Match Report

Slow Start Costs 'Reds' Dearly!

Date Filed: 13 June 2011

Ballyvarley paid the penalty for a slow start and a tendency to leak goals when they lost an enthralling Senior Hurling League game to a strong Ballycran side who rode their luck to weather a strong fight-back from the Reds and hold out for a narrow two point victory. Goals were the key feature of this game and although Ballyvarley dominated for long periods they struggled to find the net whereas Ballycran conjured goals out of nothing to win this vital top of the table clash.

The opening quarter was a disaster for Ballyvarley and within ten seconds of the throw-in the ball was resting in the back of the home team’s net after a close-in finish from Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald, Torney and Hughes added further points before Hughes broke through a brittle Reds rearguard to fire home Ballycran’s second goal and give them a deserved nine point lead. Ballyvarley were a clear second best at this stage but, after Sean O’Neill had fired over their opening point and Conor McClorey had placed James McGrath for another, the Reds settled and gradually started to compete with their formidable opponents. Further points from Jonathan Lennon, Colm O’Neill and James McGrath reinforced the revival but, just as the momentum was gathering, corner-forward Mark Egan struck for goal number three to leave the Reds trailing by seven points at the interval.

Half time: Ballyvarley 0-5 Ballycran 3-3

The Ballyvarley revival picked up pace in the second half with James McGrath, Ciaran Connolly, Colm O’Neill, Niall Savage and Adam Twohig outstanding in a much improved all round team performance. Four points from Colm O’Neill, two from James McGrath and one from Ciaran Connolly far outnumbered a solitary Ballycran point from Neil Torney to leave just one point separating the sides. It was all Ballyvarley in the second half as the crowd responded to the spirited play from the home side but out of nowhere a desperate Ballycran side pulled two match-saving goals out of the hat and rescued a game that was slipping well out of their control. Within four minutes of each other two long balls found their way to the left corner of the Ballycran attack and from close-range James Bulmer twice got his stick to the ball to force home those killing goals.

Despite these reversals, the Reds continued their domination as Niall Savage weighed in with a goal and a point before Sean O’Neill added another minor score to reduce the deficit again to just two points. It was all one way traffic as Ballyvarley went in search of those vital scores but in the end they were frustrated by a fortunate Ballycran side who were relieved to hear the final whistle as they regained their place at the top of the league. Such are the narrow margins between success and failure in this very competitive league.

Final score: Ballyvarley 1-14 Ballycran 5-4


David Lavery; Peter McConville, Thomas Lennon, Eunan McConville; Stephen Daly, Colm O’Neill(0-5), Adam Twohig; Ciaran Connolly(0-1), Conor McClorey; Sean Kennedy, Niall Savage(1-1), Michael Cairns; Jonathan Lennon(0-1), James McGrath(0-4), Sean O’Neill(0-2)

Subs: Michael McKay, Rory McShane, Gavin McGreevey, Ciaran Davis, Paul Stevenson, James McConville