Knockmore best Ballina to reach county final
Knockmore's Dylan Coleman, right, scored eight points in their win over Ballina Stephenites during the Junior A Championship Semi-Final. Picture: Conor McKeown
Knockmore’s junior team will be going to Hastings Insurance MacHale Park for a county final after they saw off neighbours Ballina Stephenites last Friday evening.
Knockmore came out the gates firing with a swift point from Dylan Coleman in the opening minute after benefitting from Darragh Staunton's impressive burst up the middle.
Sean Regan answered back for Ballina a minute later, fisting over from short range. Darragh Staunton played a slick one two with Adrian Sotoparra on the left, creating space and sweeping over for the home side. Patrick Carr, fresh off an impactful performance for Ballina in the Mayo Senior League Division 1 final, kick started what would be an impressive evening for him, knocking over a free from mid-range.
The home side kicked on in the following minutes, scoring five straight points. Mikey McHale regained the lead for the hosts scoring an almost identical point to Staunton's a few minutes prior.
Dylan Coleman slotted over a handy free kick for the hosts before Billy Ruane played a perfectly weighted pass over the top to Oran Timlin who got across his marker and tapped over. Ruane then follows with a brilliant shot of his from just inside the arc squeezing over the bar with defenders in his face Coleman converts another routine free before Sotoparra extends the lead to five.
A poor Knockmore kickout gives Sean Fitzpatrick the chance to pull a point back from a tight angle which he confidently takes, but this is soon cancelled out by 3 quick points from Caolan Hopkins who takes advantage of poor Ballina closing down and sweeps over. On the following play he combines with McHale and peels away from his marker striking over emphatically from outside the arc.
Patrick Carr capitalised on sloppy Knockmore fouls and strokes a free kick over. The home side got a strain of possession but got complacent and allowed Adam McAndrew to intercept the ball, drive upfield and lay off to Carr who taps over.
Hopkins replied for the home side soon after, getting inside his marker efficiently and sweeping over. The half ended with a Ballina score from Daniel Winters, who was accurate from an extremely tight angle after Sean Fitzpatrick was bundled down near the byline, but it was Knockmore who led 0-11 to 0-6 at the break.
Winters starts the second half like he ended the first, hooking a shot over his shoulder and over the bar. Carr then gets the visitors well and truly back on track with a great kick from just inside the arc that sailed over the bar.
The Stephenites defence was leaving a lot to be desired as after a simple strain of passing Colan Hopkins found himself free in a promising position and took advantage by tapping over. Knockmore were able to get hold of the ball for a few minutes, but Adam Burke seemed to become bored of his side's leisurely play and struck a fierce shot over the bar from distance.
Ballina went right up the other end trying to find a foothold in the game. Daniel Winters was fouled after coming onto the ball at speed giving Carr another habitual free kick that he easily converts.
The home side were obviously aiming to take the sting out of the game, slowly progressing the ball around the Ballina arc. An unnecessary foul followed, allowing Dylan Coleman to show off his long-range skills, kicking over from outside the arc and extending the gap to six.
Stephen Mullins was dominant off the following kickout, progressing to Winters who glided inside and tapped over. Oisin McCann then won what the home crowd believed is a soft free for the visitors, giving Carr a challenging kick from outside the arc but he stays consistent and strikes over confidently.
Knockmore responded brilliantly with a sleek move. A now bloody Billy Ruane received the short kickout under pressure and worked it out of a tight space, with seemingly every player getting the ball before Coleman finished the move off.
The freshly introduced Conor Flynn's shot then rattled the upright but sneaked over for the home side before Dylan Coleman dispatching another free after Ballina lost possession trying to play out from the back.
James Doherty keeps the visitors in the game with a brilliant two-point shot. However, Ballina, as they did all night, gave away another easy free to Coleman who made no mistake.
Groans from the home crowd followed on the next play over what they felt was a soft free awarded to Ballina, and unsurprisingly Carr converted from outside the arc to make it a three-point game.
Ballina raced forward looking for a goal, but Ballina's Rory Tighe was called for steps. Protests from the bench meant the free was brought up and Coleman tacked on the last point of the evening to ensure Knockmore were heading to MacHale Park.
Scorers - Knockmore; Dylan Coleman 0-1-6 (1tpf, 3f), Caolan Hopkins 0-1-3, Mikey McHale, Adrian Sotoparra, Darragh Staunton, Billy Ruane, Adam Battle, Oran Timlin and Conor Flynn 0-0-1 each.
Ballina Stephenites: Patrick Carr 0-2-5 (2tpf, 3f), Daniel Winters 0-0-3, James Doherty 0-1-0, Sean Fitzpatrick and Sean Regan 0-0-1 each.
Knockmore; Brian McMahon; Martin Orme, Keith Ormsby, Luke Kelly; Oran Timlin, Adam Battle, Ryan Casey; Billy Ruane, Tadhg Staunton; Darragh Staunton, Adrian Sotoparra, Mikey McHale; Caolan Hopkins, Dylan Coleman, Brian Durkan. Sub: Mikey McHale (for Conor Flynn).
Ballina Stephenites: Gary Holmes; James Doherty, Ger Cafferkey, Stephen Mullins; Aodhan McCann, Michael Caden, Rory Tighe; Sean Regan, Adam McAndrew; Sean Treacy, Conor Maycock, Oisin McCann; Patrick Carr, Daniel Winters, Sean Fitzpatrick. Sub: Adam McAndrew (for Darragh Ginty).
REF: Barry McDonnell (Moy Davitts).
