Ballinakill and Rathdowney-Errill to meet in ACHL Division 2 final
Goalkeeper Simms steals the show as Ballinakill and Rathdowney-Errill advance
Ballinakill will return to Division 1 of the Laois GAA ACHL next season after producing a remarkable late comeback to defeat Camross on home soil on Sunday, a result that also condemns neighbours Abbeyleix to Division 2.
Few in Ballinakill could have envisaged such a finish when Camross held a commanding 0-18 to 0-13 lead with seven minutes remaining. However, two dramatic late goals turned the contest on its head, with goalkeeper Paul Simms emerging as the unlikely match-winner.
Simms' huge delivery from inside his own half in the dying moments looked set to drift over the bar, but instead the sliotar dipped under the crossbar and over the head of Camross netminder Cillian Tiernan.
Ballinakill struggled to make their possession count during the opening period. Too often, balls into the forwards were intercepted by Camross' spare defender, while a series of wides compounded their frustration as they went in three points adrift at half-time, 0-9 to 0-6.
Ben Deegan opened the scoring with a converted 65 before Eddie Dwyer levelled. Brian Duggan then put Ballinakill ahead after five minutes, but Camross responded impressively with unanswered points from Deegan (two) and Lorcan Burke. Robbie Delaney also threatened a goal but failed to hit the target.
Ballinakill drew level midway through the half through Ben O'Mara and a Duggan free, before Darrell Dooley and Ethan Drury exchanged scores. Camross finished the half strongly. Deegan split the posts from play after good work by Dwane Palmer, and further efforts from Dooley, Burke and Deegan stretched the visitors clear. Duggan's late free ensured Ballinakill trailed by just three at the break.
The hosts came out with renewed purpose after the restart and hit four points on the bounce through Conor McDonagh, Drury, O'Mara and Dwyer to edge in front. Camross quickly regrouped, with Ryan Cuddy and two Deegan frees restoring their advantage.
Duggan reduced the gap before Deegan and Duggan exchanged further placed balls. Camross then appeared to take control. Deegan landed another free and Dooley struck three successive points, the last coming after Deegan's quick free found him in space. Although Duggan responded, Deegan's accuracy from frees helped establish a five-point cushion with ten minutes remaining.
Ballinakill refused to surrender. O'Mara and McDonagh chipped in with points before the hosts were awarded a penalty after Seamus Fitzpatrick was fouled. Duggan blasted the sliotar to the bottom corner to complete a run of 1-2 without reply and leave the sides level as they entered injury time.
Dooley nudged Camross back in front and it looked enough to snatch victory, but Ballinakill had one final twist to produce. Simms advanced from his goal and launched a huge delivery towards the square. To the delight of the home crowd, the sliotar deceived everyone and nestled in the net to put Ballinakill ahead for the first time since Duggan's early score.
Dan Delaney responded with a point for Camross, but there was no further comeback. Referee John Lalor brought proceedings to a close moments later after Simms' subsequent puck-out, confirming Ballinakill's dramatic promotion and setting up a Division 2 showdown with Rathdowney-Errill.
FINAL SCORE
Ballinakill 2-15
Camross 0-20
SCORERS- Ballinakill: Brian Duggan 1-6 (0-4 frees), Paul Simms 1-0, Ben O’Mara 0-3, Eddie Dwyer, Ethan Drury and Conor McDonagh 0-2 each. Camross: Ben Deegan 0-9 (0-4 frees, 0-2 65’s), Darrell Dooley 0-6, Lorcan Burke 0-2, Ryan Cuddy, Dan Delaney and Robbie Delaney 0-1 each.
BALLINAKILL: Paul Simms; Cathal O’Shaughnessy, Podge Lawlor, Noel Duggan; Cian O’Shaughnessy, Ian Shanahan, Ethan Drury; Dylan Doyle, Lir McDonald; Ben O’Mara, Brian Duggan, Daniel Bergin; Ryan Quinlan, Eddie Dwyer, Seamus Fitzpatrick. Subs: Conor McDonagh for Quinlan (9 mins, inj), Robbie Kennedy for N Duggan (30 mins, inj), Jamie Drury for Bergin (50 mins), Daniel Bergin for Cathal O’Shaughnessy (52 mins, inj).
CAMROSS: Cillian Tiernan; Jack Phelan, Daniel Breen, Aaron Carroll; Bryan Bredin, Andrew Collier, Lorcan Burke; Matthew Collier, Kevin Byrne; Robert Lalor, Darrell Dooley, Robert Delaney; Dwane Palmer, Ben Deegan, Ryan Cuddy. Subs: Daniel Delaney for Lalor (44 mins), David Mortimer for Cuddy (57 mins).
Referee: John Lalor (Shanahoe).
