Mayo Super League
By Patrick Hennelly
Ballinrobe Town 1
Ballyheane 3
BALLINROBE TOWN
failed to make home advantage count on Saturday evening as the Robesiders lost
out to a Ballyheane outfit who gave a very impressive second half display.
Ballyheane’s recent
signing Gerry Burke, had the first chance of note of this game on two minutes,
but after receiving possession he saw his angled drive well saved by Damien
Fitzpatrick.
It took Ballinrobe
time to settle into proceedings and their first chance of note did not arrive
until the end of the opening quarter, but J. P. O’Gorman’s strike failed to
find the back of the net.
Encouraged by the
above attacking foray, Ballinrobe upped the tempo and they pinched the lead on
18 minutes. A long route-one delivery from Kevin Keane, surprisingly caught out
the Ballyheane defence and O’Gorman latched onto the ball and raced inside the
area before finishing with panache to the back of Sean Fahy’s net.
Ballinrobe pressed
for a second goal and that could well have occurred on 23 minutes, but after
some great work from O’Gorman, Maurice Walsh saw his long-range strike sail
over Fahy’s crossbar, much to the relief of the under-pressure custodian.
On 38 minutes, Damien
Fitzpatrick made sure that his team-mates held their slender advantage, as he
produced a splendid save to prevent Matthew Conroy’s crisp volley from
nestling in the back of the Red and White net.
On 40 minutes,
Ballinrobe missed a gilt-edged opportunity of acquiring their second goal of the
evening. An inch-perfect delivery from a free-kick by Keane, found Shane Ryan
and his cushioned header set-up the poaching Brian Conroy, but the Cong native
blazed his effort inches over the crossbar.
Following the
interval, the Robesiders went in search of a second goal, as they wanted to
extinguish the Ballyheane challenge. That second goal could well have been
obtained on 54 minutes, but Ryan’s attempt on goal was thwarted by Fahy.
That above miss was
punished on 59 minutes, as Gerry Burke and Ballyheane netted the equaliser.
Chris Maughan and Matthew Conroy were the instigators of the attacking foray and
Burke headed the ball home from close-range, much to the delight of his
team-mates.
Ballinrobe to their
credit, attacked from the resultant kick-off and less than a minute after
conceding the leveller, the Robesiders almost pinched the lead for the second
time in this joust. A splendid delivery from the industrious Conroy, saw
O’Gorman win possession of the leather and his through ball released Ryan but
the latter scuffed his effort harmlessly wide.
Ballyheane took the
lead on 65 minutes, much to the delight of the away bench. A neat delivery from
Maughan, was inadequately dealt with by the home defence and the ball broke for
the poaching Burke and he guided the leather to the back of Damien
Fitzpatrick’s net.
On 73 minutes,
Ballyheane secured the victory. Ballyheane’s Matthew Conroy won possession 35
yards from Damien Fitzpatrick’s posts and the former struck home a spectacular
strike which flew into the top corner of the Red and White net.
Indeed, Ballyheane
could well have glossed the score-line even further on 82 minutes, as the
retreating Damien Walsh mistimed a challenge on Maughan inside the area and
Referee Harry Loftus pointed to the spot. However, this time Burke failed to
find the target as Damien Fitzpatrick made an outstanding save and eagerly
collected the breaking ball.
The players to
impress for the Robesiders on the day were, Kevin Keane, Maurice Walsh and J. P.
O’Gorman. Whilst for Ballyheane, Peter Burke, Matthew Conroy and Gerry Burke
were to the fore.
Ballinrobe
Town: D. Fitzpatrick, S.
Donnellan, K. Keane, D. McDonnell, D. Walsh, M. Walsh, P. Sweeney, B. Conroy, J.
P. O’Gorman, S. Ryan, B. Grimes.
Subs: G. Fitzpatrick
for Sweeney (62), S. O’Malley for Conroy (66), P. Delaney for G. Fitzpatrick
(inj, 77).
Ballyheane: S. Fahy, M. Roche, T. Coghill, P. Munroe, P. Burke, J. Oosten, A.
Stephenson, M. Conroy, G. Burke, D. Sheridan, C. Maughan.
Subs: J. Kelly for
Sheridan (77), J. Nolan for Oosten (83).