Ballinameela Bounce Back Up

            This was a final that Ballinameela were always expected to win and they duly obliged those that might have parted with some euro notes in the hope of recouping some more from their friendly bookmaker.

            Ballinameela were relegated from a very competitive Western Intermediate Hurling Championship at the end of the 2017 season and even playing in an even more competitive Western Junior Hurling Championship, they were always one of the favourites to move back up at the first time of asking, but nowhere along the line would they have taken for granted that they would move back up at that first time of asking.

            In this game like in some of their recent games in the Western Championship it is hard to tell how good this Ballinameela side are and it is only now that they will be playing the best sides at this level in other counties that we might find out.

            Without wanting to show any disrespect to other sides, the best game we can judge how good this Ballinameela side is was in their Western Semi Final win over a Saint Mary’s side that appeared in the three previous Western Final’s winning two of them.

            In the quarter final win over their fierce local rivals Geraldines they proved too strong. For much of their win in the Western Final over Colligan they again proved too strong. The Rockies did come back into that game late on in the game with some late goals, but they in truth put a gloss on the scoreboard, and it was the same on Sunday last as the recently crowned West and now County Champions raced into a nine point lead inside twenty minutes of this game starting and while they allowed their opponents last Sunday to get within a point of them at one stage in the second half, there was never any doubting that Ballinameela were going to win here and you can’t but feel that they could have upped their game a little more than they did if the need arose.

            As pointed out after twenty minutes of this game starting Ballinameela were nine points to the good playing with a stiff breeze at their backs into the town goal end of the ground, but they took their foot of the pedal a little after this and allowed their opponents to come back into the game, mainly through indiscipline which Brian Murray punished them for, and went in with their once impressive nine point lead cut to a much more manageable five (0-12 to 0-7).

            Had Tramore however gone man for man in marking the Ballinameela players they could have found themselves much closer at the break and would have the breeze at their backs for the second half but allowing the now Western Champions have an extra man in their own half of the field from any restart by Donagh Looby always gave them an edge in getting the ball into areas where they could hurt the seasider’s most.

            Tramore who finished the first half strong started the second half in the same way and they hit the game’s only game on 41 minutes when Murray played in Shane Rellis to be Looby in the Ballinameela goal, and in doing so leaving just a single score between the sides (0-13 to 1-9).

            But Tramore never pushed on after scoring that goal. In fact they hit just one further score after that and that score came in added time at the end of the hour.

            While Tramore registered the only goal of the game it was Ballinameela who created the games first real chance to have a green flag waved, that coming six minutes before Tramore raised a green flag at the other end of the ground, when Tom Curran cut in from the bank side of the field but he saw his effort go wide of the far post as he looked on, but had it gone in you can’t but feel that Ballinameela would have gone on by a considerably bigger margin than the eight points they won this game.

            Ballinameela after Tramore’s goal saw Brendan Phelan fire over five points which helped him to the Man of the Match Award from the Championship Sponsors JJ Kavanagh & Sons, while Jim Curran and Mikey Phelan who came on to join his four brothers on the field of play also raised white flags.

            Ballinameela will now go on and represent the county in the Munster Championship next month. For many year’s Waterford record in this competition was not the best, but thanks to the likes of Ballysaggart, Modeligo and Ardmore in recent years, Ballinameela will now go into the Munster Championship believing that they can do what other clubs in the West of the county have done, but they also will not need any telling that in Munster things will be somewhat tougher than in some of the games that they have played in of late.

Ballinameela: Donagh Looby; Rob Shine, Michael Shine, Kealan Looby; Kevin Phelan, David Phelan, Lorcan Looby; Paul Curran, Tom Curran; Cian Culloo, Brendan Phelan, Liam O’Brien; Conor Buckley, Brian Phelan, Jim Curran.

Subs: Mikey Phelan for Cian Culloo (42), Michael Culloo for Conor Buckley (53),

Scorers: Brendan Phelan 0-11 (6F, 1 ’65), Jim Curran 0-4, Tom Curran 0-2, Paul Curran, Brian Phelan, Kevin Phelan, Mikey Phelan 0-1 each.

Tramore: Shaun Hicks; Richard Hickey, Martin Whelan, Philip Griffin; John Clancy, Brendan Hogan, Michael Walsh; Matthew Thompson, William Cullinane; James Walsh, Craig Burke, Sam Lenihan; Shane Rellis, Brian Murray, Ian Thompson.

Subs: Ben Richards for William Cullinane (HT), Davis Acheson for Sam Lenihan (HT), Dan Morrissey for James Walsh (53), Ronan Walsh for Craig Burke (54), Adam Farrell for Matthew Thompson (62),

Scorers: Brian Murray 0-7 (6F), Shane Rellis 1-2 (0-1F), Matthew Thompson 0-1

Referee: Michael O’Brien