Ballinagar come good at last to secure semi-final with great win over table toppers

WITH the gun to their head and staring a traumatic exit in the face, Ballinagar came good at last to book their place in the semi-finals of the Senior “B” Football Championship with a great win over table toppers, Clara in Durrow on Sunday – Ballinagar's reward is a semi-final against Daingean while Clara meet Cappincur, who took them out in last year's semi-finals.

Tullamore Court Hotel Senior “B” Football Championship round 7

Ballinagar 0-18

Clara 2-10

As things worked out, Daingean's win over Tubber would have put them through anyway even if they lost but Ballinagar will have been delighted to have qualified entirely on merit, on their own steam, charging through the door with all guns blazing.

With Clara already through to the semi-finals as group toppers, Ballinagar had much greater incentive here and this showed in the second half when the game had to be won and lost. Clara had been excellent for much of the first half, leading by 1-7 to 0-9 at half time but were outscored by 0-9 to 1-3 in the second half as Ballinagar got away for a fully deserved win.

When the game had to be won in the final quarter, Ballinagar's greater hunger and need showed while Clara wilted as it wore on, A second yellow card for their best player Marcas Dalton in the 52^nd minute effectively sealed their fate, even though Clara goalkeeper Adam Scanlon made a great save from Morgan Tynan's penalty.

Ballinagar were 2-10 to 0-15 behind at that stage and for a brief few minutes, it looked like they were once again doing their utmost to lose a game that was there for the taking. They had threw away ten point leads when drawing with Tubber and losing to Daingean and these results left them staring an early exit in the face – had they lost to the championship favourites and Tubber beat Daingean, Ballinagar would have been gone.

Ballinagar had been excellent at the start of the second half as they quickly overturned the deficit. Frees from Morgan Tynan (2) and Robbie Gallagher and one from play from the excellent Conor Bracken had them 0-13 to 1-7 ahead after 40 minutes and even though the lead was only three points, they were in complete control.

Clara got back into it with a 42^nd minute goal from Cormac Delaney that was completely against the run of play. They broke at speed when a Ballinagar attack broke down with Adam Mangan kicking an aimless ball in and Robbie Gallagher being dispossessed, though he could have got a free, and Delaney finished well to level it up.

A great two point free from Cormac Delaney put Clara 2-10 to 0-14 ahead in the 49^th minute but that was their last score. Ballinagar did really well to win it from here and keep their heads after Tynan's penalty miss. As so often happens in cases where one team has to win and the result doesn't really matter to the other, Ballinagar's had the greater drive late on. The extra man helped as Robbie Gallagher brought it back to a point with a '45'. Morgan Tynan, who really stood up to be counted in the closing quarter and showed what he is capable of, edged them in front with a terrific two pointer in the 55^th minute – it was such a good score as Tynan was fully conscious of where the arc was, looked at it to make sure he stayed outside it and floated over a breathtaking score.

Tynan then added a free with a minute to go to put them two up and in the four minutes of injury time, Clara dug deep and mounted some very dangerous attacks. They threatened to get in for a goal but Ballinagar just held firm and missed a great chance at the other end when Robbie Gallagher turned down a goal but fisted against the upright – the ball fell to Jamie Ballesty, who took the opposite approach, going for the goal but having his shot blocked.

There could have been a price to be paid as Clara had a couple more attacks but on this occasion, Ballinagar held out and didn't need to worry about the Daingean-Tubber return on the final whistle.

It has been a real roller coaster of a year for Ballinagar, who won the intermediate last year and found the step up challenging. Clearly one of the best sides in this grade with the potential to go straight up to senior, they endured tough lessons as they struggled to hold leads and control games. This was better and while they played a bit of heart attack football, they very much deserve to be in the semi-finals and are real contenders now. This was a seriously good win and so important for them as their only other victories had come over the two teams in the relegation play off, Ballycumber and Gracefield. Considering the stakes, it was such a very good, composed display as they kept trying to do the right thing, didn't panic and it will do their morale the world of good.

While Clara had top spot secured, there was never a possibility of them treating this game with less than full respect. They made four changes but one of them was due to a suspension to the in-form Adam Kelly while Conor Doyle was injured but it provided a chance to get a former county player, Carl Stewart a much needed game under his belt – Stewart has returned from Australia but injury limited his involvement until now and this game will serve him well.

From the start, it was clear that Clara were offering Ballinagar no quarter and their approach was spot on, their intensity levels where they needed to be. Clara played very well in the first quarter and fully deserved their 1-5 to 0-3 lead after sixteen minutes. The goal was scored by Thomas Deehan in the 14^th minute but Ballinagar rallied very well in the second quarter.

