Ballinagar take important step forward as Cappincur run out of steam in second half
Brosna Press Division 2 Football League final
AS always, championship will be the litmus test for every team but Ballinagar took an important step forward when they eventually wore down near neighbours Cappincur in an engrossing Offaly Division 2 Football League final at Daingean on Wednesday evening.
Brosna Press Division 2 Football League final
Ballinagar 2-12
Cappincur 2-9
An emerging club with ambitions of going senior, Ballinagar still have a lot of road to travel to make that level but they will be delighted with this win as it marks another milestone on their evolution from a junior club just a short few years ago.
The club have made remarkable progress as they have won junior and intermediate championships and the Leinster Junior Football Championship as well as losing to Clara in the senior B final last year in a short space of time as a golden generation of young footballer graduated into adult football. They also won Division 4 and 5 leagues when winning the junior championship in 2022 and it really has been a meteoric rise up the ranks.
It remains to be seen how far they can go and if they can compete in the top flight for the first time in well over a century – the jury remains out on them and in some ways, this performance provided more questions than answers but this win in the second tier of Offaly football shows how far they have come and they are entitled to wear a glow of satisfaction at it.
While Ballinagar ended up worthy winners on the day, there is one underlying sense of injustice about them coming out on top in this grade as the format decided on by the County Board was seriously flawed. With just five teams in it, they decided that every team should qualify to get an extra game but that just doesn't sit right and there should have been some knockout element. Ballinagar win even though they didn't pick up a solitary point, losing to Ballycumber, Daingean and Cappincur while their final game against Tubber wasn't played. There is a grey area about this as Tubber sought a change to the fixture: they have claimed that Ballinagar agreed not to play it and to leave it until their clash in a so called preliminary semi-final – that description alone shows how ludicrous the format was.
The Ballinagar management and team certainly wanted to play that first game and to their credit, the club didn't want a walkover but whatever was agreed between their officers, Tubber and the County Board, they were not granted the game and the final league table shows them and Tubber without a point. Ballinagar went on to beat Tubber, Daingean and Cappincur to come out on top and full marks to them for that but no team should be winning a league without picking up a point – the fact that that last fixture wasn't played completely undermines the rationale for letting all five teams qualify. It all meant that Daingean and Ballycumber, who had seven and six points didn't make the final while Cappincur had five from the group stage: The ideal, most competitive and best format in a five team division is the top team going into the final and second and third meeting in a semi-final - that of course won't worry Ballinagar now and shouldn't but hopefully, there will always be a lot more at stake in the league section going forward from now on.
Apart from all that, meetings between Ballinagar and Cappincur have been comparatively few over the years and in a way, that may have added to the desire of both clubs to win. Cappincur have punched at a higher level for the most part but Ballinagar have dramatically closed the gap in the past couple of years and it could be argued that they have passed them out – by virtue of the fact that Ballinagar reached the senior “B” football final last year, whereas Cappincur exited at the semi-final stage.
A trend of their few meetings over the year has been a tendency by Ballinagar to get too caught up in wanting to put one over their neighbours and forgetting, to some extent, about their performance and just going out to play football. Cappincur have been very keen not to lose to Ballinagar but have been better at giving a display and playing close to their potential, even if this hasn't always resulted in a win.
That all set the scene for an intriguing local derby with a large number of supporters making the short journey to Daingean. As you would expect, it was a hard fought, high intensity battle with no quarter asked or given and some good football played.
It was a good, clean game of football, played in the right spirit and Ballinagar did well to win it after a fairly atrocious opening twenty minutes when they just couldn't get going and made some elementary mistakes. Playing with the wind in the first half, Cappincur had 1-3 on the board before Craig Strong kicked Ballinagar's opening point in the 21st minute. Cappincur were excellent in the way they controlled the tempo of the game and played such solid football in the opening twenty minutes.
Ballinagar were at nothing in this spell and were fortunate that they weren't beaten before they finally got going coming up to half time. Former county star Eoin Carroll was sensational in that opening spell as he ran the game, mixing his time between midfield and full forward. He got all their scores in the first twenty minutes, getting them going with a 2 pointer in the first minute and punching their goal in the 14th minute when new goalkeeper Steven Dwane flapped at a Brian Norris point shot.
In the wind up, however, Cappincur blew the game in this period when they were the better side by a country mile. They could very easily have had three or four goals and if they had got even a couple more, Ballinagar may not have come back. Sean Courtney, Sean Graham and Peter Norris all spurned good goal chances and a couple of points were also missed.
Ballinagar did very well to get back into it before half time. They scored four points between the 21st and 25th minutes, conceded an excellent two pointer to Ciaran Farrell and got a crucial goal a few seconds before the break when Robbie Gallagher drove at the defence and his shot just barely beat David Graham.
Considering the way the first half went, Ballinagar were very happy to be only 1-6 to 1-4 behind at half time and they looked likely winners almost the whole way in the second half. Cappincur battled with everything they had, kept coming back when Ballinagar got on top but eventually their legs went and they went into the red as a unit while Ballinagar's youth and fitness told.
The losers tried everything, bringing on Bill Carroll in the 42nd minute but he lasted just over ten minutes when he got injured again and walked over the end line, a few minutes after scoring a fine point. They brought in three subs in the 53rd minute as players began to cramp up – PJ Daly had made a welcome return from a cruciate injury a few minutes earlier but as the half wore on, Cappincur were in pure survival mode, hoping for a break and needing Ballinagar to kick it away.
This didn't happen and the team Cappincur ended up with would be unlikely to win a senior B championship but once again this proud club, showed serious heart and desire.
