Ballivor can remember vividly what it's like to win the Intermediate Football Championship and they can also remember very clearly what it's like to lose your top flight status before you have a chance to find your feet in the senior grade. By Paul Clarke. They experienced the glorious highs and depressing lows of championship football in the space of approximately a year earlier this decade. Previous disappointments were put firmly to one side when they defeated hot favourites Navan O'Mahonys in dramatic fashion in the 2002 IFC final at Pairc Tailteann as goalkeeper Ray McKeown journeyed from his duties between the posts to slot over a '45' for the winning point. It was brilliant for Ballivor and downright dreadful for O'Mahonys who were attempting to make a quick return to the premier grade. The celebrations that followed in Ballivor lasted for a considerable time, and why wouldn't they after experiencing previous final defeats against St. Patrick's and Blackhall Gaels, but a year down the road Ballivor tasted the less pleasant side of the game when they were sent back down to the intermediate ranks when Kilmainhamwood defeated them in a relegation play-off at Kells. Life isn't always easy for Ballivor as they compete for players with neighbouring hurling clubs and that in itself can cause them big problems, particularly at the height of the season when demands on players are at their greatest. Unfortunately, there was further disappointment in the Intermediate Championship gone by when a team managed by Gerry Murphy, with Johnny Corrigan and Brendan Henry as selectors, failed to make it through to the business end of the battle for the Mattie McDonnell Cup. They were in contention for a place in the last eight going into their seventh and final divisional match against Gaeil Colmcille. They needed to win that assignment, but they fell just short of the desired result when the Kells side scored a late equaliser to salvage a draw. At the end of the marathon group campaign Ballivor were on six points after winning two games, also drawing two and losing three. They finished just one point behind Gaeil Colmcille who filled the fourth qualifying position. Ballivor, who endured a difficult campaign in Div. 2 of the All-County A League, were drawn in Group A of the Intermediate Championship, a section that also included Castletown, Carnaross, Donaghmore/Ashbourne, Drumconrath, Na Fianna, Dunderry and Gaeil Colmcille. And they made a very disappointing start to their group campaign when they travelled to Bohermeen to meet a Castletown team that was to end up topping the group, before bowing out of the title race at the semi-final hurdle against neighbours Rathkenny. Ballivor were still in with a shout when they trailed by four points (0-3 to 0-7) at the interval, but Castletown took complete command after the change of ends and won the second period by 0-10 to 0-1 to be a massive 13 points clear at the final whistle, winning by 0-17 to 0-4. That represented the worst possible start to the championship for Ballivor, but it was early days and there was plenty of time to recover and get the campaign back on the rails. And there were definite signs of that recovery in the second round against Carnaross at Athboy when they bounced back commendably from that hammering only five days earlier. Ballivor were without the influential Noel Davis, but they led by 0-6 to 0-2 at the break, before Jimmy Mitchell scored a second half goal to copper-fasten their position of supremacy. Ollie Murphy hit back with a goal for injury-hit Carnaross, but with Tony Fox, Daniel Fagan, Brian Perry, Joseph McLoughlin, Killian Canavan and Richie Sherrock particularly impressive, Ballivor went on to win comfortably by 1-13 to 1-7. Drumconrath improved enormously as the championship progressed and Ballivor's draw with them in the third round at Kells represented a very decent outcome. Indeed, they looked capable of winning when ahead by 0-8 to 0-6 at half-time and especially when they stretched the advantage to three points early in the second period. However, despite missing a penalty, Drumconrath recovered well to edge ahead, boosted enormously by a Pete McMahon goal. They went three in front but missed further opportunities and were punished when Mairtin Doran pounced with an injury time goal for Ballivor to force a draw (1-10 each). That left Ballivor with a mixed bag of results from their first three group outings - a win, a draw and a defeat - and another win followed in the fourth round against Dunderry at Trim when they won out by 1-11 to 1-4. Amazingly, it took Dunderry almost 45 minutes to open their scoring account and with Doran in magnificent form at midfield Ballivor forged into a 0-7 to 0-0 interval lead after playing against the wind. Brendan McLoughlin, Tony Fox, Clayton Keegan and Brian Perry were also proving highly effective for Ballivor and Dunderry's tale of woe continued in the second half when Colm Harte's penalty was saved by Ray McKeown near the finish. Richie Sherrock scored Ballivor's goal in that period and they were seven points to the good at the end. After that dreadful start with a 13-point defeat against Castletown, Ballivor had found their feet to such an extent that they were very much in the hunt for a qualification place after four rounds, standing on five points from a possible eight. It made the fifth round tie against Na Fianna very important as another win would certainly propel them firmly in the direction of that much sought after quarter-final berth. However, the very progressive run came to an end at Longwood when the Baconstown/Enfield combination earned something of a surprise victory that threw the group wide open. It was a match Ballivor surely expected to win, but things weren't exactly looking promising for them at the change of ends when Na Fianna had moved into a very useful seven-point (1-8 to 0-4) lead. Ballivor were weakened considerably in that half due to the absence of Doran and his introduction for the second period made a considerable difference to their performance as they improved significantly. However, far too much damage had been inflicted in the opening half hour and they didn't manage to get the goal they so badly needed to give themselves a real chance. Na Fianna had three points to spare at the finish, winning by 2-9 to 0-12. A further damaging loss followed in the sixth round at Kilmessan when Donaghmore/Ashbourne made it six wins from as many group outing by winning comfortably on a 0-11 to 0-6 score line. It was a disappointing showing from Ballivor who managed to register only three points in each half and trailed by 0-3 to 0-8 at half-time en route to a 0-6 to 0-11 defeat that dealt a severe blow to their prospects of making it through to the business end of the championship race. Despite those back to back defeats against Na Fianna and Donaghmore/Ashbourne, Ballivor were still in with a chance of emerging from the section, but as they made the journey to Athboy to play Gaeil Colmcille in the final round of Group A matches the pressure was certainly on as a victory was essential. They looked capable of getting that win when leading by the minimum margin with the final whistle fast approaching, but the concession of a late, late point meant it finished all square (0-8 apiece) and after a mixed group campaign Ballivor were edged out of the championship. "We had a good year as far as injuries were concerned and had few problems there," reflected Ballivor selector Johnny Corrigan. "But we had a big problem with dedication. There was a poor commitment to training. "Emigration was another factor and Brian Flynn was in Australia, while we struggled to have a full quota with lads playing hurling. That's a big problem for us here." Johnny is of the opinion that clubs who have players who play both hurling and football shouldn't enter so many teams in competitions. "I believe we should sit down in Ballivor and ask ourselves is it worth having a B League team and would we be better off with just one team," he added. "The reality is that you could be playing a game up in the north of the county in the evening and lads working in Dublin have no chance of being there. "They are not going to travel all the way to Oldcastle in the evening for a league match. You know they are not going to be there. They might do it for the championship." The campaign gone by wasn't one Ballivor will recall with any great satisfaction or pleasure as they failed to make the knockout stages of the championship, but surely with more commitment to training they are fully capable of making a more significant challenge to win another intermediate title. Tweet

Most Read Stories