Heroic Ballinagar delivers a defensive masterclass to take out parish neighbours

BALLINAGAR provided a textbook example of how to devise and implement the right game plan as they wrestled the life out of their rivals Raheen in an absolutely riveting Intermediate Football Championship final at O’Connor Park on Sunday.

Tullamore Court Hotel Intermediate Football Championship Final

Ballinagar 2-8

Raheen 1-8

The winners, just two years after clinching the junior title, put on a defensive masterclass that day as they targeted Raheen’s danger men, sticking to them like glue, chasing them into packs and crowding them every time they got the ball.

Raheen only managed one point from the game and that remarkable statistic shows just how successful the Ballinagar tactic was. They got their match-ups right on the day, with Diarmuid Finneran following Dylan Hyland everywhere, Declan Crombie almost an attachment to Brian Crombie and Brian Malone, keeping Conor Carroll so out of things that the hugely experienced player became the first Raheen man was that was replaced in the 36^e minute.

The game seemed to be slipping away from Ballinagar at one point in the second half and they showed great character to regain control from here. Ballinagar conceded 2-6 to their 2-8 from the game and that one statistic shows how worthy winners they are.

It has been a sensational rise through Balinagar’s ranks and they are now competing in second division football for the first time in years.

For Raheen it is the third final loss in four years and this is a bitter pill to swallow. They gave it their all on the day but just couldn’t break through Ballinagar’s defense and will once again feel like they didn’t deliver on the big day. They were not allowed to perform on this day, but Raheen will be bitterly disappointed. They were very reliant on Dylan Hyland and to be fair to the Offaly star, he was the main reason they were so close because he was operating in an incredibly tight environment with such a high clearance. His positioning was impeccable as he stroked home their goal from a penalty, kicking six frees and also taking their only point from the game.

With Crombie, sensational in previous matches and the scorer of a 2-6 quarter-final draw, and Carroll unable to make progress, Raheen was far too reliant on Hyland and simply could not win the match on his own. They played with big heart that day, with Mikey Keogh and Rory Grehan impressing in their defense and James Lalor having a very good spell in midfield as Raheen got on top in the second half, well assisted by Adam Kelly in this period , but they were in serious trouble from midfield.

Collectively and individually Ballinagar were better on the day. Their defense deserves the lion’s share of the praise, but going forward they were much more dangerous. Adam Strong and Morgan Tynan won the midfield battle more than enough and they moved the ball much better to a forward line who moved better, created much better chances and were much more threatening as a unit.

Ballinagar led 1-2 to 0-3 at half-time, but it was much better than this scoreline indicates. With a huge crowd watching these parish neighbors and their intricate web of family ties, the proceedings were very intense. Ballinagar were definitely the better side in the first half and would only have been further ahead due to some bad misses.

All three of Raheen’s points came from Dylan Hyland’s clearance and he rarely looked like he was scoring from play. The first score of the match was decisive, a goal from Ballinagar in the 3^rd minute. Morgan Tynan and Robbie Gallagher did the donkey work and Geordi O’Meara did very well to put the ball into the net.

Ballinagar led 1-2 to 0-1 after 23 minutes and the way things went reflected that. They suffered poor misses from Morgan Tynan and Robbie Gallagher but were against the wind in the first half and a two-point half-time lead left them in a very strong position.

Quick points from Robbie Gallagher and a super Morgan Tynan score put Ballinagar ahead from 1-4 to 0-3 early in the second half, but Raheen got the break they needed with a Dylan Hyland penalty goal in the 39th half.^e minute after Brian Crombie was fouled by Adam Strong.

Raheen smelled blood and went for it. Dylan Hyland had two free balls, Jimmy Nolan almost got a goal and Kaelyn Thompson’s free ball gave them a 1-6 to 1-4 lead in the 48th minute.

Raheen’s momentum looked unstoppable, but somehow Ballinagar stopped the leaks. When Robbie Gallagher had a bad wide in the 49^e It looked like it was going to be one of those days for them, but then substitute Steven Dwane got a close-range point seconds later to bring it back to level. Dwane had a poor wide before Morgan Tynan got to the line and showed his value to the team when he made space and fired over a super point.

Raheen moved forward again with their first point of the game in the 54^e minute, an excellent Hyland score, but Robbie Gallagher equalized with a great point. Then came the all-important goal, and a lucky one when Robbie Gallagher’s piledriver hit the crossbar in the 57th minute.^e minute. He went high into the air and as he fell, defenders and strikers piled onto him, he bounced into the net without any touch.

Raheen were then reduced to fourteen men when sub Liam Boland was shown a red card for lashing out with his elbow at Morgan Tynan in the 59th match.^e minute after winning a free.

