Ballinlough's first two campaigns back in the Intermediate Football Championship brought the disappointment of elimination during the knockout stages, but this year they failed to advance from their group after a mixed bag of results. By Paul Clarke.

Their 16 years in the senior ranks came to an end in 2007 when they lost the relegation shootout to Kilmainhamwood and they were unlucky not to reach the intermediate final in their first year back in the grade when being edged out at the semi-final hurdle after extra-time by Cortown.
Last year they went out at the quarter-final stage, again after extra-time, as Oldcastle got the better of them en route to outright success. They appeared to have every reason to be optimistic of another progressive championship run this year, but a narrow defeat suffered at the hands of Gaeil Colmcille is probably the result they will look back on as the one which sounded the death knell to their qualification ambitions.
Former Walterstown player Ian Kearney acted as manager last year, but Vinny Ryan returned this term, with Dan McCartan, Michael Devine and Gerry McNamee acting as selectors, and Ballinlough were drawn in group C of the championship along with Clann na nGael, Gaeil Colmcille, Cortown and Dunderry.
Ballinlough enjoyed a successful campaign in Division 3 of the A League this year and were moving nicely ahead of their championship opener against Cortown at Carnaross. Games between these teams have a habit of being eventful and this one was no different as Ballinlough shaded the verdict by 2-10 to 0-14.
Goals from Cian Mallon and Derek Muldoon were vital to the outcome and it was all to play for at the interval when Ballinlough led by a point. Peadar Byrne was introduced for the second half and made an immediate impact by scoring a point, but Cortown moved up a gear and edged ahead.
Muldoon's goal meant it was advantage Ballinlough, but they had to sweat it out at the end as Cortown's Gary Coyne faced up to a penalty. With the tension intensifying his kick struck the woodwork and Ballinlough had made a winning start to the title race.
They looked certain to make it back to back wins when they played Dunderry in the second round at Carlanstown, but surrendered a four-point lead in the second period and had to settle for a draw (0-11 each).
Dunderry started well and pushed into a 0-4 to 0-1 lead, but a lengthy delay due to an injury to Aaron Newman upset them and Ballinlough were in front by 0-6 to 0-5 at the break after Lorcan Maguire had scored four points from frees and Byrne and Ken Rothwell also found the target.
With Maguire, Rothwell, Byrne and Derek Muldoon adding to their points tally Ballinlough pushed clear by 0-10 to 0-6 after 41 minutes, but their only other score was a Byrne point as Dunderry goalkeeper David Jennings made vital blocks to deny Rothwell and Byrne.
Dunderry fought heroically in a bid to rescue the situation and gradually battled back, with Anthony Kane securing a draw from a pointed free deep into injury time. It was certainly a case of a point lost rather that a point gained for Ballinlough.
Ballinlough made a very encouraging start to their third round game against Gaeil Colmcille at Millbrook where points from Maguire (two frees), Byrne and Seamus Fagan earned a 0-4 to 0-0 advantage, but the Kells men displayed a lot of courage in this match and battled back to parity by the 20th minute.
Colm and Cian Mallon added further points which earned a 0-6 to 0-4 interval lead and with Gaeil Colmcille having Philip Ward dismissed late in the first half it was odds-on that Ballinlough would win. But despite their numerical superiority they added only two second half points and conceded 1-2.
Gaeil Colmcille received a big boost when Gary Arkins scored a fortuitous goal and it remained close, with Keith Reilly scoring the last point five minutes from time to earn the Kellsmen a 1-6 to 0-8 victory. Maguire had a great chance to rescue a draw for Ballinlough, but his 30-metre free went wide off an upright.
That defeat represented a big blow to Ballinlough's qualification aspirations, but they kept them alive thanks to a strong second half performance in the fourth round against Clann na nGael at Bohermeen where they won by 1-9 to 0-8.
Ballinlough looked in danger of waving goodbye to their title dream when they struggled in the first half and trailed by 0-3 to 0-5 at the interval after the impressive Tommy McCullen had scored two points and Colm Mallon got the other from a free. But despite suffering a couple of big setbacks they turned things around in the second period which they won by 1-6 to 0-3.
Derek Muldoon was sent off in the 50th minute after receiving a second yellow card and McCullen retired injured, but a Rothwell goal four minutes after the restart provided a real tonic. Clann na nGael levelled, but points from Colm Mallon and Maguire (frees), Seamus and Peadar Byrne left Ballinlough ahead by 1-7 to 0-6 with six minutes remaining.
Both teams scored two points after that, with Colm Mallon (free) and Peadar Byrne on target with impressive efforts for Ballinlough. Corner-backs Robbie Farrell and Benji Smith stood out in a great defensive display, but with their team having a bye in the last round they had to sit back and hope.
With Dunderry beating Gaeil Colmcille, the news was bad for Ballinlough as they finished third in the section on five points behind those two on six. They were out of the championship and it hurt.
Ken Rothwell is a native of Denn in County Cavan, but has been living in Ballinlough for the last four years. The 33 year-old played with Denn for 14 years and experienced the bitter pain of defeat in four intermediate championship finals in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2002, before tasting glory in 2003.
"We made a very good start to the championship by beating Cortown," he said as he looked back on Ballinlough's campaign. "We really concentrated on trying to win that game. They had beaten us in the last couple of years, including after extra-time in the 2008 semi-final. We also lost the quarter-final to Oldcastle last year after extra-time. We never turned up for extra-time in those games.
"It was touch and go for a long way against Cortown this year and we struggled in the first half, but our second half performance was good and we got goals at vital times. I thought we picked it up well in the second half.
"We started badly in the second championship game against Dunderry and fell behind. Unfortunately, one of their players suffered a bad injury and that broke up the game. We were struggling, but we came back and got eight points on the trot. Dunderry fought back and they eventually got a late free to level it. The way the group worked out that cost us.
"Against Gaeil Colmcille we were four points up when they had a man sent off late in the first half. We lost our shape and they coped well when they were a man down. We missed too many chances and they also got a soft goal.
"We beat Clann na nGael in our last game and played well in the second half, but qualification was out of our own hands. We needed Dunderry to slip up in one of their last two games, but they beat Cortown and then Gaeil Colmcille. It was disappointing, but the two teams which qualified were more consistent.
"That game against Gaeil Colmcille was the only one we lost in championship or league, but we just didn't perform well enough that day. We scored only two points in the second half."
It's now a matter of putting this year's disappointment behind them for Ballinlough and concentrating on 2011.
"After we were relegated from the senior championship in 2007 we lost an intermediate semi-final and quarter-final after extra-time the following two years," Ken added. "Extra-time hasn't been good to us. I hoped we would push on this year, but it just didn't happen. I think we can do better in the championship next year."

