Ballycommon rally well to keep slim hopes alive as Durrow bow out

FORTUNATE not to be in a very difficult situation at half time, Ballycommon rallied very well in the second half to keep their slim hopes of qualification alive in an entertaining Senior Football Championship tussle with Durrow in Ballycommon on Friday evening.

Tullamore Court Hotel Senior Football Championship Group 1 Round 4

Ballycommon 1-16

Durrow 1-12

The winners played much better in the second half to get the win over a Durrow side who ran out of steam and ideas as the evening progressed. With a game to come against Rhode, Durrow's season is over while Ballycommon are hanging on by a thread that could very well snap in O'Connor Park on Saturday. The result of Edenderry, who they face in the final round, and Ferbane will dictate exactly where they stand but Ballycommon's hopes of a quarter-final place are in the long odds category – Ballycommon's most realistic path to the quarter-finals is for Ferbane to beat Edenderry, Rhode to beat Durrow and them to beat Edenderry which would put them in on the head to head.

No one will be holding their breath for all that to happen but they did very well to win this game and even if a group exit is their fate, it gives them something tangible from the season – it was their first win at this grade since winning senior B two years ago and they were delighted with that. With both points pointless from their first two rounds, this was a knockout game – in other years, it would have been a relegation battle but no one is going back this year as senior football goes to ten teams in 2026.

Durrow will be very disappointed at the loss. They played most of the football in an occasionally exciting first half display and their 1-6 to 0-5 half time lead did not accurately reflect how much better they were than their opponents – Ballycommon only scored three times in a poor first half showing but crucially two of those were two pointers.

Durrow were 1-3 to no score ahead after nine minutes, Ciaran Burke getting a fantastic 9^th minute goal after driving through from the left. They were eating Ballycommion alive and the game was 14 minutes old when they got their first score, a great Chris Kenny two pointer – it was Ballycommon's fourth two point attempt and at least a couple of the earlier attempts were hit and hope shots.

As the half wore on, Durrow's problems became evident. They struggled to win their own kickouts and Ballycommon were much quicker to react to breaking ball – this facet of the game became particularly pronounced in the second half when Ballycommon cleaned up in the whole midfield zone.

1-3 to 0-2 up after 20 minutes, Durrow found their form again with three points on the trot from Mark Troy, Jack O'Brien and a very hard working Brian Duignan to lead by 1-6 to 0-3 with the half almost up.

The few seconds each side of the break were an unmitigated disaster for Durrow. They had the ball in first half injury time but coughed it up in attack and Ballycommon swept forward for Chris Kenny to score his second two pointer.

Ballycommon were very happy to be only four points behind at the break and a goal 20 seconds into the second half changed the whole game. Durrow won the kickout but David Magner lost possession while attacking, Ballycommon broke forward at pace against an exposed defence and Sean Conway sent Ryan Kenny in for a very well taken goal. Jack Kenny fired over the equaliser moments later and Ballycommon looked like winning from here on.

Durrow dug deep for a while. Mark Troy got them back in front with a lovely point but David Dempsey equalised with a rare point and Ryan Kenny put Ballycommon in front for the first time with a 40^th minute free. Durrow got level once more but it all went downhill for them in the closing quarter and as the game entered the phase where it was there to be won, the losers had very little to offer.

They couldn't win a break to save their lives at midfield, possession not being gathered with hands on it and Ryan and Chris Kenny dashing in to win a lot of the spilled ball. Ballycommon were 1-10 to 1-9 ahead after 46 minutes and pushed for home. Three quick points put them 1-13 to 1-9 ahead after 49 minutes – Durrow goalkeeper Dermot Colbert kept them alive with a great save from Sean Conway but the ball went back out to Tom Mealiffe who more or less ended it as a contest with a two pointer.

