Bergin (39 mins), Cian Brennan for Dunne (58 mins), Darragh Kelliher for O’Rourke and Sean Dunne for Lynch (60 mins)

BORRIS-KILCOTTON: Timmy Guidera; Alan Drennan, Des Daly, Eoin Brennan; Ryan Hanlon, David Scott, Ian Kennedy; DJ Kelly, Daire Fogarty; Jack Finnegan, Chris Jones, John Wall; Kyle Abraham, David Ryan, Darragh Fitzpatrick. Subs: Daire Quinlan for Jones (23 mins), Ben Quinlan for Drennan (41 mins), Willie Whelan for Finnegan (48 mins), Scott Abraham for Brennan (52 mins).

Referee: Ronan Devaney (Camross)

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