Ballinamere through as Belmont face winners' take all tussle with Coolderry after messy shootout

A MESSY , disjointed, fractious Senior Hurling Championship shootout in O'Connor Park on Sunday ended with Ballinamere securing a quarter-final berth – at least - and Belmont facing into a winners' take all tussle with Coolderry.

Molloy Environmental Systems Senior Hurling Championship Group 2 Round 4

Ballinamere 1-20

Belmont 1-12

The result was very much the bottom line for Ballinamere and it was important for them to win this type of game but their performance was certainly not one of county champions in waiting. Instead, they won almost inspite of themselves as they stumbled rather than raced over the finish line, no matter what the scoreline might suggest.

The final score flattered the winners and this was way tighter than it suggests. While Ballinamere were the better team and deserved to win, there were times when they seemed to be doing their utmost to lose it. Fortunately for them, Belmont were also guilty of the same in a game that didn't do a whole lot for the purists. There were flashes of good hurling and Ballinamere in particular had a few excellent individual displays but as a spectacle, it certainly did little to set the pulse racing – while it was fiercely contestd with absolute commitment by both sides, it was somewhat frustrating to watch at times.

There was little flow to the hurling, a lot of stop-start play and a niggle to proceedings. Behind by 0-12 to 1-8 at half time, Belmont only managed four points in the second half and were down to fourteen men from the 40th minute on. David Cox, just on the field as a temporary sub, was red carded after an off the ball altercation with Chris McDonald. Referee Simon Whelahan consulted with his umpires at length and sent off Cox much to Belmont's fury – there may have been two in it but McDonald's helmet did come off in the tangle and once Cox was pinpointed for that, he was always going to get a red.

At that stage, Belmont were trailing by 0-13 to 1-9 and very much in the hunt, even if Ballinamere were marginally the better team. Even at that, the game remained in the balance until near the end. Belmont, who were missing David Nally – his broken hand has still not fully healed and he was a cruel loss to them -, had their chances to have won it but were overpowered late on.

As the second half wore on, the quality of hurling disintegrated. James Nally and Aaron Maher swopped points to leave Ballinamere ahead, 0-14 to 1-10 after 44 minutes and it was ten minutes later before the next score arrived.

Both sides missed chances and there was a combined seven wides before the next point. Paddy Clancy was wide with a straightforward free for Belmont and Mark Egan also missed a scoreable one. Ballinamere were equally as culpable but Brian Duignan eventually gave them a measure of breathing space with a huge long range free in the 54th minute.

Aaron Maher added a lovely point a minute later and a three point lead was a big one at this stage of such a scrappy encounter. Yet Belmont got back into it, thanks in part to Ballinamere goalkeeper Mark Troy who sent two wayward puckouts straight to Belmont players and they ended up in a Mark Egan point from a '65' and Paddy Clancy free to leave just a point in it, 0-16 to 1-12 with the 60 minutes just up: Troy's normally radar like accuracy deserted him on this occasion while he was also at fault for Belmont's goal – whether he was not fully tuned in or just had an off day, which can happen everyone, is something only the goalkeeper can answer.

With a point in it, there was still loads of time for Belmont – five minutes of injury time turned into nine as a couple of flare ups and a messy melee that was more shape throwing than anything else further disrupted the play.

Belmont, however, never had a chance of an equaliser as Ballinamere finished strongly. Brian Duignan converted a 61st minute free and Ballinamere could relax a bit when sub John Murphy put three in it in the 63rd minute – a draw was enough to put them into the quarter-finals. Darragh Wyer and Duignan added points before Duignan raced through unopposed for a 69th minute goal that was immaterial at that stage.

It was a big game for Ballinamere to win and the main positives are that they stood up to Belmont's physicality, didn't shy away when the going got tough and showed character on a day when a good few things went wrong for them. They also had players who really produced the goods at different stages. Sam Bourke and Ciaran Burke were superb in the first half while Ross Ravenhill's second half display was instrumental in their win. Aaron Maher had a great game in their attack while Dan Ravenhill was very good in the first half.

Yet, Ballinamere will have to be honest about themselves and acknowledge that this wasn't a particularly good display. Their mistake count was quite high as they persisted with a short passing game that broke down on a few occasions. This is clearly Ballinamere's game plan this year, a determination to use every ball and find their man every time but it remains to be seen if they are good enough throughout the field to pull this off in a high intensity knockout game where everything is fiercely contested. A game such as this will bring them on but a plan B and just letting in long ball also has its part in this type of game.

Ballinamere now face champions Shinrone in their last group game with a semi-final place on offer for the winners and that is a very good position for them. This was a dogfight but they won, they are through with a round to spare and they do appear to have improved this year. They also have big game players, capable of getting magical scores and they now command complete respect from all contenders, though the jury is still out on them.

Belmont are on rocky ground. They will be slight favourites in their must win showdown with Coolderry with the victors into the quarter-final but they will really need David Nally back for that one. With Mark Egan outstanding at centre half back, they battled with typical determination but couldn't afford some of their second half misses. Having been agonisingly close to reaching a county final in recent years, this defeat adds weight to a growing impression that this ship may have sailed for them. While Cathal Flynn created havoc at times with his pace and Paddy Clancy got a couple of opportunist points from play, four scores in the second half was way below what was needed.

