Post by veteran on Dec 11, 2016 17:37:58 GMT
Ballydonoghue 1-10 Listowel 0-10 HT 1-6 0-5
Ballydonoghue started this match as if they felt the townies would be good for them, standing off their men and therefore conceding too much space. Eventually, it dawned on them them what was apparent to a lot of spectators from an early stage that this was a moderate Listowel team and with that awakening, Ballydonoghue took the fight to their opponents and endorsed, as the game progressed, that they were the superior team. Nevertheless, they were under pressure late in the game for a couple of reasons which I will detail later.
After their initial lethargic opening,conceding two points to Listowel, Balldonoghue got a grip and accrued three points from play, courtesy of wingback, Jack Gogarty, and two from Paul Kennelly. That gave them a 0-3 to 0-2 lead, a lead which as far as I can recall they never relinquished. The cornerstone of that Ballydonoghue revival was an absolutely water tight, bullet proof fullback line of Stephen Lonergan, Jason Foley and Diarmuid Behan and further out in the person of midfielder, Eamon Walsh. Eamon is not that imposing physically for a midfielder but his heart is probably too big for that body in which it is contained. A dynamo. He kicked three points from play into the bargain. If somebody made a more noble contribution to the cause in any sportsfield in Ireland today I would like to informed straightaway.
As so often happens, particularly at this time of year, a solitary goal was surely the gold dust that propelled Ballydonoghue to next Sunday's final. It occurred not too long before half time, always a propitious time to get one. Some nice interplay saw the ball in the possession of Paul Kennelly. He made tracks for enemy lines and it looked as if he was going to detonate the grenade himself but out of the corner of his eye he spotted that Jack Foley had drifted in behind the full back and duly delivered the pass. Jack , without any fuss, finished it home and in the process signed Listowel's death warrant. A four point lead at half time.
Noel Kennelly came on at the start of the second half but, unusually, achieved nothing except an early yellow card. Ballydonoghue continued to have the upper hand but were often too ambitious in scoring from difficult angles. In spite of that wastefulness , they had quarried a six point lead at one stage which was not deceptive. However, a combination of factors conspired to have them hanging on to a one score lead towards the end when a sucker goal could have had them facing the abyss. Their tackling became sloppy giving the referee plenty of opportunities to award frees. It must be said that some of these frees were softly earned , a lot of them which could have been given the other way for charging/over carrying. Another factor was that it appeared to me that a lot of the Ballydonoghue boys seemed to be on their last legs, finding it difficult to stay with their opponents. That could be crucial against the energetic St. Senans , who appear to be turbo charged. Either way, Conor Cox kept giving Listowel a lifeline with those frees. He kicked seven in all from place kicks. Conor got none from play. It is never easy against Jason Foley. Significant. Ballydonogue held out , deservedly but were relieved to hear that final whistle.
I have already referred to the bulwark that was the Ballydonoghue full back line. The Jason Foley/Conor Cox clash was crucial. Here, Conor could achieve nothing against Jason, not the first man to find himself in that predicament. He was eventually switched to midfield but it was a classical case of out of the frying pan into the inferno that was Eamon Walsh. Conor, I am sure is not interested in getting advice from a malcontent like me but he likely would achieve more if he did not spend so much time trying to referee the match.
The long serving Martin O'Mahony was a worthy partner for Eamon Walsh. Jim Cremin and Damien Carroll were industrious wing forwards, each scoring a point from play but Paul Kennelly was the most menacing of their forwards. Substituute, Kieran Lynch scored a point from play.
For me Brian Seanachain was a disappointment on the forty. While he did come more into it in the second half, linking play, but overall he came off second best in his duel with the athletic Cormac Mulvihill. They will need a lot more from Brian inn the final.
Jack McGuire was solid at full back for Listowel and scored a fine point in the second half. Kerry minor , Bryan Sweeney was flashy at times at midfield and scored a glorious point. He finished up in the full froward line, after sustaining an injury I think. As always, David Sheehy, 0-1, was a cerebral attacker for Listowel but with their two big guns, Noel Kennelly and Conor Cox, largely decommissioned, the scores would not come.
Interestingly, Kerry minors Michael Foley form Ballydonoghue and Niall Collins from Listowel made little impression.
And so, two clubs who have invested so much time in the youth of their respective parishes, appropriately find themselves at the summit. They have coaxed and cajoled and coached those lads from boyhood to manhood and next Sunday they will be where all that hard work destined them to be. I sincerely wish both teams the beat of luck and hope ,at the very least, they do justice to themselves on this huge day.. Either would be popular champions.
