Kilmainham 2-03
Ballinlough 0-14

Ballinlough made hard work of this win over Kilmainham on Saturday evening, as their march towards promotion took another step forward.

The sun shone on the Kilmainham pitch for the duration of the encounter, as the home side looked to claim their first win of the league campaign. It was a slow start to proceedings, and the first score didn't come until the tenth minute when Ballinlough's Sean Geraghty split the posts after some great fielding in the middle of the park by Peadar Byrne.

Kilmainham equalised two minutes later, as the game continued to ebb and flow from end to end. An off the ball incident soon saw Ballinlough reduced to fourteen men, when young corner forward Jack Tunney received a straight red.

This left the 'Lough stretched, but Byrne did restore their lead in the twentieth minute, blazing a shot over the bar while bearing down on goal. However, it didn't take long for Kilmainham to make the numerical advantage count, as they soon picked up the first goal of the game. Keith McGuinness in the Ballinlough goal pulled off a fantastic diving save to deny Kilmainham at first, but the rebound fell straight into the hands of Pat O'Sullivan who scrambled the ball across the line.

Benji Smith reduced the deficit, knocking over a classy point after another trademark run from defence. Kilmainham were then forced into a change when influential midfielder Barry Lynch was shown a black card for what appeared to be a fairly innocuous challenge. This set back didn't seem to slow the Kilmainahm drive though, as their full forward, Gavin Butler, soon picked up his sides second goal with an expertly taken shot into the top corner of the net.

Tommy McCullen opened his account for the 'Lough late on the half, finishing from distance after a fine run. His side received another blow before the change of ends though, as their reliable full back Podge Muldoon was shown a very harsh black card, being replaced by Emmett Smith.

Kilmainham went into the break leading by 2-01 to 0-04.

Ballinlough were forced into taking off the injured Peadar Byrne at halftime, as selector Ken Rothwell took his place.

Sean Geraghty opened the scoring for his side in the second half to reduce the deficit, but this was soon cancelled out by a Gavin Butler free kick for Kilmainham. A bizarre refereeing decision then saw Ballinlough's Ronan McGuinness and Kilmainham's Brian Black undeservedly shown straight red cards.

A brace of points from both Kevin Devine and Tommy McCullen saw the 'Lough wrestle the lead back in the twentieth minute of the half, as their sides superior fitness began to show. From here, the 'Lough seemed to find another gear and pulled away comfortably before the end. The evergreen Ken Rothwell finished well from a tight angle, before Kevin Devine converted another free kick. His reliable place kicking has been a large benefit for the 'Lough this year. Sean Geraghty tagged on another two points late on, while Tommy McCullen picked up his fourth of the afternoon, finishing off a great day on the pitch for the two young forwards. Gavin Butler scored a consolation point for his side in the closing minutes, as the 'Lough celebrated a five point victory.

It was a great second half performance by Ballinlough, with Emmett Smith, Sean Geragthy and Tommy McCullen particularly impressive. The 'Lough go into next weeks final league encounter with Ratoath in great shape, and will be confident of getting a result.

Ballinlough: K. McGuinness, B. Smith, P. Muldoon, R. Farrell, Jonathan O'Reilly, D. Muldoon, J. Baugh, K. Mallen, P. Byrne, Colm Mallen, R. McGuinness, S. Geraghty, K. Devine, T. McCullen, J. Tunney. Subs: E. Smith for P. Muldoon, K. Rothwell for P. Byrne, Junior O'Reilly for K. Mallen, J. Reilly for J. Baugh.


Clann na Gael Earn Late Draw

Fouteen man Clann na Gael claimed a draw with a late fightback against Ballinlough in sweltering conditions in Rath Cairn on Friday evening

Clann na Gael: 0-10
Ballinlough: 0-10

For large periods of this B-League encounter, it appeared that Ballinlough would emerge victorious, but poor finishing let them down, and let Clann na Gael mount an impressive come back late in the match.

The 'Lough started the match without many regulars, and were slow to get going. Jonathan O' Reilly impressed in his wing half back position early on and picked up two great scores after powerful runs forward from defence.

Clann na Gael kept the scoreboard ticking over with some great scores thanks to the pace of their full forward line. Lorcan Gibney in the Ballinlough goal, was twice called into action early on, and on each occasion pulled off deft saves to deny great goal scoring opportunities.

The introduction of Kevin Mallen in the Ballinlough midfield midway through the half helped his side gain the momentum back in the contest. His side's fortunes also improved after the sending off of Clann na Gaels influential corner forward in the twentieth minute, after he picked up a second yellow card for remonstrating with the referee.

The 'Lough closed out the half strongly with scores from Adam Fox, Ken Rothwell and Jonathan Montgomery Francis, giving them a 0-06 to 0-4 advantage at the change of ends.

At times in the second half it looked as though Ballinlough would pull away, but poor shooting prevented them from killing the game off, and they never opened up more than a four point lead.

The Montgomery Francis twins continued to impress, occupying the two wing forward positions, and their darting runs caused havoc in the Clann na Gael defence. Christopher Gaughran tagged on two nice points in the middle of the half, as did team manager Tom Shine who was introduced as a second half sub.

With ten minutes remaining, it looked as though the 'Lough would pull away, but a series of bad decisions allowed Clann na Gael to get the last three scores of the game to level matters up.

Although Ballinlough will be disappointed with the result, they will be happy with the performances of some of their younger players, in particular Lorcan Gibney, Mattie Farrell, Emmett Smith and the Montgomery Francis twins.

Ballinlough: L. Gibney, J. Farrelly, J. O'Keefe, M. Farrell, Jonathan O'Reily, E. Smith, P. Monaghan, K. Rothwell, Junior O'Reilly, J. Montgomery Francis, T. Fagan, D. Montgomery Francis, A. Fox, C. Gaughran, D. Farrelly. Subs: K. Mallen for J. Farrelly, T. Shine for Jonathan O'Reilly, K. Devine for K. Rothwell. Tweet

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