Ballinrobe boys ‘C’ the light as county crown goes south

Homeland Minor ‘C’ Football Championship Final 

Ballinrobe 1-12 

Swinford 1-9 

Patrick Hennelly at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park 

An entertaining battle ultimately ended in victory for Ballinrobe on Thursday night last at a rain-sodden MacHale Park, as the Robesiders celebrated a coveted county title success under lights.

Swinford played their part in an entertaining showdown and there were certainly some anxious moments for the Ballinrobe supporters as the East Mayo side caused panic with one last ditch assault on goal, which was eventually subdued by a Maroon and Yellow wall.

The game was just three minutes old when the first score arrived and it turned out to be a goal for the Black and Red. In what was one of the moves of the game, Swinford captain Thomas Duffy and John Dunleavy combined to tee-up Ewan Murphy who guided home a marvellous finish to the back of Liam Lynch’s net.

If Ballinrobe were rattled then they didn’t show it, and singles by Conor Jennings, Caelan Tansey and the busy Aaron Crowley, had the side’s level by the eighth minute.

The game was developing into a lively joust, with Swinford’s Thomas Tuffy teeing up the aforementioned Murphy for a point, before Ballinrobe’s Ben Place saw his goal attempt saved by the Swinford custodian, Cian McNicholas. However, Place made amends for that miss when he guided over a peach of a point on 13 minutes, much to the delight of the Maroon and Yellow faithful.

The dingdong nature of the joust continued, as Thomas Tuffy struck over a free, but a Ballinrobe goal on 16 minutes upset the Swinford applecart. In what was an electrifying Ballinrobe move, possession was shunted towards the loitering Place and the latter’s sumptuous finish rippled the back of the net.

Swinford were behind for the first time (1-4 to 1-2), but their response was admirable as John Dunleavy pointed following an excellent delivery by Thomas Tuffy.

The lively Crowley was proving to be a menace for the Swinford rearguard and the corner-forward almost fashioned a goal on 18 minutes but his effort was thwarted by the alert McNicholas.

Cian May had a fine outing at wing-back for Ballinrobe and his marvellous long-range point on 21 minutes lit up the night sky.

Eager to halt their opponent’s enthusiasm, Swinford regrouped and a brace of singles by the effervescent Thomas Tuffy restored parity. However, Cian May was revelling in the wide open spaces and the raiding wing-back landed another sky-scraper of a point on 26 minutes, which greatly aided Ballinrobe’s quest for glory.

Conor Jennings was another player who was beginning to spread his wings and the industrious midfielder landed an awesome long-range point before the break, which helped garner a 1-7 to 1-5 interval lead for the Robesiders.

The South Mayo side showed their intent during the early stages of the new half too, as they rattled off points from Caelan Tansey, Crowley, Rory Gilrane and Crowley again, as Swinford struggled to cope with that direct style of play.

But Swinford did eventually settle into the second-half and mustered a point on 36 minutes from the boot of their tigerish centre-back David Taylor.

Another scoring opportunity beckoned when, after seemingly missing out on the opportunity, the busy Evan Rowley improvised and kicked the ball off the ground and over the crossbar.

Gilrane could well have bridged a seven point gap between the sides on 38 minutes but after skipping past the Swinford cover, the under-pressure Ballinrobe full-forward skewed his effort wide, much to the relief of McNicholas.

The heretofore attack-minded Robesiders then went through a barren period, during which Swinford’s Thomas Tuffy tagged on a free on 45 minutes, and with just three points separating the sides (1-11 to 1-8), a goal for Swinford would have thrown this game wide open.

Both sides were full of endeavour in the testing weather conditions, however, the Flanagan Park outfit notched a badly needed score courtesy of the dynamic Crowley (a mark) on 56 minutes and this crucially breathed new life into the Maroon and Yellow.

Swinford, though, refused to throw in the towel and a tense finale was in store when the hard-working Thomas Tuffy slotted over his third and final free of the night one minute into additional time.

The chasers valiantly searched for salvation and caused some anxious moments for the Ballinrobe sideline during the dying embers, however, the southern outfit withstood the late Swinford rally and held on to claim some much sought after silverware.

Scorers – Ballinrobe: Ben Place 1-1, Aaron Crowley 0-4, Cian May, Conor Jennings and Rory Gilrane 0-2 each, Caelan Tansey 0-1.

Swinford: Thomas Tuffy 0-5 (3f), Ewan Murphy 1-1, David Taylor, Evan Rowley and John Dunleavy 0-1 each.

Ballinrobe: Liam Lynch; Shane Mahon, Sequoyah Duffy, Darragh Crowley; Ben Donnelly, Rossa Burke, Cian May; Jack Philbin, Conor Jennings; Oisin May, Caelan Tansey, Ben Place; Aaron Crowley, Rory Gilrane, David Cameron.

Subs: Barry Langan (for Donnelly 25), Jack Tuffy (for O May 46), Caoimhín Donnelly (for Cameron 57).

Swinford: Cian McNicholas; Robert Walsh O’Donnell, Conor Ryan, Liam Cunney; Gavin Tuffy, David Taylor, Enda Lavin; Raef Donnelly, Evan Rowley; Darragh Hanley, John Dunleavy, Kian McCarrick; Shay Durkin, Thomas Tuffy, Ewan Murphy. Subs: Kian Rowley (for Durkin 38), Hilton Bijou (for McCarrick 45), Noah Gilmore (for Taylor 60, inj).

REF: Paddy Chambers (Burrishoole)