Understrength Ballinacourty too strong for depleted The Nire

Ballinacourty produced a very strong second half showing at Fraher Field on Friday evening last to overcome the challenge of The Nire in the fourth round of games in this years County Senior Football Championship.

Both of these sides were without players that would normally have played in this game. The eventual winners were short up to four players while The Nire were short the services of seven players that they normally would have started.

Early in the game despite The Nire missing the greater number of first choice players started the brighter of the two sides and with seventeen minutes played, things were looking good for them as they held a 0-5 to 0-1 advantage on the scoreboard.

The Ballymacarbry based club opened the scoring on three minutes with a Shane Walsh point and the same player followed up two minutes later with another from a free.

Patrick Hurney registered Ballinacourty’s first score of the game on seven minutes but in the next ten minutes, The Nire hit a brace of Darren Guiry scores and another from a Shane Walsh free to give his side a four point lead.

The games first goal came quickly after Shane Walsh’s second score of the game. Ballinacourty attacked The Nire goal from the kick out and when Michael O’Halloran found Gary Hurney in front of the Nire goal, the former Inter county duel player made no mistake in beating stand in keeper Stephen Ryan. And when Richie Foley pointed two minutes later the sides were locked together on the score board.

Points from John and Patrick Hurney on twenty two and twenty three points edged Ballinacourty in front for the first time which was followed with Dylan Guiry and Patrick Hurney swapping scores to keep two between the sides.

In first half added time The Nire proved to be the stronger of the two sides as two of their more experienced players on the night, firstly Shane Walsh from a free and then Jamie Barron from play put the ball between the uprights to send the sides to the dressing rooms locked 1-5 to 0-8.

If the first half was an even affair, the same could not be said of the second half as Ballinacourty proved to be the better of the two sides, and in the course of the thirty plus minutes played held The Nire to just three points.

Gary Hurney and Richie Foley pointed in the opening two minutes of the half to give their side a two point lead which was halved soon afterwards when Ciaran Looney pointed for The Nire on thirty five.

The Nire looked as if they were going to go back in front on thirty six minutes as Kenny Brazil tried to beat Stephen Enright in the Ballinacourty goalkeeper but the established number one keeper in the county did brilliant to keep the size five from hitting the net behind him.

Shane Walsh did level matters a minute later when he put over another free for his side but this was as good as it got for them.

Within a minute of Shane Walsh’s score Ballinacourty opened a good lead on their opponents. Shane Briggs attempted to put over the cross bar but his effort came crashing high off the upright and fell to James McGrath who as he was about to catch the ball, slipped allowing Neil Montgomery to slip in and beat Stephen Ryan from close range.

Points from Richie Foley and Gary Hurney helped establish a 2-9 to 0-10 lead for Ballinacourty with forty six minutes played, and a minute later it looked curtains for The Nire as Shane Donovan attempted his luck for a third Ballinacourty goal but his shot flashed across the face of the goal and went wide.

A brace of Patrick Hurney scores and one from Michael O’Halloran had Ballinacourty well in front (2-12 to 0-11) by the time James McGrath hit his sides last score of the game with five minutes remaining.

Michael O’Halloran hit the last score of the game on sixty one minutes to record a comfortable eight point win but on another day The Nire will feel that it could well be their day even without the seven regulars they did not start with as either side of Michael O’Halloran’s point, Thomas O’Gorman blasted across the face of the Ballinacourty goal when he was played through and just before the full time whistle Stephen Enright again did well to keep a Keith Guiry effort out.

Ballinacourty: Stephen Enright; Conor McCarty, Brian Looby, David Collins; John Elstead, Shane Briggs, John Hurney; Seán O’Hare, James O’Mahony; Richie Foley, Patrick Hurney, Neil Montgomery; Shane Donovan, Gary Hurney, Michael O’Halloran. Subs: Michael Maher for Neil Montgomery (51), Mark Fives for John Hurney (53), Evan Collins for Richie Foley (58), Patrick Lynch for Brian Looby (60).

Scorers: Patrick Hurney 0-5 (2f), Gary Hurney 1-2, Richie Foley 0-3, Neil Mountgomery 1-0, Michael O’Halloran 0-2, John Hurney 0-1.

The Nire: Stephen Ryan; James McGrath, Thomas O’Gorman, Jake Mulcahy; Seamus Lawlor, Maurice O’Gorman, Tommy Cooney; Ciaran Looney, Shane Walsh; Dylan Guiry, Craig Guiry, Jamie Barron; Keith Guiry, Darren Guiry, Kenny Brazil. Subs: Diarmuid Murphy for Kenny Brazil (52), Justin Walsh for Tommy Cooney (52), Conal Mulcahy for James McGrath (57).

Scorers: Shane Walsh 0-5 (4f), Darren Guiry 0-2, Dylan Guiry, Jamie Barron, Ciaran Looney, James McGrath 0-1 each.

Referee: Alan Kissane