‘Glass hearts shattered as Conn take the points

Elverys Sports Super League 

Conn Rangers 3 

Ballyglass 2 

John Corless in Mount Falcon 

Conn Rangers secured an important win in the Thursday evening drizzle of Mount Falcon, in a match that could have gone either way. Ballyglass probably deserved a point from the game, for their industry and approach, but once again poor defending cost them and they went home empty handed.

The Rangers defending wasn’t all it should be either, and they will have to improve at the back if they are to climb up the table. Their attack lacked a bit of sharpness too but on another evening, Conor Gorman’s two shots that came off the frame of the goal, might have gone in and the story would be different. As it was, there were mixed emotions at the final whistle. Conn Rangers were relieved to have dug out the much-needed result, while the Ballyglass camp was devastated, having come so close to securing their first point of the season.

Conn manager Joe Faughnan had a smile on his face at the end.

“It’s all about getting the three points,” he told the Western People. “I suppose at this level at times you have to grind out games and over the course of a 17 or 18 game season you’re going to have to do that a few times, and those points can make a big difference at the end of the season. We’re delighted to come out the right side of it.” 

Ballyglass were the better side early on and if the game was decided on corners, they would have won easily. But this game, like all games, was decided on goals, and man of the match Conor Gorman fired the first one home on 16 minutes, when he picked up Ronan Holmes’s pass on the break. A minute later, on their next attack, Caolan Hopkins doubled the scoring from Peter Naughton’s pass.

It was beginning to look very familiar for a Ballyglass side that have been hockeyed a few times recently. But on Thursday night, things were different. They regrouped, kept playing ball, and were rewarded when a decent move involving Jack Keane and Ryan Duggan was finished by Ryan Judge. Six minutes later, Bryan Walsh was gifted a goal by poor Conn defending.

For a moment Ballyglass were level. But moments are fleeting and luck can be too, when you are the foot of the table. No sooner had Ballyglass levelled the match than Conn went in front again. Brian McMahon, the Conn goalkeeper, booted the ball upfield and Ronan Homes blasted the home side in front. The disbelief in the Ballyglass dugout was understandable.

The second-half was a tame affair with no goals, and while both sides tried, they couldn’t recapture the intensity of the opening period. Judge, Dean O’Malley and Colm Tuohy all came close for Ballyglass, with Keane a constant threat. Darren Murray put in a solid shift in midfield and was their best performer, with Walsh also catching the eye.

Conor Gorman is on another level and the bad news for Conn is that the young midfielder is likely to return to Sligo Rovers Under-20s when the window reopens in July. They have lost Sam Barnes to a nasty injury and will need a strong squad for the battle when the table splits.

With ten left on the stopwatch, Owen McNamara did what he had to do, just outside the box, to prevent Jack Keane and a likely Ballyglass goal. Referee, Damien McGrath, did what he had to do, too, producing a red card for McNamara to mark the occasion. But Ballyglass were unable to convert the numerical advantage into anything tangible as Conn tightened their grip on the three points.

“We might have just given ourselves too much spade work to do to make the cut at the top five when the season is divided,” Joe Faughnan admitted. “It might be just a bit difficult now with the fixtures we have, but there's a lot of points being dropped by a lot of teams, and I think this year there's a lot more competitive teams compared to the last few seasons. But I think it's probably going to be too far for us to make the top five. If we don't, so be it. We've a cup semi-final at the end of May to maybe prioritise. But we'll try and be competitive in every game.” 

Fergal Burke, manager of Ballyglass described the loss as a tough one to take. “I thought we played really well today. We conceded two soft goals, but we got ourselves back into it. We probably should have got the equaliser, but it just didn't come. But I'm very proud of the lads. There were five under-18 lads playing this evening.

“The drizzle made the surface a bit slippier, and some of the tackles were hot and heavy. But there was no malice in any of them. It was just the conditions that they were played in. Both sides tried to play football. We played very well in the first half. So, we keep going.” 

Conn Rangers: Brian McMahon, Mark McMahon, Owen McNamara, Chris Moore, Mikey McHale, Mikey Lowther, Eoin Prendergast, Peter Naughton, Caolan Hopkins, Conor Gorman, Ronan Holmes. Subs: Matthew Neary (for Prendergast 73), Tuan O’Horo (for M McMahon 75), Ciaran Brogan (for Hopkins 85), Ballyglass: Nathan McGurrin, Ben Killeen, Evan Connolly, Dean O’Malley, Colm Tuohy, Eddie Lennon, Darren Murray, Bryan Walsh, Ryan Duggan, Jack Keane, Ryan Judge. Subs: Kevin Feerick (for Killeen 60), Ryan Connolly (for Lennon 77).

REF: Damien McGrath