Ballinabrackey goals bag the Ginnity Cup
November 27, 2010The title was initially annexed way back in 1926, there were two successes in the '70s, 1972 and '77, and the latest outright victory comes 25 years after the fourth in 1985. The latest group of players to bring the cup back to the Offaly border outpost were managed by a man from the Faithful County, Pascal Kellaghan.
Down the decades Ballinabrackey have had a number of notable footballers, some of whom starred for Meath. The best-known of their past stars, Peter Moore of the 1967 All-Ireland winning team, passed away last March and he would have been proud of the latest group of heroes from his home club.
Others like Kevin McNamee, Seamus Brennan, Colm Brazil, John Curry, Chris O'Connor and Damien Carroll have also wore both green and gold jerseys with distinction and the three last three named were part of the 2010 club success.
That was achieved with an unbeaten run with Drumbaragh the only team to take a point off the Bracks in the group games before wins over Meath Hill and Dunsany were followed by the 3-4 to 0-11 victory in an entertaining final.
Ballinabrackey were drawn in Group B along with Ratoath, Drumbaragh, Curraha, Wolfe Tones and Drumconrath. The first outing was against Ratoath at Summerhill and a good start was gained with a 0-11 to 0-7 win. After leading by four points in the opening quarter of that outing, they were ahead by 0-6 to 0-5 at the break before outscoring the opposition by 0-5 to 0-2 in the second period.
In the second round clash with Drumbaragh in Athboy, 2-3 from Damien Carroll helped Ballinabrackey gain an unimpressive 2-4 to 0-10 draw as they curiously failed to score from play.
The south county side had to play the last 18 minutes with 14 players. They were playing poorly in the first half and two Damien Carroll converted frees and one by Seamus Curry left them trailing by 0-3 to 0-7 at the break.
Ballinabrackey hit seven wides in the first half and Carroll netted the first goal from a penalty on 40 minutes and shot the second from a 20-metre free near the end to give his side the lead before James Connolly hit a late leveller for Drums.
Pascal Kellaghan's men got back on the winning trail with a 1-12 to 1-5 win over struggling Drumconrath at Trim in a game which they led by 0-6 to 0-3 at the break.
In their fourth outing Ballinabrackey clinched a place in the last eight with a 2-10 to 0-6 victory over Curraha at Summerhill.
The highlight of the game was a contribution of 2-6 from Damien Carroll with one of the goals being netted from a penalty and the total including 1-4 from open play. The penalty goal came in the opening quarter and with Seamus Curry sending over two points, it was 1-5 to 0-5 at the break.
Curry added one late point in the second half and four points from Carroll in the last quarter extended the winning margin. The group schedule was completed with a 1-14 to 0-9 success over Wolfe Tones.
That was followed by a 10-point (3-13 to 1-9) quarter-final success over Meath Hill as they advanced to a last four clash with Dunsany, whom Peter Moore-led Ballinabrackey had accounted for in the JFC final back in 1972.
The playing personnel was much different in the latest clash but the venue, Trim, was the same and so was the result as the present day men in green and gold defeated the red and whites by the minimum margin, 2-7 to 0-12.
Two goals plus the tactic of getting a big number of players behind the ball was a successful ploy for the Bracks who had Chris O'Connor wearing the number 15 jersey but operating more as a defender.
Damien Carroll did not find the net on this occasion, having to settle for two points, one from a free, but the former Meath minor star worked hard throughout. Ballinabrackey were in arrears in the early stages but points from Carroll and Andrew Munnelly kept them in touch.
When Danny Quinn shot to the net from a tight angle following good work by Pat Loftus they were on level terms and it was the same (1-4 to 0-7) at the break after points from Seamus Curry and Loftus.
On the resumption corner-back Nicky Judge went upfield to edge Ballinabrackey into the lead and then Ray Kearney raised the green flag after Munnelly had an attempt kept out by Dunsany 'keeper Niall Flynn. Although the green and golds then went 18 minutes until their next score, they still held out to get over the finish line just in front.
The winners managed just two scores, from Trevor Bannon and Carroll, in the last 24 minutes but they were enough as late pressure was absorbed before the final place against Ballivor, who got the better of Moylagh on the same evening, was secure.
In contrast to the main course on September 26th, goals proved decisive in the aperitif as Damien Carroll added two more to his championship total and also provided the pass for Danny Quinn to fire in the third and decisive major score.
Carroll was also fouled for the penalty kick which was dispatched past Meath's 1996 All-Ireland winning netminder, Conor Martin, in the ninth minute to leave the scores 1-0 to 0-2.
