Ballina come through stiff Glenhest challenge
Glenhest Rovers forward Connor McCarthy and Ballina Town's Niall Casey battle for the ball. Picture: John Corless
Ballina Town are on course to retain the Calor Gas Super Cup, qualifying for the Final after a hard-fought battle with their stubborn north Mayo neighbours Glenhest Rovers on Saturday evening.
This was a proper cup tie; it was entertaining, physical and competitive, with referee Eric Eaton, correctly, waving his yellow card eight times – four for each team – for robust tackles in what was not a dirty game.
Glenhest started well and took the game to Ballina. They were hungrier than their guests, with their star forward Connor McCarthy and captain Mark Forrestal threatening early on. For Ballina, young Leon Geraghty had a few efforts but none really threatened Glenhest.
Glenhest went in front on 23 minutes when McCarthy got in behind the Ballina defence to finish Forrestal’s pass with a low shot past Emmet Peyton.
Town were forced to change things when Jamie Cawley had to eventually go off, with an injury that he carried into the game and was obviously bothering him as early as the first minute. His replacement, Oisin Tighe, went at Glenhest through the middle and lifted Ballina who got more in to the game.
Glenhest stayed compact on the narrow pitch and Town found it difficult to find a route through the congestion. Dylan McKee eventually made the breakthrough when he was set up by the excellent Geraghty, three minutes into first half stoppage time.
Town manager Trevor Nash clearly had words with his players at half-time, and they came out a different side after the break and dominated the possession. Donagh Crowne did a lot of work up top throughout the game for Ballina, holding up and distributing well. He was unlucky with two efforts, and McKee and Tighe forced saves from Nathan Barrett.
Ballina pressed Glenhest, who were generally solid with Chris Rowland, in particular, standing out. As Glenhest began to tire, McKee added his, and Ballina’s, second on 74 minutes and that was it. Ballina might have won by more, were it not for two excellent saves by Barrett. Glenhest were limited to scraps due to the excellent performance of man of the match Chris Maughan at the back.
“We had a bad first thirty minutes,” Town manager, Trevor Nash, told the . “They have just been promoted and they were well up for it tonight. I knew we’d have a fight on our hands. They’re no mugs and we were lucky to get the goal at half time, and when we got that, our tails came up, and when we came out, we had a great game in the second half.
“Like every team, we had first-choice players missing with one thing and another, but we’re not complaining or making excuses. When you have players out, it gives an opportunity to other players coming in, to show what they can do and to get experience. I thought Leon Geraghty was excellent, coming in for us tonight. We’re not thinking of cup finals or anything now. We’ll prepare for our next game and take it a game at a time.”
Double goalscorer, Dylan McKee, said it was a tough game. “We need to up our performance for the final,” he said. “We are the holders of this cup having beaten Westport in the final last year, and we want to hold on to it. We want to win it again.”
McKee described it as ‘unbelievable’ playing alongside Donagh Crowne. “He’s such a quality player,” he said. “He’s only played a few games since joining us, but he’s great holding up the ball and flicking it on. And Oisin Tighe was great tonight too. It’s great to have him back from his injury and hopefully Benny Lavelle can get back too – he was on the bench tonight.”
Glenhest defender Adrian Rowland said it was hard battle. “I thought we were unlucky to concede the equaliser just before half time,” he said. “We were well in the game and should have been in front. We came out strong in the second half but the bounce of the ball didn’t go our way. I’m very proud of the effort of the team tonight and of the numbers we’ve had at training and matches all season, and especially the young players who came off the bench again. It’s been a good season for us in our fiftieth year.”
Maughan, Geraghty and Crowne were best for Ballina Town on an evening when all their players performed well. Chris Rowland, Shane Loftus and Barrett were best for Glenhest.
Glenhest Rovers: Nathan Barrett, Ciaran McCormack, James Walsh, Adrian Rowland, Shane Loftus, Paul McLoughlin, Chris Rowland, Ethan Barrett, Mark Forrestal, Connor McCarthy, Pat Mulchrone. Subs: Levi Barrett, Neil Kirby.
Balllina Town: Emmet Peyton, Jamie Moyles, Chris Maughan, Niall Casey, Stephen Melvin, Leon Geraghty, Danny Gorman, Conor Quinn, Dylan McKee, Donagh Crowne, Jamie Cawley. Subs: Oisin Tighe, Lee Corcoran.
REF: Eric Eaton.
