Ballinacourty Advance in Incident Packed Game at Fraher Field

Fraher Field has down the year’s staged its fair share of incident packed games, some for all the right reasons, others for the wrong reason’s and in the majority of cases for somewhere in between.

Since the lights were installed at the Shandon Road venue a number of interesting football games in particular have taken place at the ground. For a knockout game with the weather allowing for people to move out of their homes and attend games without risking getting soaked or be frozen solid, there is no better place to be.

Three Senior Football Championship Quarter Finals were played at the venue this past weekend, all under the lights and strangely all three went to extra time which somewhat added to the atmosphere inside the famous historical ground.

The first of the four quarter finals played on Friday evening would possibly be billed the pick of the games ahead of the weekend where last year’s runners up Kilrossanty took on a Ballinacourty side that has enjoyed so much success on the underage front in recent years, and who are constantly bringing the best of those players from the underage scene into their senior team and some of them do not look out of place after taken over from some very experienced players who have served the club well down the years and along the way themselves have contested their share of senior football finals.

          Gate receipts of nearly €3,000 on a Friday evening are not to be sneezed at, and few of the sizeable attendance were not disappointed with the way the game panned out. Yes, I know the standard at times may not be the same as what we have seen on other occasions when these two sides played at this same venue, but none the less the attention of supports of both sides and neutrals inside the ground was maintained right to the end.

          This game had it all, black cards, yellow cards, red cards, at times it appears that the only cards not handed out were Christmas Cards which is coming closer with each passing week.  There were clear cut penalties, there were somewhat debatable penalties or so it appeared from sitting in the press box at the country end of the stand just past the half way line, and there appeared to be a major cock up when it came to one substitute.  

Oh yes there was also scores. The amount of overall scores in this game might be somewhat low but there was plenty of goals, there was chances for both sides to win the game inside the allotted sixty minutes, one of which was taken by one side and missed by the other.

There was just under 30 seconds played when last year’s runners up took the lead through Paul Whyte who split the Ballinacourty posts. But that score was soon wiped out. The word before the game was that Inter county hurler Conor Prunty would be tasked with trying to curb the influence that Tommy Prendergast was having in recent times in and around the middle of the field for Kilrossanty and the whispers proved right as Prunty took up a man marking job on the big Kilrossanty man. And with five minutes played he got his name on the score sheet as he was picked out by Neil Montgomery and when he eyed Dwayne Kirwan once he had the ball in his hands he made no mistake in beating the Kilrossanty man for a well taken goal.

 Mark Ferncombe and Joey Veale swapped scores before Patrick Hurney was sent to the line on 14 minutes when he was issued with a straight red card by referee Anthony Fitzgerald for an incident under the nose of linesman Tom Mansfield who was running the line on the stand side of the field. His sending off means that he will now miss his sides county semi final against reigning champions The Nire, the draw for which was made after the fourth quarter final this evening, and his loss could prove to be a big one for the side in green and white hoops.

Kilrossanty struck their first goal on 22 minutes and it proved to be somewhat controversial from the stand. The view from the press box that was that while Tommy Prendergast bore down at the Ballinacourty goal he appeared to lose his footing inside the box, but referee Anthony Fitzgerald who was much closer to the action deemed that Brian Looby had helped the big Kilrossanty man to go to ground, so a penalty was awarded. Paul Whyte was tasked with facing Stephen Enright in the Ballinacourty goal and he made no mistake as he hammered the ball straight down the middle from 12 metres and into the Ballinacourty net.

Three minutes later Kilrossanty further stretched their lead when Tommy Prendergast picked out Paul Whyte who beat Stephen Enright to double his sides lead with time running down in the first half.

A minute from the end of the opening 30 minutes referee Anthony Fitzgerald was stretching his arms in an outward direction for the second time, but this time at the town end of the ground as Conor Prunty was pulled down after he was played into the box for the second time in this game by Neil Montgomery. David Looby placed the ball 12 metres from goal to face Dwayne Kirwan who went to his right but the wrong way as Looby brought Ballinacourty to within one in a very low scoring first half.

As he went back out the field to face the restart he was struck by Mark Prendergast and after consulting with his umpire the Kilrossanty man became the second man to be sent to the line on a straight red card and the game had not even reached half time.