The sides were on level terms (1-3 to 0-6) at the break and Ballinabrackey went even longer without a score than in their semi-final. They had 1-3 on the board after 21 minutes but did not register again until the 48-minute mark.
Ballivor appeared to be on the right route towards regaining intermediate status when leading by 0-9 to 1-3. But then a delivery from centre-back Ray Kearney found Damien Carroll and the number 13 levelled the scores with a low shot.
The lead was regained by Ballinabrackey for the first time since late in the first half when Danny Quinn shot their only point of the second period close to the hour mark.
That was followed by the all-important goal from the same player to leave the margin four points. Ballivor battled back to halve the deficit but the Bracks held out for Chris O'Connor to lift the Matthew Ginnity Cup.
Ballinabrackey netted a total of eight goals in their three games in the knockout stages of the 2010 Meath JFC and only conceded one goal in those ties. "When you don't concede goals, you are halfway there, 3-4 may not be a wonderful score. But there is a lot of shooting in getting nine points to match three goals," said winning manager Pascal Kellaghan after the final whistle.
The former Offaly player praised the Ballinabrackey backs. "The defence was brilliant and the goals came at crucial times. The team worked really hard and the long famine is over," said Kellaghan who compared the success to a triumph by his home club, Rhode, some years ago.
He recalled Rhode winning the Offaly SFC title for the first time in 23 years in 1998. "Roy Malone texted me during the week to ask me how it was going in Ballinabrackey and I told him it was the same as with Rhode in 1998," said Kellaghan.
Ballinabrackey chairman, Jim O'Connor, had the added satisfaction of seeing his son, Chris, become the first player from the club to be presented with the Matthew Ginnity Cup.
"All the lads (a panel of 38 players) gave fantastic commitment all year. Even though Chris was busy training and playing with the county, he was also with us whenever he could. Some players travelled from as far away as Galway and Cork for training.
"Pascal Kellaghan is a great man-manager and he helped to bring the team on a lot since coming to us last year. He has a grand way of dealing with players and gets a lot out of them. Rhode, where he is from, is only about seven miles away.
"It's been a very busy year for the club with the erection of new dressing-rooms being completed in June, the old ones being demolished last January and club members helping with the work," he said.
Jim O'Connor, who was full-back for the JFC successes in 1972 and '77, is also in his second year in the chair and paid tribute to the great community spirit of the local people. He said that not getting out of their group last year left them very determined to do well in 2010.
"Ballivor put us out last year and that gave the lads an extra incentive to do well. We were very confident going into the final, the homework on the opposition had been done and the team was very fit and focussed.
"We have had some hard games against Ballivor over the years and there has long been a keen rivalry between the clubs. Our backs played fantastic in the final, I was a little worried when they went three points up in the second half but the goals won the game," he added.
After the great enthusiasm which greeted the triumph in Navan, there was an exciting homecoming for the players and officials on the Sunday night. After a dinner in Kinnegad, they arrived in Castlejordan on a long trailer towed by a tractor at around 8.30pm.
"The players arrived back in a blaze of glory and got a great welcome," said Jim O'Connor, who explained that the Ballinabrackey catchment area is small and hemmed in by the borders of Kildare, Offaly and Westmeath. The celebrations continued in the two local pubs, the Village Inn and the Ballyboggan Inn.
But the celebrations did not prevent the squad from returning to training on the following Thursday night and two days later they travelled to Moynalty where they beat the hosts in a Division 4 League game.
The chairman is hopeful that Ballinabrackey can do well in the IFC next year. "We are determined to build on what was achieved this year. We can do well in the intermediate grade, most of the players on the team have age on their side and there is a massive lot of young lads coming on," he concluded.
The Ballinabrackey team in the 2010 JFC final was: John Curry; Nicky Judge, Paddy Kenny, Kevin Darby; Neville Brazil, Ray Kearney, Derek Flynn; Trevor Bannon, Brian Lucey; Danny Quinn, Seamus Curry, Pat Loftus; Damien Carroll, Chris O'Connor, Andrew Munnelly. Subs: Finbarr Bannon for Lucey, Aidan Flynn for Munnelly, Gerald Glennon, Brendan Glennon, Kevin Glennon, Ian McAuliffe, Joe Bannon, Vinny Mooney, Barry O'Connor. Manager, Pascal Kellaghan; selectors, Darren Bannon, Aidan Dalton, Christy Cooney. Tweet
