Ballinakill topple the Town to keep SHC ambitions alive
Ballinakill picked up their first win of the 2019 Laois SFC with a comfortable victory over Portlaoise in O’Moore Park on Saturday afternoon.
Ballinakill 1 - 19
Portlaoise 1 - 13
Laois Shopping Centre Senior Hurling Championship Round 2
Michael Kavanagh’s side were good value for the win, taking control of proceedings midway through the first half and withstanding a late comeback from Portlaoise to hold on for the win.
They were seven points up with normal time almost up when David O’Mahony struck for a goal for Portlaoise, but Ballinakill never panicked and tacked on two more points before the final whistle to finish six ahead.
The game started at a decent pace, with Cian Taylor opening the scoring with a little over a minute gone. Ballinakill took a few minutes to reply but when they did, through Cha Dwyer, it was a score worth the wait as he split the posts from out near the sideline.
Taylor quickly put Portlaoise back in front and then Cormac Rigney finally found his range from placed balls, after missing a couple of efforts early in the game, as Portlaoise went two ahead. Eamon Jackman floated over a free in response for Ballinakill before the first goal chance of the game arrived.
A diagonal ball into Cian Taylor saw his marker, Padraig Lalor, lose his footing and allow Taylor a free run at goal. He unleashed a powerful shot from 12 yards out, which Paul Simms somehow got his hurl to, as he pulled off a stunning save. Ballinakill scrambled the ball out for a 65 after that, which Cormac Rigney duly pointed.
Ballinakill slowly started to find some form after that, starting with a free from Cha Dwyer. Older brother Eddie then pointed twice in quick succession, as they went ahead for the first time. Cathal Duggan got Portlaoise back in level terms, and the teams swapped points over the next few minutes before Ballinakill started to up the tempo.
John Walsh, Eamon Jackman (free) and Michael Moran all raised white flags for the men in maroon, as Portlaoise struggled to keep them at bay. Another Cian Taylor point, his fourth from play in the half, got Portlaoise back to within two, but the opening goal soon arrived.
Cha Dwyer slipped away from his marker and ran through on goal down the left wing. Once he got within 20 yards of Eoghan Nealon, his powerful low shot hit the turf and bounced into the far bottom corner.
Gearoid Lynch added another point for them moments later, and then Cha dovetailed with Seamus Dwyer from a sideline cut to see Cha bring his tally for the half to 1-3.
Ballinakill lead by seven now and were well in control, but a Cormac Rigney point narrowed the gap slightly for Portlaoise before the break. At the interval they trailed 1-11 to 0-8.
Portlaoise needed to hit their stride quickly on the restart and they duly did, with Aaron Bergin, now on free-taking duties, pointing twice in the early stages.
They needed to build on that, but Ballinakill soon cancelled out those scores through Eamon Jackman (free) and sub Dylan Byrne Gray. Two more Portlaoise points, from Cormac Rigney and Aaron Bergin (65), sandwiched efforts from Podge Lalor and an Eamon Jackman free to keep the gap at six points.
Portlaoise really needed a goal and their best chances came with ten minutes left, when they won a 21 yard free. Aaron Bergin powered an effort at goal only to see it blocked, although he got a second chance seconds later when Podge Lalor was blown for steps as he tried to clear the danger. Unfortunately for Bergin, his second effort was well-saved also, and Ballinakill cleared the danger.
Ballinakill were comfortable for the most part in the closing minutes, but were given cause for concern when Cha Dwyer picked up a second yellow card in the 56th minute and left the field.
Portlaoise started to pile forward after that and another Bergin free was brilliantly tipped around the post by Paul Simms. The goal Portlaoise craved finally came in the final minute of normal time when David O’Mahony swept home the rebound of another brilliant save from Simms.
That left Portlaoise four behind heading into injury time, but they couldn’t get closer than that, as Ballinakill finished out the game with points from Seamus Dwyer and Dylan Byrne Gray to secure a deserved win.
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*See Tuesday's Leinster Express Sport for full coverage
BALLINAKILL
Scorers: Cha Dwyer 1-3 (0-1 free), Eamon Jackman 0-6 (0-6 frees), Seamus Dwyer, Dylan Byrne Gray, Eddie Dwyer 0-2 each, Padraig Lalor, Gearoid Lynch, John Walsh, Michael Moran 0-1 each.
Team: Paul Simms; Eoin Simms, William Barry, Padraig Lalor; Brian O’Mara, John Walsh, MJ Dunphy; Daniel Bergin, Eamon Jackman; Cha Dwyer, Seamus Dwyer, Evan Dunne; Edward Dwyer, Gearoid Lynch, Michael Moran. Subs: David Phelan for Dunphy (16 mins); Dylan Byrne Gray for Barry (28 mins, inj), Lir McDonald for E Dwyer (54 mins).
PORTLAOISE
Scorers: Cian Taylor 0-4, Aaron Bergin 0-4 (0-2 frees, 0-2 65s) Cormac Rigney 0-4 (0-1 free, 0-1 65), David O’Mahony 1-0, Cathal Duggan 0-1.
Team: Eoghan Nealon; Bryan Naughton, Frank Flanagan, Chris Lynch; Dean Lynch, David O’Mahony, Ciaran McEvoy; Ross Brennan, Cathal Duggan; Aaron Bergin, Tommy Fitzgerald, Cormac Rigney; Keith Murphy, Lee Davis, Cian Taylor. Subs: Cian Dowling Byrne for Davis (half time), Gary Bergin for Murphy (half-time), Lorcan Duff for Duggan (47 mins).
REFEREE: Padraig Dunne (Colt)