Double goal salvo breaks Ballina minors
GAA: FBD Insurance Tipperary Minor ‘A’ Hurling Championship Semi-Final
Cashel King Cormacs 4-15
Ballina 2-17
Ballina 2-17
Report: Thomas Conway in Holycross
Having claimed their first North Minor ‘A’ Hurling title in two decades a week previously, Ballina’s championship campaign finally ground to a halt last Saturday, stopped in its tracks by an imposing Cashel King Cormacs side which delivered killer blows at crucial moments, delivering them twice.
The outcome of this game hinged on two remarkable turning points, both swinging in Cashel’s favour. A dramatic period of play in the 25th minute saw them net two goals in the space of about twenty seconds, and that same scenario repeated itself in the 53rd minute, when Cathal Quinn and Joseph Davis struck Ballina with another double whammy, their goals separated by the slightly longer duration of forty seconds.
In both instances the game had been hanging in the balance, with free-takers Jack McGrath and Matthew Power leading their teams’ scoring exploits, but Cashel chose the perfect moments in which to pounce, executing their attacks with brutal effectiveness.
Still on a high after landing the club’s 23rd West Minor ‘A’ hurling title, Cashel raced into an early lead, knocking over four unanswered points within the first five minutes and dragging Ballina back down to the realities of life beyond the North Championship.
The more physical side throughout, Cashel made their presence felt in those early stages, forcing Ballina to concede scoreable frees on several occasions. McGrath knocked them over almost nonchalantly, as did Power at the other end, accounting for all but one of Ballina’s first-half scores – the other a sweetly-struck effort from Mark Lyons.
Cashel’s first goal arrived in the 25th minute, resulting directly from the work of Jack McGrath, who managed to snatch possession inside the large square and slip a hand-pass out to Ross Whelan, who guided the ball past James Power.
The ensuing puck-out was quickly sent flying back towards Power, who made the unfortunate mistake of batting the ball out in front of him and into the path of full-forward David McGrath, who scrambled the ball home to leave Cashel in a significantly better position than they were some thirty seconds earlier, leading 2-7 to 0-6.
Two minutes later the luck seemed to turn in the other direction, when Matthew Power’s long-range free dropped over the head of Cashel keeper Andrew Irwin and into the net, giving his side a much-needed morale boost.
Separated by a goal at half-time, Ballina trailing 2-7 to 1-7, it was the North side which seized the initiative in the early minutes of the second period, beginning with a superbly worked point from wing-back Shane Kelly.
Several injury stoppages interrupted the flow of that third quarter, but Ballina continued to knock over points courtesy of King, Loughran and Tighe, while Power remained flawless from placed-balls.
Cashel struggled to establish any real attacking momentum during that time, but as the water-break neared they started to look just a little bit more dangerous. Ballina were one point in front as the game entered the home stretch, but the second pair of Cashel goals shattered their prospects. Cathal Quinn was the man at the helm, bursting in from the wing with ball in hand and burying his shot diagonally past James Power at the near post. Seconds later, Quinn was crusading through the middle on a solo-run, eventually offloading to Joseph Davis, who managed to force the ball home and send Cashel five points in front, 4-12 to 1-16.
Hope wasn’t lost entirely for Ballina, and an improbable come-back suddenly became more probable when Matthew Power sent a brilliant twenty-metre free skidding past several Cashel bodies and into the net. That reduced the margin to two points, but Cashel responded through a McGrath free, before their tallies-man closed out the game with one final placed-ball, six minutes into stoppage-time.
MATCH DIGEST
Player of the Match: Jack McGrath (Cashel King Cormacs)
Cashel King Cormacs: Andrew Irwin; Fabien Ryan, Callum Lawrence, Eoghan Murphy; Oisín Dwan, Conor O’Dwyer, Paraic Brosnan, Cathal Quinn (1-0), Ronan Connolly, James O’Sullivan, Daniel Moloney, David Clarke; Ross Whelan (1-0), David McGrath (1-1), Jack McGrath (0-14, 12f).
Sub: Joseph Davis (1-0) for David McGrath (45)
Ballina: James Power; Cian Commins, Josh Egan, David Coughlan; Mark Lyons (0-1), Sam Loughran (0-1f), Shane Kelly (0-1); Dara King, Jack Collins; Kian Donnelly (0-1) , Matthew Power (2-11, 2-9f, 0-1 pen), Daniel Tighe (0-1); Charlie King (0-1), David Grace, Cian O’Donnell.
Subs: Braoin Cleary (NR) for Collins (60+1), Jason Gleeson (NR) for Commins (60+5).
Referee: Seán Everard (Moyne Templetuohy)
Player of the Match: Jack McGrath (Cashel King Cormacs)
Cashel King Cormacs: Andrew Irwin; Fabien Ryan, Callum Lawrence, Eoghan Murphy; Oisín Dwan, Conor O’Dwyer, Paraic Brosnan, Cathal Quinn (1-0), Ronan Connolly, James O’Sullivan, Daniel Moloney, David Clarke; Ross Whelan (1-0), David McGrath (1-1), Jack McGrath (0-14, 12f).
Sub: Joseph Davis (1-0) for David McGrath (45)
Ballina: James Power; Cian Commins, Josh Egan, David Coughlan; Mark Lyons (0-1), Sam Loughran (0-1f), Shane Kelly (0-1); Dara King, Jack Collins; Kian Donnelly (0-1) , Matthew Power (2-11, 2-9f, 0-1 pen), Daniel Tighe (0-1); Charlie King (0-1), David Grace, Cian O’Donnell.
Subs: Braoin Cleary (NR) for Collins (60+1), Jason Gleeson (NR) for Commins (60+5).
Referee: Seán Everard (Moyne Templetuohy)