Late Stewart goal snatches draw for Clara in controversial ending
Clara and Ballycommon both record second straight drawn game
Tullamore Court Hotel Senior Football Championship Group 2 Round 2
Clara 2-14
Ballycommon 1-17
CARL Stewart’s last-gasp goal earned hosts Clara a share of the spoils with Ballycommon in an engrossing Tullamore Court Hotel Senior Football Championship Group 2 Round 2 encounter that ended in controversy last Saturday evening.
All seemed lost for last year's senior 'B' champions before Conor Doyle’s long, hopeful ball in the 63rd minute was won inside and worked to the centre back who fired home from close range.
The drama didn’t end there, though, as referee Kevin Williamson allowed play to continue from Robert Conneely’s kickout. Clara won possession and were on the attack when Williamson controversially blew for full-time.
Not surprisingly, the decision didn’t go down well with the home side who surrounded the Tullamore match official before there were some angry exchanges between players from both sides.
When order was eventually restored, the referee took no action and there were handshakes all-round as both teams headed to the dressing-rooms. Overall, a draw was probably a fair result in a game where both teams enjoyed periods of dominance. With a strong breeze behind them, Ballycommon came flying out of the starting blocks to lead by 0-6 to 0-1 at the end of the opening quarter.
But boosted by a Marcas Dalton goal, John Rouse’s charges then took over to lead by 1-7 to 0-7 at the break. The hosts extended their advantage after the restart before Ballycommon regained the lead with a well-worked David Dempsey major. They went four points clear in the 52nd minute and, after Clara had halved the deficit, looked to have done enough when they were gifted a 20-metre free for a breach which Gareth Mann converted in the 62nd minute.
But there was still time for Stewart to grab a late equalising goal and for the referee to irk the home team by blowing his final whistle as they went in search of an unlikely winner. The result was a familiar one for both sides who also drew with Bracknagh and Clonbullogue respectively in Round 1 after letting late leads slip.
In glorious sunshine, Chris Kenny gave Ballycommon – who sported their alternative black jerseys – a great start with a two-pointer in the second minute. Brian Todd slotted over the first of his four frees following a late tackle on Tom Mealiffe before Kenny’s second two-pointer left the visitors perched on a 0-5 to 0-0 lead after 10 minutes.
Corner back Alan Gavin finally opened Clara’s account in the 14th minute before Todd cancelled it out with his only score from play. But the momentum shifted when Dalton got in behind the Ballycommon defence from Graham Guilfoyle’s long ball to raise the game’s first green flag in the 17th minute.
Conor Egan followed up with a point to reduce the deficit to the minimum before Guilfoyle struck a beautiful two-pointer off the outside of his right boot to give Clara the lead for the first time after Gavin’s initial effort from inside the arc had come back off the upright.
The Brosnasiders were purring now as Conor Doyle, Guilfoyle and Josh Fleming (free) increased their lead to 1-7 to 0-6 before Todd got a point back for Ballycommon on the stroke of half-time.
Ballycommon resumed with a point from Chris Kenny, only for the excellent Dalton to restore Clara’s four-point lead with a quick brace. But with the wind not as strong as it was, Shane Kelly’s men wrestled back control by outscoring their opponents 1-7 to 0-2 between the 34th and 52nd minutes.
Stephen Conneely, who came much more into the game in the second half, started the scoring sequence before young midfielder Paul Conway also split the posts. The visitors regained the lead in the 36th minute when county star David Dempsey took a return pass from Sean Conway before blasting to the net.
Sean Conway and Karl Stewart traded points before Paul Conway and Brian Todd (free) made it 1-13 to 1-10 in Ballycommon’s favour. Adam Kelly narrowed the gap, only for Gareth Mann to reply with a two-point free.
Conor Doyle kicked a two-pointer of his own before dropping one short after a great run and steal on Stephen Conneely. Amid growing excitement, there was another exchange of frees between Todd and Josh Fleming before Todd punished Clara again, this time for a needless breach by full back Barry Egan.
But they got out of jail thanks to Stewart’s late intervention.
Match Analysis
Scorers
Clara: Marcas Dalton 1-2, Carl Stewart 1-1, Conor Doyle (1x2pt) and Graham Guilfoyle (1x2pt) 0-3 each, Josh Fleming 0-2 (2fs), Alan Gavin, Conor Egan and Adam Kelly 0-1 each.
Ballycommon: Brian Todd (4fs) and Chris Kenny (2x2pts) 0-5 each, David Dempsey 1-0, Gareth Mann 0-3 (1x2ptf and 1f), Sean Conway 0-2, Stephen Conneely and Paul Conway 0-1 each.
Teams
CLARA: Adam Scanlon; Callum Bracken, Barry Egan, Alan Gavin; Christian McKeon, Carl Stewart, Marcas Dalton (captain); Conor Doyle, David Falsey; Conor Egan, Adam Kelly, Myles Handy; Josh Fleming, Cormac Delaney, Graham Guilfoyle. Subs: Ryan Carroll for Gavin (40 min), Bobby Mitchell for Handy (40 min) and Kevin Minnock for Egan (42 min).
BALLYCOMMON: Robert Conneely; Zach Wright, Aidan Bracken, Matthew Dempsey; Brian Todd, David Dempsey, Jack Kenny; Tom Mealiffe (captain), Paul Conway; Stephen Conneely, Chris Kenny, Karl Dunne; Sean Conway, Gareth Mann, Michael Conneely. Sub: Daniel Scally for C Kenny (60 min).
REFEREE – Kevin Williamson (Tullamore).
Man of the Match
Marcas Dalton (Clara): The Clara captain gets the nod over team-mates Conor Doyle and Graham Guilfoyle as well as Ballycommon’s Aidan Bracken, David Dempsey and Paul Conway after helping himself to 1-2 in an all-action display.
Referee Watch
Kevin Williamson didn’t endear himself to the Clara players and supporters by blowing his final whistle as they went in search of a late winner. But he had a very good game up until then.
Moment Of The Match
Take your pick between Karl Stewart’s equalising goal in injury-time and the controversial ending.
Venue Watch
The game was very well hosted by the Clara club whose new stand is beginning to take shape.
Statistics
Wides: Clara 7 (3 in the first half); Ballycommon 3 (2 in the first half).
Yellow cards: Clara – 1 (Bobby Mitchell); Ballycommon – 1 (Zach Wright).
Red cards: 0.