JUNIOR D TEAM REACHES FINAL

Ballinlough's Junior D team gave the club plenty of good days during the 2010 championship, making it all the way to the final before they were beaten by a strong Summerhill team.
They had opened their group campaign with a runaway 5-14 to 1-4 victory over Dunderry at Kilmainham and then edged out Longwood by 0-8 to 0-6 at Athboy. That was followed by a narrow defeat (2-13 to 3-11) against Seneschalstown at Cortown, before they received a walkover from Walterstown.
Seneschalstown topped group A and Ballinlough accompanied them into the knockout stages where Vinny Ryan's team scored a 2-10 to 1-7 victory over Donaghmore/Ashbourne in a quarter-final at Skryne.
They must have been starting to dream of championship glory at that stage and it got even better when they defeated Dunsany by 2-5 to 1-3 in a semi-final at Cortown. A superb Niall Farrelly goal helped Ballinlough to lead by 1-5 to 1-2 at the interval and both teams managed only a score each in the second half.
Crucially, Ballinlough's was a goal from substitute Christopher Gaughran who reacted quickly after Bryan Smyth's penalty had been saved.
Unfortunately, there was disappointment in the final when Summerhill deservedly won by 0-13 to 1-4 at Bohermeen where Ballinlough didn't manage their first score until the 25th minute when Smyth pointed a '45'.
By that stage Summerhill had scored three times and they edged ahead by 0-4 to 0-1, before Ballinlough enjoyed their best spell of the decider. Mark McCullen pointed and when Gaughran found the net they were in front against the run of play. The 'Hill completed the first half scoring through Brian Rispin and the sides were level (1-2 to 0-5) at the interval.
A Smyth pointed free for Ballinlough and a Gary McDonnell score for Summerhill meant they were still locked together early in the second period, by which stage Ryan had joined the action, but the 'Hill did the brunt of the scoring subsequently to be six clear at the end.
The Ballinlough team in the final was - B Balfe; J O'Reilly, J O'Keeffe, S Smith; E Smith, G Smith, P Briody; M McCullen (0-1), D Reilly (0-1); N Farrelly, M Reilly, J O'Higgins; B Smyth (0-2), D Lynch, C Gaughran (1-0). Subs - P Monaghan for Lynch, V Ryan for M Reilly, A Kellett for Gaughran, S Kane for Farrelly.


U15 FL: Honours for Ballinlough

Ballinlough claimed U15 Division 7 league honours with a hard fought 0-12 to 1-5 win against Ballinabrackey in Dunderry.
'The Bracks' played with the aid of a strong wind in the first half but despite an early monopoly on possession they struggled to make any significant progress against a strong Ballinlough defence that tackled tirelessly and forced their opponents into several wides in the first quarter. Ballinabrackey finally got the scoreboard ticking and had two points on the board before Ballinlough sprung to life, Oliver Brady and Joe Farrelly provided much of the graft but it was Ricky Mc Dermott who supplied the scores with an exhibition of free taking off the ground; the pick of these scores came from a sweetly struck '45. Despite playing against a stiff breeze 'The Reds' went ahead and a good score from Matthew McEnerney late in the half left them ahead, 0-6 to 0-3, at the switch of ends.
Ballinlough probably felt they had one hand on the trophy when they extended their lead early in the second half but Ballinabrackey were handed a lifeline when they got a goal from a quick free, this brought them back into contention, 1-4 to 0-8, ten minutes into the second half. Despite this setback 'The Reds' showed no signs of panic; Johnny Reilly was solid at the centre of their defence and Brian Brady was lively in attack, he pointed brilliantly from a difficult angle after his earlier effort was cleared off the line.
Ferdia Mc Cormack was influential as Ballinlough finished strongly and Ricky McDermott sealed victory with a couple of late points.
Ballinlough captain Matthew Farrell received the trophy from minor board secretary Ultan Fitzpatrick after the match.
Ballinlough: L. Gibney, M. Farrell, K. Beirne, K. Mc Caffrey, J. Reilly, D. Mc Cullen, O. Brady, F. Mc Cormack, R. Mc Dermott (0-9, 6f, '45), J. Farrelly, B. Mallen, M. Mc Enerney (0-1), B. Brady (0-2) Tweet

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