BALLYEA ARE HEADING to the Munster club senior hurling final after edging out Cork champions St Finbarrโs.
Ballyea 1-12
St Finbarrโs 0-15
Venue: Cusack Park, Ennis
Prevailing by their now familiar winning margin of one point, Ballyea have sealed their place in the Munster decider for the second time in their history.
They have heroes aplenty within their ranks but it was the most unlikely of saviours on this day with wing back Brandon OโConnell hitting the winning score to send them on their way.
OโConnell who has recently been added to Brian Lohanโs was moved to wing back when Ballyea had the advantage of an extra man. He like any defender found Ben Cunningham difficult to handle and while he may have come out second best in this particular duel, it wonโt be remembered as with sixty one minutes on the clock it was the Clondegad footballer who put the sliotar between the posts to secure the win.
Cunningham himself had a chance to level matters from a 65 in the last play, the awarding of which was highly criticised by the Ballyea defence. His effort tailed to the right of Barry Cooteโs posts wide.
For fifty minutes plus, Ballyea played with an extra man following a straight red card for Conor Cahalane after an off the ball altercation with Jack Browne.
Playing in their first provincial clash in 29 years didnโt deter the Cork side managed by Ger Cunningham who formed part of an entertaining battle in front of 1,891 spectators in Ennis. For them, Ben Cunningham was a joy to watch up front while Ben OโConnor and Ethan Twomey proved to be a strong partnership in the middle of the field.
Ballyeaโs big guns stood up when they had to. At the beginning, it was Gary Brennan who fetched a puckout from the sky, straight from Niall Deasyโs opening score, he carried the ball over 40m before gently converting it to the back of the net.
When the pressure was mounting, Tony Kelly roared to life and hit four of Ballyeaโs final six scores, two of them serving as TK trademarks when he collected possession before effortlessly splitting the posts off his right side from the sideline.
Even when they fell behind for the first time in the second half with forty two minutes on the clock, their response was instant with Aaron Griffin and Kelly responding with scores.
Although they dropped Jack Browne arguably too far deep as the spare man, every question asked of Robbie Hoganโs men they find a way to answer it and most importantly didnโt allow their opponents to raid for goal, an event that arguably could have swung the tie in the way of the visitors.
Along with Kelly and Brennan, Gearoid OโConnell, Aaron Griffin and Mossy Gavin were to the fore to send the Bally boys on their way back to a Munster final.
Scorers Ballyea: T Kelly (0-05 2โ65, 1f), M Gavin (0-03), G Brennan (1-00), G OโConnell (0-01), N Deasy (0-01 1f), A Griffin (0-01), B OโConnell (0-01).
Scorers St Finbarrโs: B Cunningham (0-09 5f), B OโConnor (0-02), B Hayes (0-02), E Twomey (0-01).
Ballyea:
1: Barry Coote
4: Paul Flanagan
3: Peter Casey
2: Brandon OโConnell
5: Gearoid OโConnell
6: Jack Browne
7: James Murphy
14: Gary Brennan
9: Stan Lineen
10: Niall Deasy
11: Pearse Lillis
12: Cathal OโConnor
15: Aaron Griffin
8: Tony Kelly
13: Mossy Gavin
Subs:
17: Cillian Brennan for Lineen (48)
18: Morgan Garry for OโConnor (53)
19: Martin OโLeary for Gavin (53)
St Finbarrโs
1: Shane Hurley
4: Cian Walsh
3: Jamie Burns
6: Damien Cahalane
17: Glenn OโConnor
2: Eoin Keane
7: Billy Hennessy
9: Ethan Twomey
5: Ben OโConnor
12: Conor Cahalane
10: Ben Cunningham
14: Padraig Buggy
8: William Buckley
13: Brian Hayes
15: Jack Cahalane
Subs:
21: Sam Cunningham for Buckley (45)
19: Ciaran Doolan for G OโConnor (55)
11: Eoghan Finn for J Cahalane (59)
Referee: Michael Kennedy (Tipperary)
