Ballela take win in long-awaited derby

Ballyvarley 2-14

THE long-awaited derby clash between Ballyvarley and Ballela lived up to all pre-match expectations and in an entertaining high-scoring thriller it was Ballela who eventually romped home with a convincing eight point winning margin.

The game was decided in an explosive 10 minute spell just before the interval which saw Ballela come from behind to turn the game on it’s head and hammer home 11 scores to Ballyvarley’s solitary one.

The game began brightly for the Reds and they were the dominant force in the opening twenty minutes with Sean Kennedy providing the main threat up front and Paul O’Neill and Ciaran Connolly providing the midfield domination.

The opening score came from an incisive move which saw Cathal McGrath handpass to Niall Savage who deftly flicked the ball over the bar and this was followed by further scores from play by Paul O’Neill (4) and Martin O’Neill as Ballyvarley opened up a convincing four point lead.

It looked promising for Ballyvarley at this stage but injury to Sean Kennedy robbed the Reds of much of their threat up front and the Ballela defence denied the visitors the major score that their early dominance needed.

A spate of rash tackling from the Ballyvarley rearguard proved costly for the Reds as Johnny McCusker kept Ballela in touch with three converted frees and Ballyvarley only lead by three points with 20 minutes played.

Then came that dramatic Ballela revival and the almost bewildering Ballyvarley collapse as the home side turned the game on it’s head to race into a remarkable twelve point lead.

In this stunning ten minute spell of pacy hurling Malachy Magee produced most of the magic for Ballela and he started the ball rolling with a 50 metre solo run that left several Ballyvarley defenders in his wake before he hammered the ball to the back of the net.

Goals turn games and this goal injected that extra yard of pace to Ballela’s game and they almost effortlessly sliced through the visitors rearguard for a succession of scores in the remaining minutes of the half that put the game beyond Ballyvarley’s reach.

Five further points from Malachy Magee, a goal and a point from Johnny McCusker, two points from the hardworking Danny Doran and one from Joe Cosgrove virtually blew the Reds challenge out of the water and the game looked over at the half way mark.

Paul O’Neill gave the Reds a lifeline when he hammered the ball to the roof of the net from a close-in free just before the half time whistle.

Points from Johnny McCusker, Malachy Magee, Joe Cosgrove and Kelvin Magee widened the gap shortly after the restart and that should have settled the issue but remarkably Ballyvarley fought back.

Paul O’Neill inspired the Ballyvarley revival and in a remarkable scoring display he almost single-handily hauled the Reds back into contention. Winning possession in midfield he was fouled in possession and slotted over four frees to leave nine between the teams.

Then a great move between Colm O’Neill and Jamie Murray opened a gap for Martin O’Neill to strike home the second goal and now there was just two scores between the sides.

Two surging runs from Danny Doran saw the midfielder widen the gap again with two further points and when Joe Cosgrove struck over his third point it looked like Ballela had found that extra gear once more to ward off the Ballyvarley challenge.

But five points from Paul O’Neill, four of them from open play, brought the Reds back to within striking range once again and they went in search of the vital goals that might snatch something from a game that had once looked well out of reach.

The home defence held firm under the challenge and in the closing moments Peter Cosgrove settled the issue when he latched onto a high delivery into the Reds square to strike home the clinching goal and give Ballela a well merited eight point victory.

Team: Cathal O’Neill; Stephen Daly, Niall Higgins, Eunan McConville; Thomas Lennon, Colm O’Neill, David Lavery; Paul O’Neill(1-12, 1-4 from frees), Ciaran Connolly; Niall Savage(0-1), James McGrath, Cathal McGrath; Conor McClorey,

Martin O’Neill (1-1), Sean Kennedy. Subs: John O’Neill, Jamie Murray, Colin O’Neill, Patrick Macken, Tony Hegarty, Leigh McConville, James McConville, Stuart Cartmill, Martin Connolly.