Division 2 A-League: Another win for Ballinlough
Ballinlough travelled to Kilmainham on Friday evening to record their third win in Division 2 of the A-league, in near perfect conditions both teams struggled to get out of first gear in a game that never really got the heart racing.
Ballinlough………………..1-9
Kilmainham……………….1-5
Ballinlough………………..1-9
Kilmainham……………….1-5
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The win keeps Ballinlough towards the business end of the table but Seamus Kiernan and his management team will know that a lot of problems will have to be ironed out if they are to be a major force later in the year. An over dependency on Peadar Byrne and an inability to convert scoring chances, which culminated in 16 wides, are no doubt a cause of concern.
Ballinlough were the better side throughout and a couple of runs by Benji Smith helped them take an early; 0-2 to 0-1, lead. Peadar Byrne was once again central to everything Ballinlough did and in the 14th minute he made an opening for Mark Mc Cullen to finish past Kilmainham goalkeeper Kevin Jordan; who had done very well to save Mc Cullen’s initial effort. |
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Kilmainham’s Pat O’ Sullivan seen plenty of possession when he moved out to center half-forward and he kicked a couple of nice scores to keep his side in contention; 1-3 to 0-3, after 23 minutes. However Ballinlough finished the half better with scores from Ken Rothwell, Benji Smith and Peadar Byrne as they held a; 1-6 to 0-4, lead at the switch of ends.
Ballinlough had plenty of good scoring chances early in the second half and they really should have moved into a comfortable lead, but they paid a heavy price when Denis Newman rattled the net for Kilmainham in the 35th minute to bring his team within two points; 1-4 to 1-6. Points from Peadar Byrne and his midfield partner Tommy Mc Cullen helped the intermediate side to go three points clear 12 minutes into the second half and at this stage ‘The Reds’ had a near monopoly on possession. But the umpires didn’t get a chance to wave a flag as Ballinlough’s wide count continued to rise and with time almost up they were holding onto a precarious three point lead in circumstances that were all too similar to their recent championship meeting with Longwood.
Kilmainham did have a couple of chances to narrow the margin but Padraig Muldoon was solid in the Ballinlough defence, Ronan Mc Guinness split the posts with the last score of the game and there was a collective sigh of relief from the Ballinlough followers as they ran out four point winners.
Ballinlough: K. Mc Guinness, R. Farrell, K. Devine, E. Smith, B. Smith (0-2), S. Fagan, R. Mc Guinness (0-2), T. Mc Cullen (0-1), P. Byrne (0-2), S. Geraghty (0-1), M. Mc Cullen (0-1), P. Muldoon, J. Reilly, K. Rothwell (0-1), G. Reilly. Subs: Colm Mallen for Fagan, J. O’ Higgins for Devine and Cian Mallen for J. Reilly.
Ballinlough had plenty of good scoring chances early in the second half and they really should have moved into a comfortable lead, but they paid a heavy price when Denis Newman rattled the net for Kilmainham in the 35th minute to bring his team within two points; 1-4 to 1-6. Points from Peadar Byrne and his midfield partner Tommy Mc Cullen helped the intermediate side to go three points clear 12 minutes into the second half and at this stage ‘The Reds’ had a near monopoly on possession. But the umpires didn’t get a chance to wave a flag as Ballinlough’s wide count continued to rise and with time almost up they were holding onto a precarious three point lead in circumstances that were all too similar to their recent championship meeting with Longwood.
Kilmainham did have a couple of chances to narrow the margin but Padraig Muldoon was solid in the Ballinlough defence, Ronan Mc Guinness split the posts with the last score of the game and there was a collective sigh of relief from the Ballinlough followers as they ran out four point winners.
Ballinlough: K. Mc Guinness, R. Farrell, K. Devine, E. Smith, B. Smith (0-2), S. Fagan, R. Mc Guinness (0-2), T. Mc Cullen (0-1), P. Byrne (0-2), S. Geraghty (0-1), M. Mc Cullen (0-1), P. Muldoon, J. Reilly, K. Rothwell (0-1), G. Reilly. Subs: Colm Mallen for Fagan, J. O’ Higgins for Devine and Cian Mallen for J. Reilly.