Ballydonoghue started this match as if they felt the townies would be good for them, standing off their men and therefore conceding too much space. Eventually, it dawned on them them what was apparent to a lot of spectators from an early stage that this was a moderate Listowel team and with that awakening, Ballydonoghue took the fight to their opponents and endorsed, as the game progressed, that they were the superior team. Nevertheless, they were under pressure late in the game for a couple of reasons which I will detail later.
After their initial lethargic opening,conceding two points to Listowel, Balldonoghue got a grip and accrued three points from play, courtesy of wingback, Jack Gogarty, and two from Paul Kennelly. That gave them a 0-3 to 0-2 lead, a lead which as far as I can recall they never relinquished. The cornerstone of that Ballydonoghue revival was an absolutely water tight, bullet proof fullback line of Stephen Lonergan, Jason Foley and Diarmuid Behan and further out in the person of midfielder, Eamon Walsh. Eamon is not that imposing physically for a midfielder but his heart is probably too big for that body in which it is contained. A dynamo. He kicked three points from play into the bargain. If somebody made a more noble contribution to the cause in any sportsfield in Ireland today I would like to informed straightaway.
As so often happens, particularly at this time of year, a solitary goal was surely the gold dust that propelled Ballydonoghue to next Sunday's final. It occurred not too long before half time, always a propitious time to get one. Some nice interplay saw the ball in the possession of Paul Kennelly. He made tracks for enemy lines and it looked as if he was going to detonate the grenade himself but out of the corner of his eye he spotted that Jack Foley had drifted in behind the full back and duly delivered the pass. Jack , without any fuss, finished it home and in the process signed Listowel's death warrant. A four point lead at half time.
Noel Kennelly came on at the start of the second half but, unusually, achieved nothing except an early yellow card. Ballydonoghue continued to have the upper hand but were often too ambitious in scoring from difficult angles. In spite of that wastefulness , they had quarried a six point lead at one stage which was not deceptive. However, a combination of factors conspired to have them hanging on to a one score lead towards the end when a sucker goal could have had them facing the abyss. Their tackling became sloppy giving the referee plenty of opportunities to award frees. It must be said that some of these frees were softly earned , a lot of them which could have been given the other way for charging/over carrying. Another factor was that it appeared to me that a lot of the Ballydonoghue boys seemed to be on their last legs, finding it difficult to stay with their opponents. That could be crucial against the energetic St. Senans , who appear to be turbo charged. Either way, Conor Cox kept giving Listowel a lifeline with those frees. He kicked seven in all from place kicks. Conor got none from play. It is never easy against Jason Foley. Significant. Ballydonogue held out , deservedly but were relieved to hear that final whistle.
I have already referred to the bulwark that was the Ballydonoghue full back line. The Jason Foley/Conor Cox clash was crucial. Here, Conor could achieve nothing against Jason, not the first man to find himself in that predicament. He was eventually switched to midfield but it was a classical case of out of the frying pan into the inferno that was Eamon Walsh. Conor, I am sure is not interested in getting advice from a malcontent like me but he likely would achieve more if he did not spend so much time trying to referee the match.
The long serving Martin O'Mahony was a worthy partner for Eamon Walsh. Jim Cremin and Damien Carroll were industrious wing forwards, each scoring a point from play but Paul Kennelly was the most menacing of their forwards. Substituute, Kieran Lynch scored a point from play.
For me Brian Seanachain was a disappointment on the forty. While he did come more into it in the second half, linking play, but overall he came off second best in his duel with the athletic Cormac Mulvihill. They will need a lot more from Brian inn the final.
Jack McGuire was solid at full back for Listowel and scored a fine point in the second half. Kerry minor , Bryan Sweeney was flashy at times at midfield and scored a glorious point. He finished up in the full froward line, after sustaining an injury I think. As always, David Sheehy, 0-1, was a cerebral attacker for Listowel but with their two big guns, Noel Kennelly and Conor Cox, largely decommissioned, the scores would not come.
Interestingly, Kerry minors Michael Foley form Ballydonoghue and Niall Collins from Listowel made little impression.
And so, two clubs who have invested so much time in the youth of their respective parishes, appropriately find themselves at the summit. They have coaxed and cajoled and coached those lads from boyhood to manhood and next Sunday they will be where all that hard work destined them to be. I sincerely wish both teams the beat of luck and hope ,at the very least, they do justice to themselves on this huge day.. Either would be popular champions.