Ray Daly almost scored a decisive goal in the 1960s^e minute his rocket was brilliantly deflected by Mark Byrne, but a four-point cushion was huge. Dylan Hyland reduced it to a goal with a 61^st minute left and five minutes were played. James Lalor had goals in sight in the 64^e minute but Ryan Kinahan made the save and that was Raheen’s last real chance to score as they were kept at bay for a few minutes during the four minutes of stoppage time played.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Diarmuid Finneran (Ballinagar): Diarmuid Finneran gets the nod for a quite excellent defensive performance against Dylan Hyland. Hyland was Raheen’s best player, but Finneran was a good example of a defender who did his primary job and stayed with his opponent. By restricting him to just one point of the game, Finneran gave Ballinagar a great chance to win this. He was joined by other defenders coming to the rescue and attackers and midfielders dropping back, but Finneran won some great turnovers and was very disciplined in his tackles.

There were plenty of other contenders for Ballinagar, none more so than Adam Strong, who was a close second and produced a powerful tour de force in midfield. He was so calm and solid that he never put a foot wrong. In addition to him, Morgan Tynan also made a powerful contribution. He may have been out of the game for a while, but when he was in, he was so effective. He was hungry and scored two beautifully important points from the game.

The entire Ballinagar defense was excellent – ​​players like Jack Gorry and Aaron Gorman were typical of how well each man did his job and used the ball effectively.

Robbie Gallagher was their best striker and Geordi O’Meara had very good spells. You had to admire Gallagher for his perseverance. Once again his shot-to-points exchange rate wasn’t high enough and had Ballinagar lost some of his misses would have come under scrutiny, but he showed a great mentality. The misses never affected his confidence and he was always looking for the next ball, ready to take the next shot. His movement was very good, his ability to win the ball impressive and although he is raw, a work in progress and his accuracy needs improvement, he has a lot of potential to work on.

THE SCORERS

Ballinagar: Robbie Gallagher 1-3 (1 point), Geordi O’Meara 1-0, Morgan Tynan 0-3 (1f), Ray Daly and Steven Dwane 0-1 each.

Raheen: Dylan Hyland 1-7 (goal from penalty and 6f), Kaelyn Thompson 0-1 (f).

THE TEAMS

BALLINAGAR: Ryan Kinahan; Jack Gorry, Diarmuid Finneran, Declan Crombie; Aaron Gorman, Brian Malone, Adam Joyce; Adam Strong, Morgan Tynan; Jacob Beatty, Geordi O’Meara, Jack Sheil; Conor Bracken, Ray Daly, Robbie Gallagher. Substitutions – Jamie Ballesty for Sheil, inj. (35m), Steven Dwane for Beatty (42m), Conor McGuinness for Daly (63m),

RAHEEN: Mark Byrne; Eamon Bolger, Mickey Keogh, Peter McKeagney; Mickey Buckley, Rory Grehan, Jimmy Nolan; James Lalor, Adam Kelly; Niall Dempsey, Brian Crombie, Brian Corcoran; Kaelyn Thompson, Conor Carroll, Dylan Hyland. Subs – Jack Keogh for Carroll (36m), Dylan Cahill for Dempsey (42m), Liam Boland for Corcoran (49m), Glen Hassett for Buckley (60m), Lee Mulpeter for Thompson (61m),

Referee – Kevin Williamson (Tullamore).

REFEREE WATCHING

Kevin Williamson was a very good choice for this final and he justified his selection with a very competent performance. He was very honest and consistent. It is a mark of how good a referee he was that one of the few negatives was that his blue jersey was too close to the Ballinagar colors – it was a lighter blue, but there were at least a few occasions when Ballinagar players almost passed towards him and had to look twice. He had one crucial miss when Brian Corcoran won a point and raised his hand to claim it. He played on, handed the ball and the Raheen penalty followed in the aftermath. Once you claim a mark you cannot continue playing, and if you do it is a hop ball. When his two referees were oblivious to a late Ray Daly shot, Williamson quickly called it and swung it wide. Liam Boland had no complaints about his late red card as he clearly elbowed Morgan Tynan who had fouled him. He allowed two minutes over the four minutes of stoppage time, but there were delays and at least an extra minute had to be played and he can probably stay over the two minutes.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Ballinagars 57^e Robbie Gallagher’s minute goal decided this game. It was a lucky goal, but Gallagher had been unlucky to hit the crossbar with his first shot and breaks like this often decide games.

VIEW LOCATION

The O’Connor Park pitch was in excellent condition and there was a great atmosphere, with huge support from both sides. They cheered every block and tackle, not to mention the score, and it all added to the occasion.

WHAT’S NEXT

Ballinagar plays in the Leinster Club Junior Football Championship.

STATISTICS

Wides: Ballinagar – 8 (4 in first half); Raheen – 8 (6 in the first half).

Yellow cards: Ballinagar – 3 (Geordi O’Meara, Aaron Gorman and Robbie Gallagher); Raheen – 1 (Mikey Keogh).

Black cards: 0

Red cards: 0.