Offaly S.H. Championship
Ballyskenagh 7-4 ....... Ballinamere 3-9
In a game which was devoid of any good hurling and produced very little excitement, 1960 junior champions Ballyskenach advanced to the semi-final stages of the Offaly Senior Hurling Championship at the expense of Ballinamere at Kilcormac on Sunday.
The small attendance got very little to cheer about for the hour. IN fact most of the attention seemed to be centred on a few transistor radios as Roscommon rallied back to defeat Sligo in the Connacht Football Semi-Final. Maybe it was the glorious heat which caused the players to give such a lack lustre performance, but surely they could have been a little more enthusiastic about the game and given their supporters some value for their money.
Even though the Ballyskenach lads eventually won by seven points, they can hardly feel happy about their performance and will need to improve if they are to make any impression on Drumcullen in their next outing.
So much for the game. What of the players?
The winners deserved their victory, if for no other reason than that they availed of their chances in the second half. Yet had they lost they would have had no one to blame but themselves, as in the first half frequent attacks on the dust-filled Ballinamere goalmouth saw many scoring changes lost. Their star performer was centre-field man Gerry Kirwan. He was responsible for their three goals in the first half and proved a good rallying force to his team on the resumption.
Two Intervals
Speaking of resumption, this game had the unusual occurrence of having “two intervals”. About ten minutes from the end, the ball was lost and after a considerable amount of fruitless searching by a few players and officials, while the rest of the players lay down and availed of a brilliant sun, a steward went into the village and got a ball.
Paddy Dooley was always sound at full-back although his opponent, L. Weir, managed to break through for all the losers’ goals. Joe Keeshan and the McLoughlins were always prominent in defence. Eddie Franks was a hard-working forward and his first half point from the ground was neat score. J. Shanahan, M. Cunningham and J. McDonnell were the pick of the remainder. Offaly football star, Peter Daly, was always on the move for Ballinamere and his points were well taken. The McDermotts and T. O’Brien defended their area well, while upfront L. Weir, S. Boland and J. Moran often caught the eye.
Anybody’s Game
The losers had a two points lead at half-time (3-4 to 3-2) and up to midway in the second half it was anybody’s game. However, in the closing stages ‘Skenach pressed in two goals, which made the issue safe for them.
Scorers for Ballyskenach were: G. Kirwan (3-1), J. Shanahan (2-1), M. Cunningham (1-0), S. Hogan (sub) (1-0), J. McDonnell (0-1)
Ballinamere’s replies came from L. Weir (3-2), P. Daly (0-3), T. Kelly (0-1), J. Boland (0-1), J. Moran (0-1).
The Teams
Ballyskenach – J. Dooley, W. McLoughlin, P. Dooley, P. Walsh, J. Keeshan, P. McLoughlin, S. Keeshan, G. Kirwan, E. Franks, P. McLoughlin, J. Shanahan, T. Kirby, W. Campion, J. McDonnell, M. Cunningham. Sub. S. Hogan.
Ballinamere – S. McDermott, M. McDermott, P. McDermott, S. Waters, J. Moran, T. O’Brien, J. Weir, T. Kelly, J. O’Brien, A. Boland, P. Daly, J. Dunne, J. Moran, L. Weir, J. Boland
Referee: Mr. Vincent Daly (Kilcormac)