Ballivor tasted Intermediate football final defeat for the second successive year, this time at the hands of Blackhall Gaels who snatched victory with a last gasp penalty. It has to be third time lucky next year. Ballivor seem to have the unhappy knack of falling at the final hurdle with the winning post in sight. Last year they were on the wrong end of 0-9 to 0-7 defeat at the hands of St. Pats in what was a disappointing final. This time round, leading by two points with two minutes remaining and with one hand on the IFC Cup they conceded a needless penalty to hand victory to the 1998 champions. Trainer and Seneschalstown native Pat Carey encapsulated the mood in the Ballivor camp in the aftermath of the the final. "We were bitterly disappointed to have lost the game. We had enough of chances before the penalty to be out of sight, but we didn't take them. That is where we lost it." Last year, the club put together a marvellous run that brought them all the way to the final despite the fact that a significant number of players were unavailable through injury. Pat was therefore hopeful of going a step further this time round. "You can never be over confident in this game, but we were hopeful of going all the way. We had a much stronger panel of players this year," he explained. Pitted against Moynalvey, Drumconrath, St Ultan's, Na Fianna, Castletown, Moynalty and Rathkenny, Ballivor were quietly confident of qualifying from Group B and booking a place in the semi-final. Their campaign got off to a flying start when they hammered Moynalvey 4-15 to 1-10 in their opening group fixture. "Everybody played well. We moved the ball quickly and we took the lions share of our chances," he recalled. Ballivor accounted for Drumconrath on a 0-14 to 3-2 scoreline in the second round. The victory was more comfortable than the scoreline suggested. "We totally dominated that game. Drumconrath only got five scores, three of which were goals, but we were far the better team on the night," The Ballivor bandwagon came to a shuddering halt in the third round when they went under to St. Ultan's by the narrowest of margins, 0-6 to 0-5. In was a game Ballivor really should have won. Pat explained: "We had 70 or 80 per cent of the possession, but we didn't take our chances and our forwards began to panic. The more they panicked the more chances they missed. We learned a lot from that defeat." They returned to winning ways when they thumped Na Fianna 4-9 to 0-3 in round four. The comprehensive nature of the victory surprised Pat who was expecting a stern examination from the amalgamated side. "I don't know what happened them on the day. They only played for about 15 minutes. We began to dominate and scored a couple of goals and Na Fianna more or less through in the towel. I don't think the final score did them justice. " After four rounds St Ultan's led the group on maximum points followed by Castletown and Ballivor on six points each. Pat knew the meeting of with Castletown would have a vital bearing on the group. Castletown won out by the narrowest of margins 1-10 to 1-9. "We lost out to a last minute controversial penalty. We didn't play for the first 20 minutes by which time they had opened up a nice lead. We clawed our way back in to the game and went four points up. We looked to have the game secure. They pulled it back to two points and they were awarded the penalty," Pat revealed. He continued: "A draw would have been a fairer result. Nobody likes losing to a penalty in the last minute. Our overall performance on the day merited at least a draw. We went into the dressing room after the game and we were conceding that we were probably out of the championship." However, Moynalvey kept the IFC semi-final door ajar for Ballivor when they accounted from group leaders St Ultan's. "We felt we had blown our chances. There was a huge sense of relief when we heard that St. Ultan's had been beaten. It opened the door for us again," Pat stated. Significantly, St Ultan's dropped another point to Na Fianna in round six while Ballivor and Castletown scored comfortable victories over Moynalty and Drumconrath respectively. Pat commented that the facile 0-20 to 0-5 victory over Moynalty was little more than a training exercise. "Moynalty had been beaten in every round. It didn't feel like a championship match. They found it difficult to field a team. I think they had resigned themselves to dropping back to Junior." With the points in the bag Ballivor's supporters listened intently for the final score in the Na Fianna / St Ultan's clash. "In situations like that, where there is crucial points at stake, there is always somebody on hand with a radio. When we heard the result we knew we were guaranteed at least a play-off if we won our last game." The final series of matches saw Ballivor in action again Rathkenny and Castletown and St. Ultan's going head to head. Ballivor brushed aside the challenge of the north-Meath side by 2-15 to 1-4. "Rathkenny had nothing to play for. They were out of the championship. They were probably a better team that the scoreboard reflected. Soon after, the news filtered through that Castletown had edged out St. Ultan's 0-13 t 0-11, handing the runner-up spot to Ballivor in the process. Ballivor met Duleek, who topped Group A on 12 points in the semi-final Pat explained that Ballivor has the utmost respect for their opponents in the run-up to the semi-final. "We were very wary of them. They had a number of competitive matches in the championship prior to the semi-final while we hadn't had a really competitive match for three months, since the Castletown match. There is no substitute for competitive championship football, and our two victories over Moynalty and Rathkenny had done little to sharpen us up for the semi-final." Pat need not have worried. Ballivor recorded an impressive 2-11 to 0-14 victory. All season, (with the exception of the the St. Ultan's game) Ballivor's forward line had clocked up impressive scores and they certainly had their scoring boots on in the semi-final. The bitter taste of final defeat still lingers around Ballivor but Pat is optimistic the team can bounce back next year and claim the ultimate prize. "The squad should be stronger next year because there are a few good young lads coming through. They will be a year older and a year wiser. "Seven or eight of this year's team were under 21. They will have gained from the experience. They are a great bunch of lads to work with and I have no doubt they can bounce back." Tweet

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