After missing two earlier two point frees, Robbie Gallagher finally found the range with one in the 23^rd minute as Ballinagar dug deep. He then handed one of them back to Clara as he was the forward who committed a three man breach, Cormac Delaney tapping over the free – having questionably gone short with a couple of other very scoreable ones.

Marcas Dalton got a point to make it 1-7 to 0-5 but Ballinagar finished very well. Gallagher and Geordi O'Meara pointed and the excellent Gallagher then floated over a great two pointer to leave just a point in it, 1-7 to 0-9 at the break – Clara midfielder David Falsey was also sent on a 10 minute sabbatical before the break for a heavy body check.

This proved crucial as Ballinagar got three second half points before he came back on to gain a foothold in the game and force Clara onto the defensive.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Robbie Gallagher (Ballinagar): Robbie Gallagher's improvement in the past year has been quite dramatic and he has clearly benefitted from being on the Offaly senior football panel. A man with real hunger and desire to be a county player, Ballinagar are yielding the benefits and he had another terrific game here, scoring nine points, five of them from play. He was a bundle of energy, showing for everything, taking his man on and making life very uncomfortable for the Clara rearguard. Despite the late miss, his accuracy and conversion rate has improved greatly from where it was and he was instrumental in the win.
Apart from that, it was a very solid all round Ballinagar display. Conor Bracken was brilliant in the attack for a lot of it, a real livewire of energy and movement, though his influence did wane as it went on. Aaron Gorman was terrific in a very solid defence while Adam Strong put in a great shift at midfield and Morgan Tynan really came good for them late on.

Marcas Dalton looked like being a match winner for Clara for a lot of the game and his loss to the second yellow card more or less sealed their fate. Clara looked very good at times but they just didn't match Ballinagar's hunger late on and that won't be a factor if they do meet again in the final.

THE TEAMS

BALLINAGAR: Ryan Kinahan; Declan Crombie, Diarmuid Finneran, Eoin McGuinness; Jack Gorry, Brian Malone, Aaron Gorman; Adam Strong (Capt.), Alex Cuddy; Adam Mangan,Adam Joyce, Geordi O'Meara; Conor Bracken, Morgan Tynan, Robbie Gallagher. Subs – Jamie Ballesty for Cuddy (46m), Jack Sheil for Gorry (48m), Conor McGuinness for Sheil, inj. (55m),

CLARA: Adam Scanlon; Alan Gavin, Christian McKeon, Ryan Carroll; Marcas Dalton, Carl Stewart, Daragh McKeon; David Falsey, Graham Guilfoyle; Cormac Delaney, Barry Egan, Eoin Gavin; Myles Handy, Josh Fleming, Thomas Deehan. Subs – Ed Cullen for Eoin Gavin (38m), Conor Egan for Deehan (44m), Jack Reynolds for Fleming (51m), Bobby Mitchell for Daragh McKeon (57m),

Referee – Eamon O'Connor, Ballycommon.

REFEREE WATCH

Eamon O'Connor had a very good game. The one quibble with refereeing this year is that a lot of clear black card offences are being let off with yellows. It seems that the mindset has changed with the new rules but Marcas Dalton's first half yellow was a black card offence all day – having said that, O'Connor did show David Falsey a black card later in the half for a block on a Ballinagar run.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

The two pointer Morgan Tynan kicked in the 55^th minute was a real inspirational score. He made sure he stayed outside the arc and had the confidence to kick it despite having a penalty saved a couple of minutes earlier.

VENUE WATCH

Durrow was in good order with the usual efficient stewards managing the fixture.

WHAT'S NEXT

Clara play Cappincur in the semi-finals while Ballinagar meet Daingean.

STATISTICS

Wides: Ballinagar – 9 (5 in first half); Clara – 7 (4 in first half).

Yellow cards: Ballinagar – 1; Clara – 2 (Marcas Dalton 2);

Black cards: Ballinagar – 0; Clara – 1 (David Falsey).

Red cards: Clara – 1 (Marcas Dalton 2 yellows); Ballinagar – 0.

THE SCORERS

Ballinagar: Robbie Gallagher 0-9 (1 x 2pf, 1f, 1 '45', 1 x 2p), Morgan Tynan 0-6 (3f and 1 x 2p), Conor Bracken 0-2, Geordi O'Meara 0-1.

Clara: Cormac Delaney 1-5 (1 x 2pf, 1f), Thomas Deehan 1-1, Marcas Dalton 0-2, Graham Guilfoyle and Josh Fleming 0-1 each.