MANY people left St. Brendan’s Park, Birr on Sunday wondering where all the underage talent produced by Kilcormac/Killoughey in the 1990’s had disappeared to, as they suffered a three points reversal, 1-7 to 1-10, at the hands of a highly motivated Ballyskenagh side.
Last year the Double K’s failed to qualify for the knock out stages, thereby confining them to the weak group for 2002. However, on the evidence of this below par first round performance they could have great difficulty in even coming out of that group.
Overall this was a very disappointing game, with large passages of scrappy play and but for some excellent point scoring by David Franks and Eoin Franks it would be quickly forgotten about.
Ballyskenagh, boosted by wind advantage, led by 1-6 to 0-3 after 18 minutes, the goal coming from a 20 metre free by David Franks. However, by half time K/K had the deficit down to just two points 1-6 to 1-4.
With wind advantage to come on the change over K/K would have been fancied to win the game, but they failed to score for 26 minutes, by which time Ballyskenagh had added 0-4 to their total.
Kilcormac/Killoughey were also reduced to 14 players following the dismissal of Shane Hand in the 47th minute.
Tom O’Toole opened the scoring for Ballyskenagh in the 2nd minute when he took a pass from John Dooley. Dooley followed up with a pointed free, before John Leahy opened K/K’s account with a 20 metre free in the 5th minute.
Two long-range points in quick succession from Ballyskenagh mid-fielder David Franks had his side 0-4 to 0-1 ahead after just 7 minutes. John Dooley and John Leahy exchanged pointed frees in the 9th and 11th minutes respectively.
Dooley put four between them again in the 13th minute with his 3rd pointed free. Leahy had K/K’s first score from play in the 15th minute when he sent over from 35 metres. Three minutes later Ballyskenagh’s goal arrived and it was not without controversy.
David Franks sent in a long delivery from mid-field, Stephen Byrne caught but failed to hold the sliotar and was then adjudged to have picked it off the ground by referee Brian Gavin.
Byrne hotly protested insisting the ball had bounced. In fact so strong were his protestations that he received the game’s first yellow card. David Franks stood over the resulting 20 metre free and blasted to the net to leave it 1-6 to 0-3.
Five scoreless minutes followed before K/K had the ball in the net at the other end of the field. Alan Franks failed to hold a long range free from John Leahy and Martin Murray was on hand to kick the sliotar over the line. Two minutes later Franks made amends with a good save from Mark Leonard’s shot and Martin Murray saw his subsequent shot come back off the cross bar. John Leahy closed the first half scoring with a pointed free to leave it Ballyskenagh 1-6, K/K 1-4.
Inside two minutes of the resumption, Eoin Franks extended Ballyskenagh’s lead with a point and he then set up John Dooley with a great goal chance. However, the big full forward lost his hurley and with just the goalkeeper to beat completely missed his kicked effort and the danger was averted.
John Dooley pointed a free for Ballyskenagh in the 40th minute and then Eoin Franks followed up with two points from play in the 42nd and 43rd minutes to leave it 1-10 to 1-4. Amazingly that was to be Ballyskenagh’s last score of the game, and 13 scoreless minutes followed.
But these were not without incident, with K/K’s Shane Hand being sent off in the 47th minute for a wild challenge on Barry Keeshan. Referee Brian Gavin had no hesitation in showing Hand a straight red card and Keeshan had to be carried off the field and was replaced by Bill Lalor.
Four minutes from time K/K scored their first point of the second half. John Leahy followed up with another from play and Kevin Rigney then cut the deficit to just three points in the 58th minute.
As hard as they tried, K/K never looked like getting through for the goal that would have earned them a share of the spoils and Ballyskenagh held on for a deserved victory which leaves them well positioned to qualify for the quarter finals.
Scorers
Ballyskenagh - David Franks 1-2 (1-0 free), John Dooley (0-4, frees), Eoin
Franks (0-3) and Tom O’Toole (0-1)
Kilcormac/Killoughey - John Leahy (0-5, 0-4 frees), Martin Murray (1-0), Kevin Rigney and Paul Cummins (0-1 each).
Teams
BALLYSKENAGH: Alan Franks; Eugene Hannon, Eugene Kirwan, Brendan Franks; Mark
Kirwan, Mick O’Hara, Barry Keeshan; David Franks, Aidan Franks; Tadgh Maher,
Noel Murphy, Brendan Murphy; Vinnie Franks, John Dooley, Tom O’Toole.
Subs: E. Franks for O’Toole and Bill Lalor for Keeshan
KILCORMAC/KILLOUGHEY: Stephen Byrne; Niall Leavey, Henry Kilmartin, Seamus
Spain; Keith McConville, Mark Hand, Tony Spain; Joey Wynne, Seamus Kiely;
Shane Hand, Kevin Rigney, Colm Cassidy; Mark Leonard, Martin Murray, John
Leahy.
Subs: Paul Cummins for Wynne and Paul Leonard for M Leonard.
REFEREE: Brian Gavin, Clara.