Stradbally win title number eighteen

Stradbally won a eighteenth County Senior Football Championship, the ninth since the turn of the Millennium and a first in three years on Friday evening when they overcame the challenge of Ballinacourty at Fraher Field with two points to spare at the end of the hour and three added minutes played over at the end of the two halves.

The victory takes them to within one of the record number won of titles won by Dungarvan and also ensures that they will make the short journey up the coast road again later this evening to play Cork side Nemo Rangers in the Munster Senior Club quarter final.

This was a game that Stradbally won in a similar fashion to many of the previous eight they won as they helped ground down Ballinacourty who with 59 minutes played looked as if they were going to send the game to extra time in a bid to ensure Waterford would have a representative in the Munster Club competition this evening, by sending over an equalising score.

However two late points from Michael Walsh and Robert Ahearne ensured that Stradbally ran out winners.

Ballinacourty will however he kicking themselves as they will not need to be told that this is one that got away from them as they kicked thirteen wides over the 63 minutes played, one of which came from a penalty fourteen minutes into the first half of the game.

The winners not wanting to become another Waterford side to loose three finals in a row got off to a good start in this game when Shane Ahearne put over the opening score of the game on three minutes.

However the lead was short lived as Ballinacourty equalised with a point from Patrick Hurney three minutes later and seven minutes later the same player gave Ballinacourty for the first and only time.

Patrick Hurney attempted to extend the Ballinacourty lead a minute later but his effort fell short of its intended target but the ball was won by older brother Gary who was fouled by the Stradbally defence leaving referee Alan Kissane with no other option but to outstretch his arms and award the side in Green and White a penalty.

Michael O’Halloran was given responsibility for striking one on one from twelve metres against Eoin Cunningham but his low effort went to the left and wide of the upright.

Stradbally had received a let off and they made the best of it as they finished the half the better of the two sides as Shane Ahearne put over his second of the game with seventeen minutes played and Shane Lannon burst forward from his centre back position to kick a brace of points on nineteen and thirty minutes to give Pat Curran’s charges a 0-4 to 0-2 advantage as the sides headed to the dressing rooms.

Ballinacourty came out for the second half and for much of it proved to be the better of the sides.

Gary Hurney opened the second half scoring in the first minutes of the half but his effort was cancelled out with an effort from Tommy Connors who like Shane Lannon in the first half broke forward to give the Cove Men a 0-5 to 0-3 lead with thirty four minutes on the clock.

A brace of Patrick Hurney points in a two minute spell, the first of which proved to be the score of the evening however levelled matters by the thirty-sixth minute but Stradbally were back in front three minutes later as Michael Sweeney put over a free.

With both sides defences on top and with neither side wanting to make the mistake that would give the advantage to the other side, it was no real surprise that no further scores were registered for the next twenty minutes.

Stradbally apart from Ballinacourty’s first half penalty miss had the only other real chance of a goal seven minutes from time but Robert Ahearne saw his effort brilliantly saved by Stephen Enright in the Ballinacourty goal after some good work by Shane Lannon and Shane Ahearne in the build up.

Mark Fives drew the sides level with a minute remaining of the hour which looked as if it was going to send the game to an added twenty minutes.

However, Stradbally’s famous never say die attitude was again to come to the core in the final minutes of the game a Michael Walsh edged Stradbally back in front on the hour mark and in the first of two added minutes at the end of the second half Robert Ahearne ensure that his side were going to secure the title.

STRADBALLY: Eoin Cunningham; Kevin Lawlor, Kevin Coffey, Luke Casey; Tony Grey, Shane Lannon, Tommy Connors; Jack Mullaney, Michael Walsh; John Hearne, Robert Ahearne, Daniel Weldon; Michael Sweeney, Shane Ahearne, Ger Power. Subs: Paddy Kiely for Daniel Weldon (H-T); John Coffey for Ger Power (H-T); Eoin O’Brien for Michael Sweeney (56); Shane Cunningham for John Hearne (59).

Scorers: Shane Lannon, Shane Ahearne (1f) 0-2 each; Tommy Connors, Michael Sweeney (f), Michael Walsh, Robert Ahearne 0-1 each.

BALLINACOURTY: Stephen Enright; Shane Briggs, Sean O’Hare, Brian Looby; E Bergin, Richie Foley, David Collins; John Hurney, Conor Prunty; Michael O’Halloran, Mark Ferncombe, Eoin Collins; Shane O’Donovan, Gary Hurney, Patrick Hurney. Subs: Mark Fives for Michael O’Halloran (H-T); Conor McCarthy for Brian Looby (BC, 39); Michael Maher for Mark Ferncombe (49).

Scorers: Patrick Hurney 0-4 (2fs); Gary Hurney 0-1 (1f) Mark Fives (0-1).

Referee: A Kissane