Edenderry book semi-final slot with strong second half

A strong second half display was enough for Edenderry as they outscored Ballycommon 1-13 to 0-4 in the second half and turned the game around to secure themselves their third win in four games to seal a spot in the semi finals as they aim to win a first senior title since 2015.  

Tullamore Court Hotel Offaly Senior Football Championship Group 1 Round 5

Edenderry 2-18

Ballycommon 1-10

Kaelum Bryan's 54th minute goal was the sealer for his side in Croghan, it made the result certain and all but assured them a place in the semi finals. When needed the big players for Edenderry stood up, the likes of Rory Egan, Lee Pearson, Cian Farrell and Jordan Hayes along with Aaron Murphy all came out like different players in the second half, - they trailed at the break by 1-6 to 1-5 and needed to put in a strong second half display and that’s exactly what they conjured up.

For Ballycommon, despite missing both Karl and Conor Dunne due to them playing rugby for Tullamore as well as goalkeeper Paul Scally being away, they started off the game the stronger as they had the ball in the back of the net after just a minute with Ryan Kenny firing in a first time off the ground, before Stephen Conneely came up with two two pointers on the bounce, both of which were of real quality. They kept the momentum going despite not being at their best under their own kickouts, but were still managing the game well and it took until the 10th minute for Edenderry to register a first score of the game through Dylan Byrne. 

Byrne would go on to score another point a few minutes later, along with Sean Doyle kicking 0-3, as the two late changes warranted their starts from the moment the ball was thrown in.  A fortuitous effort which came crashing off the post fell into the path of Aaron Murphy which the full forward fisted into the net to give Edenderry a much needed boost. 

Edenderry would come out firing in the second half as they would get the opening three scores of the half including a two pointed free from Cian Farrell and swung the game in their favour. Some nice fast and quick football was mastered by the championship contenders, with the likes of Eoin Dunne kicking a nice score, alongside Cian Murphy, Farrell and Jordan Hayes, which was arguably score of the day as the Offaly kicked a wonderful score outside the foot which he felt should have been a two pointer but it was given as just one. 

Despite the best efforts of Christopher Kenny and Aidan Bracken, Ballycommon just couldn’t close the gap to Edenderry enough to try and cause a shock and that was all but finalised when Harry Goudling, who was sensational here, made a darting run forward and set up Kaelum Bryan for a goal which found the roof of the net and all but killed the game off as a contest. 

Rory Egan kicked a two pointer at the end to make it a 11 point winning margin for Edenderry as they now march forward into the final four as they try to add to their league title success earlier in the summer and end Tullamore’s bid for a third Dowling Cup in a row. 

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Cian Farrell (Edenderry): Harry Goulding did very well at wing back, as did Lee Pearson and Rory Egan. Aaron and Cian Murphy also had strong showings as did Kaelum Bryan in the forwards. Sean Doyle and Dylan Byrne kicked 0-5 between them.

Cian Farrell gets the nod as he was still the most effective player for Edenderry particularly in the second half, with his two pointer frees as well as landing a good score from play and being the nuisance that Ballycommon always had to keep an eye on. 

Stephen Conneely kicked 0-5 first half points including two outstanding two pointers, while Ryan Kenny also had some good spells as did Aidan Bracken, David Dempsey and Christopher Kenny.

THE SCORERS

Edenderry: Cian Farrell (1free, 2 2ptf) 0-6, Aaron Murphy 1-2, Kaelum Bryan 1-1, Sean Doyle (1free) 0-3, Dylan Byrne 0-2, Jordan Hayes Cian Murphy, Eoin Dunne and Rory Egan 0-1 each .

Ballycommon: Stephen Conneely (2 2pt) 0-5, Ryan Kenny (1free) 1-1, Christopher Kenny (1free 1 2ptf) 0-4.

THE TEAMS

EDENDERRY: Stephen McGlynn; Sean Pender, Eoin Dunne, Adam Mahon; Rory Ega, Lee Pearson (JC), Harry Goulding, Jordan Hayes, David Moloney; Sean Doyle, Cian Murphy, Dylan Byrne; Kaelum Bryan, Aaron Murphy, Cian Farrell . Subs– Mason Farrell for Byrne (47m), Darragh Farrell for Doyle (47m), Daithi Brady for Dunne (56m), Cillian Lowry for Goulding (60m), Cillian Foran for Murphy (62m).

BALLYCOMMON: Tom Mealiffe; Chuilann Boland, Matthew Dempsey, Donal Scally; David Dempsey, Paul Conway, Aidan Bracken (C), Jack Kenny, Zach Wright; Stephen Conneely, Christopher Kenny, Brian Todd; Ryan Kenny, Sean Conway, TJ Bermingham. Subs– Robert Conneely for Scally (HT), Killian Owens for Bermingham (47m), Darragh O’Brien for Dempsey (56m), Aaron Scally for Mealiffe (60m).

Referee – Chris Dwyer, Clara.

REFEREE WATCH

Chris Dwyer did a good job in the middle and didn’t make decisions that affected the result of the game and kept a firm grip on things.   

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Kaelum Bryan’s goal which settled the game for Edenderry was a well worked score by Harry Goulding before being unleashed into the roof of the net by Bryan to all but seal the victory for Edenderry on what was a tougher than expected evening for them. 

Stephen Conneely’s two two pointers in the first half also deserve a shout for the quality of scores he produced for his side during Ballycommon’s best period. 

VENUE WATCH

St Brigid's hosted the game in Croghan and did so very well with plenty of parking and stewards on hand to help the crowd on what was a wet evening on Saturday. 

WHAT'S NEXT

Edenderry go into the semi finals, while Ballycommon’s year comes to an end.

STATISTICS

Wides: Ballycommon  –  2 (0 in first half); Edenderry  – 10  (6 in first half).

Yellow cards: Ballycommon – 1 (Stephen Conneely; Edenderry – 2 (Cian Murphy and Cian Farrell)

Black Cards: 0

Red cards: 0