A great Robbie Gallagher goal just 28 seconds after the restart gave Ballinagar the lead for the first time and should have been the signal for them to take over. Instead Cappincur rallied the forces and a Ciaran Farrell free, just a couple of inches inside the two point arc, and a very well worked Ger Treacy goal in the 34th minute, followed by another Farrell point had them 2-8 to 2-4 ahead.
Unfortunately for Cappincur, that was the pinnacle of the evening for them and Ballinagar were the better side from here to the final whistle. Their dominance increased as the half wore on and they were on level terms by the 42nd minute thanks to a Craig Strong two pointer and points from Adam Joyce, who really sprang to life in the second half, and Jamie Ballesty.
Cappincur were on the ropes but Ballinagar took their time about landing punches. Robbie Gallagher blasted across the face of the goal with a great goal chance and Adam Mangan missed a free before Joyce put them ahead with his second point in the 46th minute. Bill Carroll equalised but Robbie Gallagher's free put the winners back in front in the 51st minute.
Cappincur were clearly out on their feet by now and Robbie Gallagher's delightfully struck two point free gave them a three point cushion in the 55th minute. With two pointers unlikely against the wind, Cappincur needed a goal to force extra time but never looked like manufacturing one. Ballinagar did leave the door open with Gallagher wide from a scoreable free and Morgan Tynan having a wide – they would have had only themselves to blame if they had conceded a goal but they defended very well and held on for a deserved win.
MATCH ANALYSIS
MAN OF THE MATCH
Robbie Gallagher (Ballinagar): In many ways and under a lot of the criteria, Eoin Carroll was the best player on the field. Recently married to Geashill woman Aoife Dempsey, Carroll put in a serious shift and you just had to admire the way he played, the efficiency of his football, the 1-3 he scored and the physical hits he put in. It was a serious display by Carroll and without his tour-de-force, Cappincur would have been in bother – Ciaran Farrell also had a very good game for them and Adam Galvin did a lot of hard work.
The choice, however, is Robbie Gallagher. Not everything he did turned to gold and he had a couple of misses but he was Ballinagar's X factor and in the heel of the hunt, he was the difference between the teams. He was their go to guy as Ballinagar looked for him more than anyone else and he ensured a difficult evening for the Cappincur full back line – his county fitness was a big factor as bodies got tired and he ended up with a decisive 2-4, 2-1 from play.
The Strong brothers, Adam and Craig also contributed powerfully for Ballinagar, Craig was instrumental in them getting going before half time and he went well in the second half before tiring in the final quarter. Adam Strong did great work to take control of midfield before half time – he was replaced by his twin Ryan as the exertions took their toll as the second half wore on. Adam Joyce had a terrific second half for Ballinagar and a mention must be made of a new kid on the block, Oisin Troy, who did some excellent defensive work and should have got a first half goal.
THE SCORERS
Ballinagar: Robbie Gallagher 2-4 (1 x 2pf, 1f), Craig Strong 0-4 (1 x 2p), Adam Joyce 0-2, Declan Crombie and Oisin Troy 0-1 each.
Cappincur: Eoin Carroll 1-3 (1 x 2p), Ciaran Farrell 0-4 (1 x 2p, 1f), Ger Treacy 1-0, Sean Courtney, Bill Carroll 0-1 each.
THE TEAMS
BALLINAGAR: Steven Dwane; Kevin O'Beirne, Declan Crombie, Jack Gorry; Oisin Troy, Brian Malone, Adam Joyce; Aaron Gorman, Adam Strong; Adam Mangan, Craig Strong, Robbie Gallagher; Conor Bracken, Morgan Tynan, Jamie Ballesty. Subs – Ryan Strong for Adam Strong (46m), Jack Sheil for Ballesty (53m), Cian Malone for Mangan (53m).
CAPPINCUR: David Graham; Tommy Leavu, Darragh Norris, Sean Flynn; Brion Carroll, Hubert Healion, Igor Daly; Adam Galvin, Eoin Carroll; Sean Courtney, Sean Graha,, Brian Norris; Ger Treacy, Ciaran Farrell, Peter Norris. Subs – Bill Carroll for Peter Norris (42m), PJ Daly for Graham (46m), Luke Carey for Bill Carroll, inj. (53m), Ollie Hayes for Healion (53m), Michael Fitzgerald for Leavy (53m).
Referee – Kevin Williamson, Tullamore.
REFEREE WATCH
Both Cappincur and Ballinagar are very much footballing teams but there was always going to be a bite in this and the decision to give it to arguably the best footballing referee in Offaly was a wise one. Kevin Williamson was fully aware that it would be played with intensity and he handled it very well. As usual, he got the vast majority of calls right and he dealt efficiently with any hard tackles.
MOMENT OF THE MATCH
Robbie Gallagher's 29th minute goal had a huge bearing on the outcome. Cappincur had played a lot of football to be only two points up at half time and it meant that the initiative had swung to Ballinagar for the second half.
VENUE WATCH
A few clubs in Offaly have set the template about how to do development programmes properly. Daingean are very much in this category and any club with plans would do a lot worse than visit their facilities and talk to their officers. Their lovely new stand and terrace. Both put up almost in the blink of an eye, completes it from a spectating point of view and Daingean have excellent facilities. Their pride in them is understandable and they had all hands on deck for this local derby. Daingean know both clubs very well and gave a warm welcome to their Ballinagar and Cappincur visitors.
WHAT'S NEXT
The focus quickly goes to championship for both clubs.
STATISTICS
Wides: Ballinagar – 8 (4 in first half); Cappincur – 10 (7 in first half).
Yellow cards: Cappincur – 1 (Brion Carroll); Ballinagar – 1 (Ryan Strong)/
Black cards: 0
Red cards: 0