This article is from page 69 of the 2011-05-10 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 69 JPG
Newmarket on Fergus 4-15 – Ballyea 0-11 at Cusack Park, Ennis
A STROLL for the Blues as they took up the challenge of trying to bridge a 30-year cup since the Canon Hamilton last did a tour of local hostelries starting at O’Neills on the Ennis Road and finishing on the Sixmilebridge road near Fr Murphy Park.
The hurlers on the high stool, many of them with as many medals as loose change in their pockets, won’t be taking up the Blues’ championship challenge just yet, but who knows what will happen if the ruthlessness they showed in front of goal stays with them for the year.
They banged them in for fun in the first half, exposing Ballyea for what they were – a team with poor numbers at training and consequently poor preparation and whipping boys for a Newmarket team intent of laying down an early marker.
And they did that as early as the first minute when Colin Ryan picked up the pieces of a defensive mistake and fed Eoin Hayes who drilled the ball to the net past a stationary Shane O’Neill.
From there the tone of this match was set – the first half at any rate as Newmarket seemed to have goal on their mind any time they mounted an attack, while an under siege Ballyea were depending of the talents of the two Tonys, Griffin and Kelly, to keep them competitive in the half.
They did their job, keeping their score ticking over, only for a porous defence to let them down the other end as Newmarket knifed through them for further first half goals through Colin Ryan (2) and Shane O’Brien to decide things by half-time as Newmarket 4-8 to 0-7 lead.
Forget the second half when Newmarket’s soccer wing and neutrals alike were more interested in events at Old Trafford than they were in events in Cusack Park – maybe this disinterest seeped through to the players in a totally underwhelming half as the Blues pulled the handbreak and still cruised to a 16-point success.
It was that easy after those goals, even though Ballyea’s spirit had them plugging away until the end in search of their own goals to take a lop-sided look off the scoreboard.
It began to look lop-sided as early as the sixth minute when David Barrett raced through and teed up Colin Ryan for goal number two and listed further when Ryan hit another bullet to the net in the 22nd minute are points by Tony Kelly (2) and Tony Griffin threatened to keep Ballyea competitive.
And, finally the point of no return arrived in the 32nd minute when Shane O’Brien sauntered forward and had his turn at blasting to the net to leave 13 points between the sides at the call of half-time.
That whistle couldn’t have come quick enough for Ballyea – as it turned out Newmarket could never summon the same enthusiasm afterwards as the game listed as much as the scoreboard did in the first.
Remarkably the Blues could carve no more goal openings, but still racked up 0-7 to Ballyea’s 0-4, rattling off the first four points of the half throgh Eoin Hayes from play and three Colin Ryan frees to move 17 points clear.
Ballyea did limit the damage from there on in, but the real damage had been done and could never be undone.
It’s will be a short and painful championship for Ballyea, going on this. As always the jury is still out on the Blues.
Newmarket on Fergus
Kieran Devitt (7), Eoin O’Brien (7), Stephen Kelly (7), Niall O’Connor, (7), Sean O’Connor (7), James McInerney (8), Darren O’Connor (7), Enda Barrett (7), Martin O’Hanlon (7), Enda Kelly (6), Shane O’Brien (7) (1-1), David Barrett (7) (1-1), Colin Ryan (8) (2-9 7f), Eoin Hayes (7) (1-2),Tommy Griffin (6).
Subs
James Liddy (7) (0-1) for Griffin [46 Mins],Alan Barrett (6) for [49 Mins] Darren O’Connor, Paudie Collins (6) for Shane O’Connor [49 Mins],Anthony Kilmartin (6) for Ryan [51 Mins],
Ballyea
Shane O’Neill (6), Eamon Griffin (6), Kevin Sheehan (7) (0-1), Jack Browne (6), Brian Murphy (6), Paddy O’Connell (7), Niall Keane, (7) Paul Flanagan (6), Gearóid O’Connell (6), Cathal Doohan (6),Alan Carrigg (6), Niall Deasy (6) (0-1), Tony Kelly (7) (0-6, 3f, two 65), Francis O’Reilly (6), Tony Griffin (7) (0-2)
Subs
David Sheahan (6) for Eamon Griffin [Half-Time], Francie Neylon (6) for Murphy [Half-Time], James Murphy for Carrigg [44 Mins],