Durrow did have one more chance to get back into it, Ciaran Burke sending Dan Bourke in on goal in the 56^th minute – he had time to pick his spot but went for power and Paul Scally made a sensational full length save. A goal would have reduced it to two points and put it back in the melting pot but that was Durrow's final throw of the dice and Ballycommon's win was not in doubt late on.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Chris Kenny (Ballycommon): Ciaran Burke was the best player on the field by a distance in the first half, running the game and consistently opening Ballycommon up with some powerful surges up the field. His influence, however, waned in the second half, though he still had good spells and Chris Kenny is the choice.

One of three brothers on the team and a son of 1990s Offaly star John Kenny, Chris had an excellent game. Ballycommon only scored three times in the first half but two of them were two pointers from Kenny and they would have been in trouble only for them. He did have a couple of shots too when he might have been better passing but shooting should never be a “shooting” offence, if you pardon the pun. He was very composed on the ball in the second half, worked hard and grabbed more than his share of breaks around midfield.

Ballycommon had other players who performed well when it mattered. The half time switch of Stephen Conneely to attack and Karl Dunne to more familiar territory at centre back worked with Conneely really driving Ballycommon on while David Dempsey began to defence with that more solid formation. Sean Conway had a very productive second half in at full forward, giving Ballycommon something to aim at and causing trouble for Durrow every time he got his hands on the ball.

Zach Wright, Aidan Bracken and Ryan Kenny also caught the eye for the winners.

It hasn't happened for Durrow in this campaign and this was another missed opportunity for them. Durrow tend to lose out to Ballinamere hurlers at times but once again all their hurlers were available here. That is the way it should be and they performed, though their lack of football showed when it really counted in the second half. Apart from Ciaran Burke, Ross Ravenhill had a very good first half, Brian Duignan had some very good spells and Dan Bourke oozed class at times, though the end result did not always come from the positions he found himself in. Mark Troy got two quality points and was good on the ball while Jack O'Brien and Steven Doran did some good work.

THE SCORERS

Ballycommon: Ryan Kenny 1-3 (3f), Chris Kenny 0-5 (2 x 2p), Stephen Conneely, Tom Mealiffe (2p) and Conor Dunne 0-2 each, David Dempsey and Jack Kenny 0-1 each.

Durrow: Ciaran Burke 1-0, Kevin McDermott 0-3 (2f), Jack Fogarty, Brian Duignan, Mark Troy and Barry O'Rourke (1f) 0-2 each, Jack O'Brien 0-1.

THE TEAMS

BALLYCOMMON: Paul Scally; Chulainn Boland, Matthew Dempsey, Zach Wright; David Dempsey, Stephen Conneely, Aidan Bracken; Sean Conway, Tom Mealiffe; Karl Dunne, Chris Kenny, Jack Kenny; Conor Dunne, Ryan Kenny, Brian Todd. Subs – Michael Conneely for Jack Kenny (58m).

DURROW: Dermot Colbert; Sean Hughes, Ciaran Burke, Gavin Hand; Darragh Wyer, Jack O'Brien, Ross Ravenhill; Jack Fogarty, Brian Duignan; Steven Doran, Dan Bourke, David Magner; Mark Troy, Barry O'Rourke, Kevin McDermott. Subs – Colin Waters for Wyer (51m), Sam Bourke for Hughes (51m).

Referee – Brian Gavin, Clara.

REFEREE WATCH

Both teams played football but Brian Gavin handled it well with no issues. Referees do seem reluctant to show black cards for deliberate fouls since the new rules came in and Brian Gavin was the same here – one player from each side could certainly have got a ten minute breather for fouls they committed.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

The 20 second each side of half time was where this game was won and lost as Ballycommon got a two pointer and a goal.

VENUE WATCH

Ballycommon had their ground well prepared and managed the traffic professionally.

WHAT'S NEXT

Ballycommon play Edenderry while Durrow face Rhode in the final round.

STATISTICS

Wides: Ballycommon – 9

(6 in first half); Durrow – 7 (4 in first half).

Yellow cards: Ballycommon – 2 (Chulainn Boland and Aidan Bracken); Durrow – 2 (Ross Ravenhill and Kevin McDermott).

Black cards: 0

Red cards: 0