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Match Report
Ballyvarley Come Out On Top In Tight Battle
Date Filed:
14 June 2011
Ballyvarley had to pull out all the stops to overcome a tough Bredagh side at Cherryvale and in the end it was their ability to tap over the points that gave them a hard-earned five point victory. The return of Paul O’Neill to hurling action was a timely boost for the Reds and it couldn’t have come at a better time as a much improved home side pushed the visitors all the way.
The Bredagh full back line were to prove a formidable combination and early point-blank saves by in-form goalkeeper Lorenzo McMullan from James McGrath, Jonathan Lennon and Sean O’Neill demonstrated to Ballyvarley that their surest route to victory lay in tapping the ball over the bar. Although Ballyvarley dominated for much of the first half, those early misses gave Bredagh the opportunity to ease into the lead with two points from Paul Burke but eventually James McGrath got Ballyvarley off the mark when he opted for a point rather than make another fruitless effort for a goal. Seconds later Paul O’Neill collected and turned to send a pile-driver towards the net but somehow McMullan got his stick to the ball and deflected it over the bar and the sides were level. Patrick Mackin soloed through for his first point of the evening before O’Neill added two more from play to ease the Reds into a three point lead. Niall Savage and Sean O’Neill also got off the mark with well-taken points but McGrenaghan and Irwin pegged the Reds back to just a three point advantage the interval.
Half time: Bredagh 0-4 Ballyvarley 0-7
The war of attrition continued after the break with Bredagh’s close-marking shutting down the Reds free-flowing style and it took a hardworking team display from the visitors to eventually grind out the much needed result. Ballyvarley looked to be coasting clear in the third quarter with a brace of points from both Patrick Mackin and Paul O’Neill and another from James McGrath to ease them into a nine point lead. However the home side experienced their spell of dominance midway through the half and a string of points from McGrenaghan(4) and Irwin(2) left only three points between the sides and a tense finish was guaranteed. Bredagh went in search of that elusive goal but Ballyvarley’s restructured defence, in which Sean Kennedy was outstanding, were determined to give nothing away this week and there was never a threat of a major score. Niall Savage picked off a delightful point from the wing and then Conor McClorey struck cleanly from distance to drive over another to increase the gap to five and leave some breathing space between the sides. A fifth Paul O’Neill point from play saw Ballyvarley finally easing up at the finish before Bredagh completed the scoring with a point in injury time.
Final Score: Bredagh 0-11 Ballyvarley 0-16
Cathal O’Neill; Adam Twohig, Thomas Lennon, David Lavery; Sean Kennedy, Colm O’Neill, Stephen Daly; Ciaran Connolly, ConorMcClorey(0-1); James McGrath(0-2), Niall Savage (0-2), Patrick Macken(0-3), Jonathan Lennon, Paul O’Neill(0-7), Sean O’Neill(0-1)
Subs:
Eunan McConville, Peter McConville, Gavin McGreevey, Ciaron Davis, Rory McShane, James McConville