Offaly senior hurling semi-final
Ballyskenach’s dream of achieving a first ever county senior final place
was shattered by St. Rynagh’s at St. Brendan’s Park, Birr on Saturday.
The winners laid the foundation for their victory when backed by the wind in
the first half. They built up a 1-10 to 0-3 interval lead and their defence
performed admirably in the second half to repel the Ballyskenach onslaught and
early their place in the county final.
Ballyskenach fought hard and kept themselves in contention for much of the game
but the experience of the St. Rynagh’s men was vital on their occasion
and they were able to close down the Ballyskenach men as they strove to get
back into the game in the second half.
St. Rynagh’s ability to pick off scores was a decisive factor in their
favour and their forwards posed a greater all round threat. Ballyskenach relied
too much on placed balls for their scores and their failure to score more from
play cost them dearly.
Although Ballyskenach were first to score a string of St. Rynagh’s points
in a six minute spell had them 0-5 to 0-1 in front after just 10 minutes. They
didn’t score as freely over the following 17 minutes and three minutes
before the break their lead was just six points.
That was a good position for Ballyskenach having faced the wind but St. Rynagh’s
scored the crucial goal at that point and Ballyskenach played a part in their
own downfall. Barry Keeshan was penalised for overcarrying about 30m from goals
but Ballyskenach delayed the free being taken and referee Pat Direen moved it
forward to the 20m line. That was crucial as it enabled Eunan Martin to go for
goal and he successfully found the net and then added a further point to give
his side a comfortable ten point interval lead.
Ballyskenach gradually chipped away at the lead in the third quarter and they
had brought the gap down to seven points by the 12th minute. They were enjoying
good possession and a goal at that point would have given them a great lift
and could have put them in the driving seat. However, the Rynagh’s defence
closed ranks and held Ballyskenach scoreless for the next 14 minutes and that
effectively ended their hopes of victory.
The wind played a major part in the proceedings. Both sides scored just three
points against the wind but crucially St. Rynagh’s made more use of it
when at their backs. The effect of the wind was clearly seen in the puck outs.
In the first half David Hughes was landing his puck outs around the Ballyskenach
20m line and that was putting pressure on their defence. In the second half
these puck outs were only reaching around the midfield area.
St. Rynagh’s will be somewhat concerned about the fact that they shot
17 wides over the hour. Ten of those wides came against the wind in the second
half, indicating that they did enjoy some good possession in that period. They
got two points in the first nine minutes of the half but didn’t score
again for another 22 minutes when Kieran Flannery pointed in injury time but
with their defence holding firm at the other end they were able to protect their
lead.
Ballyskenach failed to point from play in the first half despite having some
good opportunities. They found the target from play three times in the first
10 minutes of the second half but despite having wind advantage failed to score
from play again after that. It was probably a little surprising that they didn’t
try to engineer a goal from one of their late frees but instead they opted to
take their points. In all eight of their 11 points came from placed balls and
their return from play wasn’t sufficient to win a county semi-final.
Tomas O’Toole had a good game between the Ballyskenach posts. In front
of him Michael O’Hara hurled very well for the four both at full back
and later on the wing. Mark Kirwan also made a good contribution in defence
while Eugene Hannon worked hard throughout. David Franks enjoyed some good moments
in the middle of the field but the attack didn’t sparkle with the fluency
shown in previous games. David Carney worked tremendously hard and was unfortunate
not to get greater reward. John Dooley was accurate from placed balls while
Noel Murphy also had some good moments.
St. Rynagh’s: David Hughes, Colm Keane, Sean Rigney, Martin Hanamy, Shane
Horan, Hubert Rigney 0-1, Leonard Egan, Paudie Mulhare 0-1, Darragh Kelly, Eunan
Martin 1-6 (1-3 frees), Alan Kelly 0-1, Enda Mulhare 0-1, Gary O'Connor 0-1,
Michael Duignan 0-1, Fintan Dolan. Sub: Kieran Flannery 0-1 for Alan Kelly 26
mins.
Ballyskenagh: Tomas O’Toole, Eugene Hannon, Michael O’Hara, Ollie
Ryan, Mark Kirwan, Cathal Murphy, Barry Keeshan, Liam O’Toole, David Franks
0-1, John Dooley 0-8 (all frees), Noel Murphy 0-1, Brendan Murphy, Peter Murphy,
Donal Golden, David Carney 0-1. Subs: Bill Lalor (for Barry Keeshan half time),
Eugene Kirwan (for Brendan Murphy 56 mins.).
Referee: Pat Direen (Killeigh/Raheen).
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