Ballivor 0-15 Duleek-Bellewstown 2-17

It was a turbulent first half of the year for Ballivor involving injuries, travels, managerial changes and ultimately relegation in the league. After the final round defeat to Slane, a line was drawn and what was done was done, we could only look forward.

All eyes turned to round one of the Meade Farm Intermediate Football Championship where division two semi-finalists Duleek/Bellewstown were the opposition. The two sides, not unfamiliar with each other in championship settings, having met twice in the past four years. Both of those meetings ended in favour of Duleek, the first was a comprehensive victory in a campaign that saw Duleek reach the Intermediate final. The second was two years ago in Batterstown, Duleek needed to win by two points to progress ahead of Ballivor but only managed to win by one, leading to a bizarre spectacle of the winners distraught and the loser celebrating. Ballivor then went on a run to the semi-final, narrowly losing to eventual winners Meath Hill. My point with this little tangent is that whoever comes through this matchup, usually has a long autumn ahead of them.

On Sunday afternoon the crowds flocked to Bective. The pitch, as always was in fantastic condition. The new scoreboard looking mightily impressive and the tunes blaring, perfectly setting the scene for the championship afternoon’s that we’ve been waiting for all year. The teams were warmed up, togged and ready to go. Amhrán na bhFiann was played, followed by a moments silence in memory of former Uachtarán CLG Liam O’Neill.

Referee Ciarán Flynn got the game underway and it was down to business for all involved. The favourites got off to a fast start with four unanswered points in as many minutes. Ballivor joint-captain Adam Gannon fisted a point to settle the nerves and get the scoreboard moving. Duleek-Bellewstown continued as they started slotting another 3 points in a row to gain a 6-point advantage after just ten minutes. Despite an opening quarter littered with loose passes and loose marking, Ballivor’s heads never dropped. The work rate, desire and attitude were there for everyone to see. Tosh Raleigh made an excellent save with his face to deny a certain goal for Duleek. A save which left the Ballivor number 1 seeing stars for a couple of minutes. The rest of the half was tit for tat, mostly from free’s. The line between hard-tackling and fouling was something that both teams were yet to find. For Ballivor, Kevin Mckeon kicked four frees, of which two were two pointers.

Half Time Ballivor 0-7 Duleek/Bellewstown 0-12

Ballivor started the second half excellently. Growing in confidence with each passing minute as they realised, they’re not as bad as everyone is saying. As well as they were playing though, scores were hard to come by. A wide after over two minutes of possession and a penalty save were particularly punishing. Kevin McKeon did get the scoreboard moving with a free 6 minutes into the half, which was swiftly replied to from Duleek with a free of their own.

The real swing came nine minutes into the half when Duleek/Bellewstown sprung a high press, turned over Ballivor’s possession and ran the ball into the back of the net. A killer blow to the momentum that Ballivor were building and a now 9-point hill to climb.

Once again, the heads stayed high and Ballivor kept battling, scoring five of the next 7 points. Four from Kevin Mckeon and one from Adam Gannon. Two more points for Kevin Mckeon had the gap at 5. Ballivor had a big goal chance in injury time. A high ball dropped into the square and pin-balled around until Duleek captain Robin Clark somehow managed to scramble the ball off the line. Duleek got a breakaway goal to put the game to bed and seal an impressive victory for the East Meath side.

Plenty of positives to take from the performance despite the loss and a sign that there is still plenty of football left in Ballivor.

Thanks to Bective for their fantastic hospitality and to Ciarán Flynn and his team of officials for a job well done. Best of luck to Duleek/Bellewstown for the rest of the championship.

Baile Íomhar: Thomas Raleigh, Noah Doyle, Jamie Smyth, Edward Dunne, Harry Smyth, Jamie Kavanagh, Conal Diggins, Gary Sherrock, Keith Keoghan, Conor McNally, Killian Canavan, Nicholas Potterton (JC), Shay Diggins, Kevin Mckeon (0-13, 0-8f, 0-4tpf), Adam Gannon (JC) (0-2) Subs: Luke Douglas, Jack Mckeown, Michael O’Connor, Cian Prior

 

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