Ballinlough 0-12 St.Colmcilles 2-15

A small troop of dedicated soldiers made the arduous 66km drive from Ballinlough to Bettystown for this Round 4 game of the Meath GAA Division 4 League.

But before anything could commence we had to survive a Pitch inspection from Referee Bryan Smith, who called a game off here the evening previous but he eventually decided the ground was more than decent and we were good to go!

St.Colmcilles started at a blistering pace firing over three early scores by the seventh minute, but they were soon pegged back when Collie Mallen opened Ballinlough’s account with a point from play on the nine minute mark. A score from corner back Conor Fleming left a point in it and the sides were to be level with Mallen converting a free in the 12th minute.

A good mark from Alan Gibneys kick out in the centre of the field saw Harry Ryan shift the ball onto Benji Smith and he made no mistake firing over to give Ballinlough the lead. A St.Colmcilles goal chance was then denied expertly by Alan Gibney in 19th minute before Ballinlough extended their lead to two points, Kit Óg Lynch catching cleanly before cleverly turning his man who was forced to commit the foul and Collie Mallen tapping over the resulting free.

The home side found a second wind though and reeled off five points without reply, their corner forward wearing 15 particularly impressive with an array of scores in the opening half.

Good running from Louis Finnegan ensured Ballinlough would take the final score of the opening thirty minutes when he found Mark McCullen, and the big man stuck it between the posts in the 29th minute to leave Ballinlough trailing by two. So when Referee Bryan Smith blew the half time whistle the scoreboard read St.Colmcilles 0-08 to Ballinlough’s 0-06.

An early free for St.Colmcilles allowed them to extend their lead, and Ballinlough were left to rue some poor shooting, failing to capitalise on a couple of early chances of scores. Another point from Cilles was matched by a Collie Mallen free in the 37th minute before a cruel goal was conceded by the visitors, keeper Alan Gibney looking to have the ball in his possession from a long and high attempt in, but somehow he allowed it to squirm between his fingers and into the back of the net.

That score was followed up by three unanswered points from play, and only for Collie Mallen Ballinlough were struggling for scores in the second half. More patient build up was required before Kit Óg Lynch sent over an superb point out on the wing in the 48th minute, but just when it looked like Ballinlough might have weathered the storm, a lost broken ball in midfield was quickly worked forward by the home side and despite Alan Gibneys best efforts,  Colmcilles second goal of the evening was secured.

Like the first goal that one was quickly followed up with a point from play, before Ballinlough found the posts again, Brandon Brunton pointing his first point of first team League football in the 51st minute. Another score for the visitors came from the boot of Louis Finnegan after good work from the ever industrious Jack Smith, and the third in a row was hit when Harry Ryan landed a free in the 55th minute.

Despite the scoreboard, tired Ballinlough bodies kept battling as best they could and when a wayward St.Colmciles kick out was secured, Harry Ryan seemed caught in two minds whether to try find Kit Óg Lynch inside or try chip the keeper from distance, and in the end it didn’t matter as the ball found neither target and Colmcilles got it away to safety.

While the home side strategically used their seven substitutes to good effect throughout the sixty minutes, adding another point in the 55th minute, the Ballinlough lads must be given great credit for even showing up for this game, with many of their players lining out for hurling action the night previous just two days after our last football League game and while it might sound like an excuse, the amount of games pigeon holed into a short period of time is definitely having an effect on already tired bodies.

Anyway the conclusion of this game was abit of a damp squib as Ballinlough had a chance to lower the deficit with a penalty but Kit Óg Lynch’s effort was sent wide of the posts in the 60th minute, so when Referee Bryan Smith blew the full time whistle, it was the home side who took the win, deservedly so on a scoreline of 2-15 to Ballinlough’s 0-12.

No rest for the wicked despite the hectic schedule this week, our lads are back in Div.7 action this Sunday morning with an away trip to Dunshaughlin, here’s hoping the powers of recovery are exceptional to complete our third football game in six days!!

Ballinlough: A.Gibney, C.Fleming(0-01), R.Farrell, L.Finnegan(0-01), C.Rennicks, D.Caffrey, J.Lynch, M.McCullen(0-01), H.Ryan(0-1(1f)), J.Smith, B.Smith(0-01), N.McDonnell, K.Óg Lynch(0-1), C.Mallen(0-05(3f)), B.Brunton(0-01)

Referee: Bryan Smith

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