Battling Cappincur grind out crucial win as Ballycumber miss good opportunity
Tullamore Court Hotel Senior “B” Football Championship Round 1
WITH both sides missing key players, the result was all that mattered and it was Cappincur who were smiling when they just got the better of visitors Ballycumber in a tough, dogged Offaly Senior “B” Football Championship opener in Cappincur on Tuesday evening.
Tullamore Court Hotel Senior “B” Football Championship Round 1
Cappincur 4-8
Ballycumber 0-14
Cappincur were without some of their most important players in the injured Bill Carroll, John Colgan, Brian Norris, Diarmuid Carroll, Jason Gethings and the suspended Adam Galvin – he got sent off in their semi-final defeat by Clara last year and had to miss this one – and were sitting ducks but Ballycumber were unable to capitalise, despite a brave display.
The losers were down one of their main men, Cormac Quinn, who broke an ankle in an unfortunate fall at a recent Kingfisher concert but they were a lot closer to the win here than Cappincur's winning margin of six points indicates.
They were 0-12 to 2-8 behind with eleven minutes left and beginning to turn the screw on Cappincur, who had a number of players gone into the red. The game turned when they were awarded a 49th minute penalty for a push on Joe Lowry. The veteran Ballycumber attacker, who caused a lot of problems for Cappincur, took the penalty but David Graham brilliantly saved it.
The ball went wide in the ensuing scramble and Graham actually trumped his save with a gigantic kickout that landed over the top of the Ballycumber midfield onto their 40 metre line. Cappincur grabbed the ball, Sean Courtney found the net to make it 3-8 to 0-12 and Ballycumber's resistance was over.
Corner back Tommy Leavy made it 4-8 to 0-13 with his second goal in the 56th minute and Cappincur coasted home with a lot more comfort than looked possible just a few minutes earlier. While six points represented a handsome winning margin for Cappincur and they showed huge character to get it, this could have swung either way and Ballycumber may well have been able to get a huge result if they had scored the penalty.
Ballycumber had to survive a relegation play off last year but have improved this year, and they made a sensational start here with the wind on their back. Playing some excellent football, they stormed into a 0-6 to no score lead after ten minutes with new kid on the block, Colm Egan kicking two of their points.
Another turning point came with Cappincur's first score, a 13th minute goal and from a Ballycumber perspective it was an awful one to concede as two corner backs combined with Ollie Hayes sending the ball across for Tommy Leavy to punch to the net. The very hard working Hayes really should have been bottled up but Ballycumber didn't defend well and that goal gave Cappincur a crucial lifeline in the first half.
The winners improved marginally in the second quarter and the odds favoured them when they went in trailing by 0-8 to 1-3 at half time – only managing two points from the tenth minute to half time was a big problem for Ballycumber.
Joe Lowry and Colm Egan pushed Ballycumber out to a 0-10 to 1-3 lead by the 35th minute and 1-3 was a very poor return for Cappincur but they doubled their tally with 1-4 without reply before the 43rd minute. The goal was punched to the net by Peter Norris in the 37th minute after Ger Treacy's free dropped short and Cappincur looked home and dry with a four point lead, 2-8 to 0-10.
Ballycumber did very well to get back into it with points from Colm Egan and Joe Lowry but Graham's penalty save turned the tide for Cappincur again and they did very well to get the win while Ballycumber were left wondering at what might have been.
MATCH ANALYSIS
MAN 0F THE MATCH
Colm Egan (Ballycumber): It is ironic that there was a good few man of the match contenders, considering it wasn't a particularly memorable game. Unusually, we are going to go with a man on the losing side, Colm Egan. Five points from play, all single pointers, was a serious return in such a tight game with scores at a premium. He had spells where he didn't get possession but every time he had the ball in hand, he ran straight at Cappincur with only one thing, scoring, on his mind.
Cappincur had a lot of players who really stood up to be counted. Ger Treacy and Sean Courtney were two standout contenders for them with Treacy showing his value to Cappincur with a very clever display. Courtney got through a large volume of work while Brion Carroll was very effective in the middle of the field. Tommy Leavy had an excellent game in the Cappincur defence while Eoin Carroll was very effective in midfield before he got injured and had to see it out in full forward. Ciaran Farrell also had a very good hour for the winners who gave a very honest team display.
Conor Daly was outstanding in the Ballycumber defence at times, carrying the ball forward at pace. Joe Lowry had a very good game in their attack, hungry for the ball and Ethan Keena and John Egan had good spells for Ballycumber but a big difference was that Ballycumber needed individuals to win it for them whereas Cappincur gave a more balanced team display – both managements will be very aware that dramatic improvement will be needed to win a championship..
THE SCORERS
Cappincur: Tommy Leavy 2-0, Peter Norris 1-2 (1f), Ger Treacy 0-4 (2f), Sean Courtney 1-0, Ciaran Farrell 0-2 (1 x 2p).
Ballycumber: Joe Lowry 0-7 (1 x 2pf, 3f), Colm Egan 0-5, Conor Daly and Gary Larkin 0-1 each.
THE TEAMS
CAPPINCUR: David Graham; Ollie Hayes, Darragh Norris, Thomas Leavy; Igor Daly, Sean Flynn, Hubert Healion; Eoin Carroll, Brion Carroll; Ciaran Farrell, Sean Courtney, Michael Fitzgerald; Ger Treacy, Sean Graham, Peter Norris. Subs – PJ Daly for Igor Daly (38m), Peter Daly for Fitzgerald (50m), Luke Carey for Leavy (57m).
BALLYCUMBER: Oisin Carroll; Aaron Daly, Ethan Keena, Adam Daly; Harry Champ, Clive Keena, Conor Daly; John Egan, Gary Larkin; Marcus Keena, Colm Egan, Keith Lawlor; Joe Lowry, Colin Daly, Sean Creevy. Subs – Jamie Cornally for Marcus Keena, inj. (34m), Sean Hackett for Colin Daly (46m).
Referee – Adam Kinahan, Clodiagh Gaels.
REFEREE WATCH
Adam Kinahan had a good solid game. It was tough football and he let it run, refereeing it consistently.
MOMENT OF THE MATCH
David Graham's penalty save from Joe Lowry and huge kickout that led to Sean Courtney's goal was when this game was won and loss.
VENUE WATCH
The home and away arrangement works very well for the early rounds of the championship and Cappincur made sure to have their facilities in top order. They had loads of stewards to oversee it.
WHAT'S NEXT
Cappincur are away to Tullamore and Ballycumber host Ballinagar in round 2.
STATISTICS
Wides: Cappincur - 5 (2 in first half); Ballycumber - 2 (2 in first half).
Yellow cards: Cappincur – 3 (Ger Treacy, Michael Fitzgerald, PJ Daly); Ballycumber – 2 (Keith Lawlor, Jamie Cornally).
Black cards: 0
Red cards: 0