Belmont were certainly the happier team at half time, even though they trailed by a point, 0-12 to 1-8. Ballinamere had been the better team in the first half but missed a few chances while the percentage of the ball they gave away was too high.

Some of this came from the goalkeeper Mark Troy and it was down to a mixture of him being a fraction out with his puckouts and clearances while some of the intended recipients also had to hold their hands up – there were a couple of times when they either didn't read the deliveries, didn't gather them or spilled the ball

Whatever about the clearances, Troy was responsible for the Belmont goal when he fumbled a harmless enough James Nally shot in the 30th minute and then couldn't keep it out as he scrambled. It was a soft goal and it was very important for Belmont as it levelled it up at a stage when Ballinamere had begun to open up and another point would have put them in a strong position.

As it was Dan Ravenhill converted an injury time free to give Ballinamere that interval lead but it was very much in the balance. Belmont started brightly and led by 0-2 to 0-1 after three minutes. Two delightful Sam Bourke points helped Ballinamere to a 0-4 to 0-2 lead after eight minutes. Cathal Flynn blazed wide with a great goal chance for Belmont in the 11th minute before they found the range with Paddy Clancy getting two points as they led by 0-6 to 0-5 after fourteen minutes.

Ballinamere got on top after this but missed some decent chances with Sam Bourke, Mike O'Brien and Dan Ravenhill all hitting wides. Ronan Cleary and Dan Ravenhill did hit the target to put Ballinamere 0-7 to 0-6 ahead after 20 minutes. Ballinamere edged two clear twice and Brian Duignan put them three ahead with an excellent point before that soft goal kept Belmont in it.

MATCH ANASLYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Ross Ravenhill (Ballinamere): Aaron Maher was very close. His four point haul from play was a huge contribution while he had a couple of assists and also won a crucial late free. On this occasion, howver, Ross Ravenhill edges it. When Ballinamere needed leadership and character in the second half, Ravenhill answered the call spectacularly. He was immense at centre half back as Belmont tried to go through the centre, cutting out a lot of ball, putting his body in the way and using possession well.

THE SCORERS

Ballinamere: Brian Duignan 1-6 (4f), Aaron Maher 0-4, Dan Ravenhill 0-3 (1f), Sam Bourke and Dan Bourke 0-2 each, Ronan Cleary, John Murphy and Darragh Wyer 0-1 each.

Belmont: Mark Egan (3f and 1 '65') and Paddy Clancy (2f) 0-4 each, James Nally 1-1, Cathal Flynn 0-2, Damien Egan 0-1.

THE TEAMS

BALLINAMERE: Mark Troy; Chris McDonald, Ciaran Burke, Gerry Spollen; Conor Wyer, Ross Ravenhill, Sam Bourke; David Magner, Dan Bourke; Dan Ravenhill, Brian Duignan, Aaron Maher; Kevin McDermott, Mike O'Brien, Ronan Cleary. Subs – John Murphy for Wyer (45m), Darragh Wyer for O'Brien (59m), Conor Wyer for Dan Ravenhill (69m).

BELMONT: Barry Egan; Conor Kenny, Conor Butler, Patrick Taaffe; Jack Clancy, Mark Egan, Darragh Flynn; Leon Fox, Shane Nally; Paddy Clancy, Conor Dunican, James Nally; David Kelly, Cathal Flynn, Damien Egan. Subs – Mark Cahill for Dunican (43m), Joe Maher for Kelly (51m), Damien Egan for James Nally (51m). Note: Damien Egan had went off for a blood injury in the 39th minute but his replacement David Cox then got a red card.

Referee – Simon Whelahan (Birr).

REFEREE WATCH

The first thing to say about Simon Whelahan's performance is that he was impeccably impartial and while both sides were unhappy with him, he was clearly trying to do his best. The second thing is that the game did get away from him and he didn't have one of his best displays. They may have balanced out to an extent but the quota of debatable decisions did seem a bit high. For a while in the first half, Ballinamere seemed to find it hard to win frees while some crucial calls went against Belmont in the second half – Ballinamere got a free out at one vital stage when a Belmont player had been fouled earlier, though the referee may have been unsighted. He spoke at length with officials when he was in doubt and in fairness to him, it wasn't an easy game to referee with a lot going on, off and on the ball. Belmont will talk about the sending off but if Cox did grab Chris McDonald's helmet, that is a red card and the Birr man spoke for a good while with his umpires before making his decision.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

John Murphy's 63rd minute point was a big score as it put Ballinamere three points up and a draw was sufficient for a knockout place.

VENUE WATCH

The O'Connor Park pitch was at its best, a real work of art and the game was well hosted.

WHAT'S NEXT

Ballinamere play champions Shinrone with a semi-final at stake and Belmont have a must win game v Coolderry in round 5.

STATISTICS

Wides: Ballinamere – 11 (4 in first half); Belmont - 10 (6 in first half).

Yellow cards: Ballinamere – 2 (Dan Ravenhill and Brian Duignan); Belmont – 3 (Conor Kenny, Leon Fox and Damien Egan).

Red cards: Ballinamere – 0; Belmont – 1 (David Cox).