Ballylinan safely into Leinster Club semi-final following victory over Barndarraig of Wicklow

A more one-sided Leinster quarter-final you could not hope to see, as Ballylinan breezed past Wicklow champions, Barndarrig. Ballylinan led by 17 points at half time - including three goals; they eased off in the second half, but still managed to add another two goals to their tally.

Padraig Clancey's side played some lovely football and kicked beautiful scores all afternoon, leaving the Centre of Excellence in Portlaoise as very worthy winners.

Ballylinan 5-15

Barndarrig 1-10

The Laois champions were ten-point winners over Kilkenny's Mullinavat in Round 1, while Barndarrig qualified automatically for the quarter-finals.

Gary Walsh scored a phenomenal 2-5 in the first half - with 1-2 of that coming in the opening three minutes. Cathal Dunne gathered a high ball and laid it off to Walsh who made no mistake.

Ballylinan's second goal came less than five minutes later, when Micheál Downey found himself in plenty space and gave the Barndarrig goalkeeper no chance.

Walsh, Dunne and Alan Farrell kicked a point each before Ballylinan raised their third green flag in just the 15th minute. The high ball was proving effective for Ballylinan, with Walsh punishing Barndarrig with his second of the day.

The Laois champions kicked the next five without reply, but they fell asleep at the end of the half and allowed their Wicklow counterparts in for a goal. Paul Ryan ran through defence and played in Andrew Kavanagh, who poked it beyond Tom Wright. 

3-11 to 1-2 at the interval.

Ballylinan wasted no time at all in cancelling out that goal, Alan Farrell raising a green flag less than a minute after the restart.

Barndarrig kicked seven wides in the first half, but found their shooting boots after the break, kicking a respectable 0-8. But Gary Walsh kept the scoreboard ticking over for Ballylinan, keeping the Wicklow side at arm's length.

The fifth and final Ballylinan goal came in the closing stages, when Tom Bride played in Ciaran Farrell, who took his goal well. Ryan Brady did not get his name on the score-sheet, but put in an outstanding performance and was as responsible for the win as anyone.

Ballylinan can now look forward to a Leinster IFC semi-final against Kildare champions, Allenwood in two weeks' time.