It’s Ballinameela V Bonmahon Round Two in Intermediate Football County Final

How often have we seen a team down the years with one hand on silverware only for them to loose it?

Last Saturday evening at Fraher Field Bonmahon found themselves in such a situation.

They looked as if they were going to mark the 40^th Anniversary of winning their first Intermediate title and the 21^st Anniversary of winning their second title at the same grade with winning a third, but were found guilty of throwing away the chance.

All was not lost however for the Copper Coast Village side as they earned a second chance this Wednesday evening to see if they can win that third title or if Ballinameela can win a fourth and as a result win the right to represent Waterford in the Intermediate Club Championship on Sunday afternoon against Limerick side Oola.

For much of the hour on Saturday evening it was the side coached by Rathgormack man Kenny Hassett that were the superior team but a goal six minutes from time, fisted to the net by Brian Phelan gave Ballinameela the chance of winning a third title at this level since 2009.

For Bonmahon on Saturday evening on two occasions they lead by four points with former All-Ireland Winning minor Michael Harney playing a pivotal roll for his side, but credit where credit is due, Ballinameela never gave up and in the end the draw might have been the fairest result all round.

On Saturday night last it was Bonmahon that had the better start as John Roche opened the scoring inside fifty seconds and when they added further efforts from Dylan Power five minutes later and then by Ciaran Buckley a further three minutes it was looking as if it would be the Copper Coast Village clubs night, and that early three point lead when to four soon afterwards thanks to an effort from Ciaran Hearne.

Having failed to score in the opening quarter Ballinameela opened their account on 16 minutes through Jim Curran and they added another on nineteen minutes off the boot of Jim’s twin brother Tom.

Niall Queally and Tom Curran swapped scores in the closing minutes of the first half to give Bonmahon what was a deserved 0-5 to 0-3 lead at the break against the side that were odds on favourites with so many.

Tom Curran reduced the defecate to one in the first minute of the first half with his third free of the evening, and on thirty six minutes he was denied what looked to be a good goal scoring opportunity by Brendan Murphy in the Bonmahon goal.

Points from Ciaran Buckley and a brace from Richie Walsh followed for Bonmahon with the game having entered its final quarter to give them a four point advantage on the score board for the second time.

Ballinameela however never refused to throw in the towel and points from Brian Phelan and Tom Curran in a two minute spell had the Bonmahon lead down to a more manageable tally with nine minutes of the hour still to play.

Bonmahon however wasted no time in extending their lead with a point from the brilliant Michael Harney but it was followed by a Ballinameela goal to level matters for the first time since Bonmahon hit their early opening score.

Richie Walsh hit his third of the game from a tight angle which looked as if it would give the laurels to Bonmahon.

However it was not to be for them.

Anybody that reads my view on the modern game will know that I am totally opposed to shock frees or short puck outs and Bonmahon were punished here in added time for getting involved in such tactics.

Having won a free inside their own half of the field Bonmahon opted to play it short rather than to drive it as far down the field as is possible saw the ball intercepted and when Jim Curran got control of it, there was only one thing on his mind, to put it over the crossbar and he made no mistake to level matters.

A healthy attendance paid over €2,000 to see last Saturday’s clash of the two sides and with an expected deduction in the admission price to see the replay it will be interesting to see what the official gate receipt will be and more over to see if there is an apatite for midweek games within the county.

On Saturday evening last Ballinameela had good performances from the Curran twins, Jim and Tom as well as the likes of Brian Phelan and Michael Culloo.

Bonmahon had their part had some good performances from the likes of Michael Harney, Richie Walsh, Ciaran Buckley, Kieran Roche and Jonathan Fenton.

However not only with both sides need top drawer performances from these players in the replay, they will need others also to play a greater roll.

For Ballinameela the likes of Colin Walsh at full back Michael Shine at wing back, and Lorcan Looby in the middle of the field are all fine footballers and more will be asked of them on Wednesday evening.

For Bonmahon they will also look for big performances from the likes of Niall Queally, Ciaran Hearne and especially Shane Dwan who played no small part in helping his side to get past Newtown in the Eastern Semi Final and Portlaw in the final to make an even greater contribution on Wednesday evening as he was held scoreless by a tight Ballinameela full back line.

Ballinameela will head into this game as the more experienced side and will know that they won the first of their most two recent County Finals after a replay and will be hoping that History can repeat itself here.

However, having a sneaky feeling for Bonmahon to win on Saturday evening I am not going to change now. They were were wrote off by so many heading into last Saturday’s game and the fact that they got a second chance despite leading twice by four points will give them confidence going into this game.