A walk in the Park for Ballyheane
Nathan Reilly Doyle netted a brace in the second half against Manulla.
Ballyheane made it back-to-back Super League wins for the first time in two months after putting five past a limited Manulla last Sunday afternoon.
Even though there was six goals on offer, this was a game that won’t live long in the memory. The only thing in doubt after Ballyheane got the opening goal was how many the hosts would put past the struggling Blues. While Manulla are a good, honest side, they are seriously lacking quality up front. They remain out of the relegation zone after a strong start to the season, although three of their final six league games come against teams around them. With Crossmolina and Claremorris showing much-improved displays, if not results, Manulla will be nervously looking over their shoulders for the remainder of the season and should they not turn a corner, they look certain to go down.
Ballyheane were dominant from the off and they made the breakthrough on 17 minutes. The ball was kept alive and a knockdown from a cross set up Adam Blake for a lovely first time strike to put Ashley Stevenson’s side in front.
The home side continued to dominate, with Dan Purcell, Ben Edeh and Dylan Stevenson all going close and two minutes before half-time, they got their second. Edeh got down the right and drove a low cross to Purcell and he arrowed his shot into the top corner.
Three minutes into the second half, the creator for Ballyheane’s second turned scorer for the third. Coming down the other wing, left back Rory Morris fizzed it to Edeh and around 25 yards from goal, his drive into the bottom corner gave James Bolster no chance.
It was all too easy for Ballyheane and complacency began to creep in. Substitute Iago Moura Rocha forced Luca Meldrum into action after a great strike from the left side. The resulting corner saw centre-back Odhran O’Connor pull a goal back for Manulla near hour the mark after a shot from the edge of the box.
That was as good as it got for Aiden Dunleavy’s side. With 20 minutes to go, Nathan Reilly Doyle scored his first after a great run down the left before cutting in striking it with his right foot past Bolste and he added a second – and Ballyheane’s fifth – seven minutes later with a rocket from distance.
Ballyheane will end the season without a trophy but they remain in contention for second in the league table and in a season of transition, they will hope for a strong finish as a launch pad for a possible title challenge next season. If Manulla don’t find a quick upturn in performance and results, it is likely these two will be in different divisions next season.
