by Alan Walsh
TULLAMORE'S ambition to reach the quarter-final of the Offaly S.H.C. remained intact last Saturday evening when they withstood a spirited challenge from battling Ballyskenach after a keenly fought contest in Birr.
The Blues looked in control for long spells but lost their way in the third quarter as Ballyskenach staged a welltimed rally to draw level. Tullamore showed a bit of character though and pulled away when it counted most.
Tullamore,
with two wins and a draw, from three games, are in a good position to claim
one of the quarter-final spots on offer, but they would be well advised to take
nothing for granted. They performed poorly as a unit on Saturday and Ballyskenach
should really have put them away.
Ballyskenach missed far too many chances for their own good and this defeat more or less ends their championship prospects. In fairness, Skenach are a good young side, but keeping the team together is their biggest problem.
Tullamore were two points to the good by the 6th minute thanks to Damien Fox. It should have been more but Pauric Feeney and Alo Lalor were both guilty of bad misses, Ballyskenach took control over the next few minutes and points from Kevin Franks, John Dooley and Aidan Franks put them ahead. Mick Mackey tied matters at 0-3 apiece.
Kevin Franks put Skenach in front again with a well taken point and in the 20th minute Tullamore's John Rouse was booked following an on-theball clash with Tom O'Toole. The pace of proceedings increased considerably at this stage but Ballyskenach were dealt a serious blow just before half-time when a Damien Fox free found it's way to their net from almost 40 metres out. Pat Cleary followed up with a point and that left the Blues with a 1-4 to 0-4 interval lead.
Damien Fox fired over two points as Tullamore surged ahead by 1-6 to 0-4. It now looked as if Tullamore were going to emerge as convincing winners, however, Ballyskenach had different ideas. Their half back line which included the brilliant Donal Franks stepped up a gear and Tullamore found themselves running for cover amid a barrage of pressure.
By the 48th minute Ballyskenach were level as they scored 1-2 without reply. John Rouse was penalised for fouling John Dooley and the Bally skenach attacker converted the free himself. They then enjoyed good fortune as a badly struck free from Tom O'Toole broke kindly for Bill Lalor who slammed home a goal and Dooley added the other point.
Indeed, the 1995 intermediate winners had Tullamore on the rack and a great save by Derek Larkin from John Dooley prevented them from going in front. Ballyskenach also squandered too many glaring chances. The best of these fell to David Franks and Noel Murphy.
As the Ballyskenach bombardment relented Tullamore slowly regained the upperhand and three points in as many minutes from Andy Hoctor, Pat Cleary and Alo Lalor put them 1-9 to 1-6 ahead with just four minutes remaining. Vinnie Franks reduced the gap to two points by the 58th minute but it wasn't enough as Ballyskenach had further wides before the final whistle sounded.
Tullamore
weren't over impressive and their attack failed to make good use of the possession
they enjoyed. The Blues last game in Group C is against Shinrone and a win there
will guarantee them a place in the championship quarter-finals. It won't be
easy as Shinrone playa similar type of game to their neighbours Ballyskenach.
Andy Gallagher will be very worried at the manner in which his charges faded out of proceedings in the second half but he will be pleased with the performances of Ray Spain, John Rouse and Ray Martin in their defence. Kevin Martin didn't really deliver the goods at midfield but still worked hard as did Andy Hoctor. Damien Fox and Pat Cleary threatened upfront, but unfortunately for Tullamore this sector is proving to be their achilles heel and it could hamper them badly if they were to reach the knockout stages.
Ballyskenach's right half back Donal Franks was the best man on the field. He played with a fire and determination that was lacking in some of his colleagues. John Gunnell did well at fullback, while Aidan Franks came more into proceedings when switched to defence. Cathal Murphy and Noel Murphy showed that they still have the talent to compete with the best, while Bill Lalor, Tom O'Toole and Kevin Franks battled hard in a Ballyskenach attack which was far from potent.
TULLAMORE: Derek Larkin; John Rouse, Ray Spain, Kevin Kennedy; Ray Martin, P.J. Martin, Tom Cusack; Kevin Martin, Andy Hoctor (0- 1); Pauric Feeney, Mick Mackey (0-1), Damien Fox (1-4, 1-2 frees); Pat Cleary (0-2), Alo Lalor (0-1 ), Mark Gallagher. Subs.: David McCann for Kevin Kennedy, (47 mins), Damien Beatty for Mick Mackey, (53 mins).
BALLYSKENACH: Michael 0' Hara; Eugene Kirwan, John Gunnell, Mark Kirwan; Donal Franks, Cathal Murphy, Ollie Ryan; Liam O'Toole, Noel Murphy; Aidan Franks (0-1), Bill Lalor (1-0), Vinny Franks (0-1); John Dooley (0-3, 0-2 frees,0-1 '65), Tom O'Toole, Kevin Franks (0-2). Subs.: David Franks for Kevin Franks, (19 mins), and Paul Murphy for David Franks, (52 mins).