Rathdowney-Errill hold off Clough/Ballacolla
By Barry McEvoy
An experienced Rathdowney-Errill GAA side came up trumps against Clough/Ballacolla in a close encounter in Clough on Sunday afternoon to secure their place in the Division 2 final.
They'll be coming up against a rampant Ballinakill team in the final who have won all their games so far, but this Rathdowney-Errill group will be a stern test for the hot favourites. It was a scorcher of a day in the newly refurbished environs in Clough, an excellent venue for a game, and both sides of players felt the strain of the sun as the conditions were very warm.
It was a tight run game the whole way through, with there never being more than five points between the pair, though an early goal from the lively Jack Dowling gave Rathdowney-Errill the edge and they kept their noses in front for the remainder.
There were some minor flashpoints throughout the game, but it exploded midway through the second half when Paddy McCane and Aaron Boyhan clashed and both sets of players got involved in the fracas as Micheal Cleary was in the process of scoring Rathdowney-Errill's second goal, which ultimately clinched the win.
Clough/Ballacolla started the game quite well with an early trio of scores from youngster Colm Brennan along with one from Kevin Hyland while Rathdowney-Errill kept in touch through Jack Dowling and Micheal Cleary. Dowling was involved again when Aaron Costigan picked him out with a diagonal ball and the nippy corner-forward finished coolly over Peter Rafter for a goal.
James Keegan and Costigan added points for the visitors before Eoin Duggan fired the ball in on top of Gary Whelan, who deftly flicked it into the net from the air for a goal at the other end and a Hyland free put the hosts back in front with 20 minutes played. Costigan hit back with a brace for Rathdowney-Errill before Kyle Handcock levelled from range and Hyland struck a free to make it 1-7 to 1-6 in favour of Clough/Ballacolla at half-time.
Costigan struck an early brace of scores in the second half and Cleary added his second, but the Rathdowney-Errill backs were coming under pressure. Damian Madden was forced to make two saves early in the half and Clough/Ballacolla were made to settle for points from John Coonan and Hyland despite cutting through the opposing backs with scathing attacks.
Another score from Keegan got Rathdowney-Errill back in front and Paddy Hassett pointed excellently after his introduction to put two between them before the messing began. Rathdowney-Errill were on the attack with Cleary tearing down the right wing just as the fracas began on the left wing and space opened for him as the players had one eye on him and another on McCane and Boyhan, allowing Cleary loads of time to load up and fire into the net.
Referee Alan Doheny issued red cards to McCane and Boyhan for instigating the row with their own tussle and after a few heated minutes the play continued on with the situation rightly defused. Madden made a third excellent save once the play resumed though Coonan was on hand to volley the rebound over the bar.
Costigan hit back with a free for Rathdowney-Errill before Hyland replied on the double and Colm Brennan pointed another excellent score to cut the gap back to two points. Clough/Ballacolla were applying huge pressure as the game wore on and though it was tamed slightly with a Cleary score, they were back level as the clock ticked into injury time with scores from Hyland, Brennan and Coonan.
Three minutes of additional time was signalled by Doheny and a fantastic score from Costigan put the visitors back ahead. Clough/Ballacolla were chasing an equalising score, but it was Rathdowney-Errill who would raise the final flag of the game with a fourth from play by Cleary, ensuring their route to the final.
FINAL SCORE
Rathdowney-Errill 2-15
Clough/Ballacolla 1-16
SCORERS – Rathdowney-Errill: Aaron Costigan 0-7 (four frees), Jack Dowling 1-1, Micheal Cleary 0-4, Harry Campion 1-0, James Keegan 0-2, Paddy Hassett 0-1. Clough/Ballacolla: Kevin Hyland 0-7 (six frees, one 65), Colm Brennan 0-5, Gary Whelan 1-0, John Coonan 0-3, Kyle Handcock 0-1.
CLOUGH/BALLACOLLA: Peter Rafter; Aaron Boyhan, Emmet Saunders, Sean Hayes; Evan Cassin, Kyle Handcock, Paddy Meade; Padraigh Brennan, Eoin Duggan; John Coonan, Sean Corby, Chris Rafter; Kevin Hyland, Colm Brennan, Gary Whelan. Subs: Canice Coonan for C Rafter (ht), CJ Brennan for Duggan (37 mins), Ben Delaney for Coonan (blood, 43- 47 mins), Jim Hyland for Cassin (50 mins).
RATHDOWNEY-ERRILL: Damian Madden; Killian Carroll, Brian Campion, John Purcell; David Poynton, Joe Fitzpatrick, James Corrigan; James Keegan, Dan Bowe; Micheal Cleary, Scott Pearson, Harry Campion; Jack Dowling, Aaron Costigan, Jordan Kavanagh. Subs: Paddy Hassett for Bowe (ht), Paddy McCane for Pearson (38 mins), Harry Wynne for Kavanagh and Darren King for Corrigan (both 55 mins).
REFEREE: Alan Doheny (Castletown)