Trailing 2-2 to 2-1 at the break Ballinacourty quickly levelled matters in the first minute of the second half and five minutes further in more drama arrived.

Mark Ferncombe was pulled down by goalkeeper Dwayne Kirwan who was issued with a black card and a penalty was awarded. As with the rules applying to the black card Kilrossanty could not replace their goalkeeper till the next break in play so Stephen Prendergast stood between the posts for the kick but was beaten by Mark Ferncombe.

For the restart Seamus Veale came on between the posts for Kilrossanty but word began to spread around the stand and onto the field that the Kilrossanty man’s name was not given to the referee as an official sub before the game meaning he had to be replaced minutes later by Josh Kay who it seems was coming on initially. Should this be true and had Kilrossanty won the game the County Board could have deemed that Kilrossanty forfeited the game but it would not be in their remit to award Ballinacourty the game, meaning that The Nire who won this evenings final quarter final game and who were paired with Ballinacourty in the draw after winning this game would receive a walkover into the County Final.

Mark Ferncombe and Paul Whyte swapped scores before Michael O’Halloran with the aid of the crossbar levelled matters with five minutes of play remaining. Between Whyte and Ferncombe’s effort Kilrossanty struck a third goal as Donal Fitzgerald found Pa Cunningham to edge the Comeragh Men in front by one.

On the hour mark the games fourth penalty was awarded when Brian Looby was pulled down but this time Kilrossanty’s third penalty in this game guessed right and Josh Kay saved from Mark Ferncombe to keep the scores level.

Five minutes into stoppage time Ballinacourty appeared to have won the game when Sean Whelan Barrett fisted over the Kilrossanty crossbar, but the game was not over. Paul Whyte made a late surge on the Ballinacourty goal but he saw his effort put out for a ’45. Josh Kay was brought up field to kick from 45 metres and he kicked high over the Ballinacourty crossbar to send this game into extra time.

Both sides were back up to their full complement of players for the extra 20 minutes as David Looby came back on for Ballinacourty and Michael Walsh came on for Kilrossanty.

Scores in extra time were hard won. Midway through the opening first added ten minute period Sean Whelan Barrett gave his side the lead, and deep in stoppage time in the second added ten minutes the only other score of extra time arrived, again going to Ballinacourty as Darragh McGrath found Michael Maher who fixed to the next to book his sides place in the final four of the competition.

Ballinacourty: Stephen Enright: Shane Briggs, Brian Looby, John Elstead; Darragh McGrath, David Collins, Richie Foley; James Beresford, Conor Prunty; Mark Toomey, Neil Montgomery, David Looby; Mark Ferncombe, Patrick Hurney, Michael Maher.

Subs: Michael O’Halloran for Shane Briggs (28), John Hurney for David Looby (HT), Sean Whelan Barrett for James Beresford (47), James O’Mahony for Mark Twomey (60+2), David Looby (E.T.), James Beresford for John Hurney (HT/ET).

Scorers: Mark Ferncombe 1-3 (1-0 pen, 0-1f), Conor Prunty, David Looby (pen), Michael Maher 1-0 each, Sean Whelan Barrett 0-2, Michael O’Halloran 0-1.

Kilrossanty: Dwayne Kirwan; Paul Keating, Niall Walsh, Mark Prendergast; Conor Hayes, Stephen Prendergast, James Whyte; Tommy Prendergast, Pa Whyte; Pa Cunningham, Martin Dunne, Donal Fitzgerald; Jack Whyte, Paul Whyte, Joey Veale.

Subs: Anthony Lonergan for Jack Whyte (45), Seamus Veale for Dwayne Kirwan (BC 36), Josh Kay for Dwayne Kirwan (42), Barry Prendergast for Martin Dunne (60+2), Michael Walsh (E.T). Jack Whyte for Anthony Lonergan (E.T), Martin Dunne for Michael Walsh (HT/ET), Eoin Power for Joey Veale (80)

Scorers:  Paul Whyte 2-3 (1-0 pen, 0-1f), Pa Cunningham 1-0, Joey Veale, Josh Kay (45) 0-1 each.

Referee: Anthony Fitzgerald