Ballinlough got their Division 4 B-League campaign off to a good start on Bank Holiday Monday with a five point win in Moylagh.
Ballinlough…………………..0-13 Clann Na NGael……………1-5
After successive promotions Ballinlough may have been expecting to find the going tough in their opening outing, but a good mixture of youth and experience helped them secure a comfortable win over Clann Na NGael.
‘The Reds’ were in charge from an early stage, Ronan Mc Guinness was impressive at left half back and he kicked a good score in the opening quarter as they took a commanding, 0-5 to 0-1, lead. Ricky Mc Dermott was also in good form and he was involved in many of their scores, including two well struck 45’s. Clann Na NGael got a lucky break when they were awarded a rather soft penalty and it was neatly dispatched to the top corner which brought them back into contention, but they failed to make any further progress and it was Ballinlough that finished the half better with scores from Mark Mc Cullen and Jonnie Reilly as they went, 0-9 to 1-1, ahead at half-time.
Ballinlough’s scoring rate slowed down during the second-half as they wasted some good scoring chances in the first ten minutes but with impressive U-17 player Kevin Beirne dominating midfield with Gary Reilly they eventually found their scoring range and pushed further ahead with scores from Mc Dermott and Mc Cullen.
It was a good all round team performance from Ballinlough who will face a big test against Simonstown Gaels in the next round.
Ballinlough: L. Gibney, R. Farrell, E. Smith, J. O’ Reilly, J. Baugh, K. Devine, R. Mc Guinness, M. Mc Cullen, G. Reilly, J. O’ Higgins, J. Reilly, R. Mc Dermott, D. Farrelly, K. Beirne, D. Lynch. Subs: O. Brady, M. Farrell, J. Lydon, J. Farrelly and P. Farrelly.