Ballina pay the penalty for missed chances

GAA: AIB Munster Club Intermediate Football Championship Semi-Final

Na Piarsaigh 1-5

Ballina 0-8

(After Extra Time, Na Piarsaigh win 3-1 on penalties)

Report: Thomas Conway in Kilmallock

MATCH DIGEST

Player of the Match: Dylan Cronin (Na Piarsaigh)

SCORERS – Na Piarsaigh: Dylan Cronin 1-2 (0-1 free), Evan Egan, Kieran Daly, Evan Sweeney 0-1 each.

Ballina: Steven O’Brien 0-4 frees; Eoghan Power 0-2; Jack O’Mahoney, Josh Egan 0-1 each.

Really and truly, it should never have ended this way with a Munster semi-final defeat to Ballina.

The Tipperary champions should have converted at least some of the opportunities which they created in the first-half of normal time. They should have scored the penalty which they were awarded in the opening minute of the second-half. They should have harnessed the two-point advantage which they had built up in the first-half of extra-time and used it to power home to victory. But alas, events materialised differently.

Na Piarsaigh, so often perceived as a club whose status rests completely on hurling, demonstrated that as footballers, they are also a powerful force. They are a slick, well-organised and supremely confident side. There are skilled footballers within their ranks. There are skilled penalty takers too.

On reflection, this was an epic contest on an afternoon in which the sun appeared and disappeared from behind the clouds much like Ballina performed on the pitch.

At times the Tipperary champions showed glimpses of the form which secured them a coveted county title in mid-October. On the whole however, their display was underwhelming. It lacked vibrancy or fluidity and seemed to suggest a certain rustiness.

And yet, they started well. Eoghan Power launched them off the mark within thirty seconds, collecting a pass from his brother Conor and thumping over with the left.

The Limerick outfit responded almost immediately, Evan Egan shifting and shaping on the left wing before zipping one over with his left. Egan looked dangerous. Centre-forward Dylan Cronin looked twice as treacherous. No surprise then, that he would be the one to register this game’s only goal, bundling a rebound into the net in the seventh minute, following a wonderfully acrobatic Jack Brady save. That goal kept Na Piarsaigh in it. That, and Ballina’s sheer wastefulness in front of the posts.

Between the 15th and 25th minutes, Kevin Byrne’s side spurned five consecutive attempts on goal, either spraying the ball wide or dropping it short. The contrast to county final day was glaring. Almost hard to stomach, at least from a Ballina perspective.

The sides remained locked at 1-1 to 0-4 at the interval, but Ballina had commanded the majority of the possession and produced a surfeit of scoring opportunities. The sense, amongst supporters at least, was that their profligacy was merely a symptom of the long hiatus between the county final and this Munster semi-final. They would push on in the second-half, find their rhythm, most assumed. They assumed incorrectly.

Of course, Ballina had a golden opportunity to grasp this game by the throat just moments after the interval. Following a gorgeous cross-field ping by Tom Lee, Teddy Doyle was dragged down recklessly inside the square. Referee Chris Maguire showed no hesitation - he stretched his arms out wide. Up stepped Steven O’Brien, the man who had produced a performance for the ages just several weeks ago in Semple Stadium. He drilled the ball low, towards Eoghain Sherlock’s left-hand post, but the Na Piarsaigh keeper bent his body brilliantly and dived to palm the ball away. It was a superb save, and it would not be his last.

In fairness, the O’Brien almost made amends. In the 40th minute, the skipper launched an absolute firecracker of a shot towards the top right-hand corner and watched with everyone else in absolute astonishment as it ricocheted off the post, onto the hand of the goalkeeper, and off another Na Piarsaigh player before flying away. He probably knew then that it wasn’t his day.

The third quarter was frenetic. The fourth was just plain tense. Cronin landed a free to send Na Piarsaigh ahead by the minimum just after the 50th minute, and while Ballina still managed to conjure up opportunities, it took an electrifying individual effort from Jack O’Mahoney in the 59th minute for them to draw back level.

They could have won it too. Steven O’Brien sent two long-distance frees wayward before the close. Both were ambitious kicks and would have verged on the spectacular had he scored, but they proved too challenging for the Ballina captain, and the game descended into extra-time.

Ballina seized the initiative upon the restart with full-back Josh Egan powering forward and slaloming around a sea of light blue bodies before curling over from 25 metres. O’Brien soon extended their lead with a further free, but Na Piarsaigh would restore parity in the second period, reeling their opponents back in through points from Cronin and full-forward, former Loughmore/Castleiney clubman Evan Sweeney.

And then came the drama of the penalty shoot-out. Ballina keeper Jack Brady was nearly the hero - he made one outstanding save and netted a penalty of his own, but he alone could not salvage Ballina’s hopes. O’Brien, O’Mahoney, and Doyle all missed their kicks, and ultimately that proved fatal.

Na Piarsaigh’s penalties oozed conviction and radiated class. You will probably see similar episodes play out in Qatar over the coming weeks.

A penalty shoot-out is a cruel way to end a game, and to end a fairy-tale season. For joyful reasons, Ballina will not forget 2022, but they will always wonder what might have been.

TEAMS - Na Piarsaigh: Eoghain Sherlock (8), Diarmuid Ryan (7), Shane Walsh (7), Jack Barry (7), Cathal McMullan (7), Reuben McCarthy (7), Evan O’Brien (6), Gordon Brown (7), Ruaidhri O’Connell (7), Kevin Nolan (7), Dylan Cronin (8), Dean McLoughlin (7), Kieran Daly (7), Evan Sweeney (7), Evan Egan (7).

Subs: Fionn Ó Tarnaigh (7) for O’Brien (33); Eoin McNulty (7) for Walsh (50); Ian Leonard (7) for McLoughlin (56).

Ballina: Jack Brady (8), Paddy O’Donovan (7), Josh Egan (7), Terry O’Halloran (7), Conor Power (7), James Hanley (7), Sam Loughran (7), Steven O’Brien (6), Tom Lee (7), Ben King (6), Eoghan Power (7), Michael Breen (6), David Kelly (7), Tom Lee (7), David Grace (6).

Subs: Jack O’Mahoney (8) for King (42); Cathal O’Donnell (7) for Grace (42); Eoghan Dalton (7) for Breen (55); Michael Breen for Kelly (14 ET).

Referee: Chris Maguire (Clare).