14-man Ballon crowned Division 2 Champions after extra-time thriller
Carlow GAA Chairman John McDonald presents the Division 2 trophy to Ballon captain Conor Bolger on Sunday in Netwatch Cullen Park.
Netwatch Cullen Park was the venue on Sunday evening as Ballon were confirmed as the Carlow Credit Union Football League Division 2 Champions with an extra-time victory over Kildavin-Clonegal.
Ballon were reduced to 14 men midway through the second half, but goals in extra time from Brian Maher and Alex Kelliher proved to be the winning of the tie.
Kildavin-Clonegal's star man, Joseph Roberts can feel more aggrieved than most to end up on the losing side after a sensational performance that saw him score a colossal 14 points.
Ballon started the brighter and took an early through a Brian Maher free. Then, with just five minutes on the clock, Maher took advantage a miscued kick-out from Kenneth Brennan, pouncing on the stray ball before firing his shot beyond the Kildavin-Clonegal keeper and into the net.
A Joseph Roberts free and a brilliant solo effort from John Kirwan got the scoreboard moving for Kildavin-Clonegal as Mickey Daly's side began to grow into the game.
The scoring slowed down after that as both sides upped the tempo and physicality until Jake Nolan went on great run and raised a white flag for Kildavin-Clonegal to make it a one-point game midway through the first half. It was four scores on the trot moments later when Roberts pointed a second free.
Ballon regained the lead with a free from Evan Corr, but they were ahead only due to some inaccurate shooting from the opposition. Kildavin-Clonegal went ten minutes without a score before drawing level thanks to Joe Warren, only for that score to be wiped out directly from the kick-out with a lovely curled effort from Alex Kelliher.
Another Roberts free left it all square going into stoppage time at the end of the first half, before the same player pulled off a brilliant score from just inside the arc. That put Kildavin-Clonegal in front for the first time as they went in at the break leading 0-7 to 1-3.
A score right at the start of the second half from Daniel Murphy extended Kildavin-Clonegal's lead, but an exquisite two-pointer from Brian Maher brought Ballon level in the 37th minute.
Kildavin-Clonegal were back in front almost straight from the kick-out, going the length of the field where Daniel Cronin hand-passed the ball over the bar. Roberts kicked his fourth free soon after, but Ballon were back on terms after a superb two-pointer from Evan Corr at the end of the third quarter.
Another Roberts free put Kildavin-Clonegal back in front before things took a turn for Ballon, with Callum Crawford dismissed for a high tackle on Jake Nolan. Roberts took the resulting free and slotted it off the ground from outside the arc to make it a three-point game.
But Ballon were not done yet, with a score from Kelliher followed by a two-pointer from Maher sending the sides into stoppage time all square. Maher then added a second two-pointer in as many minutes, curling it over with the outside of his left boot to put the 14 men in front.
There was no let-up in the drama, however, as an equally impressive strike from Roberts raised another orange flag to send the game into extra time - the fourth consecutive final to end in a draw after normal time on a truly bizarre weekend of Carlow football.
Brendan Fanning nudged Ballon in front, but his side were penalised for breaching the three-up rule and Joseph Roberts slotted a two-point free as punishment.
Ballon captain Conor Bolger made a decisive goal-line block just after the teams changed sides and sent his men on their way for an equalising score from Kelliher. Ballon took the lead less than 60 seconds later when Maher found space in front of goal and fired a rocket into the net to raise his side's second green flag.
Roberts landed a couple of frees for Kildavin-Clonegal, but they were cancelled out by a two-point free at the other end from Corr before Fanning played in Kelliher who went around the keeper and finished into the net for a third goal, cementing Ballon as League Champions in the process.
J Roberts 0-14 (7f, 2tpf, 1tp), J Kirwan, J Nolan, J Warren, D Cronin and D Murphy 0-1 each.
B Maher 2-7 (3tp), A Kelliher 1-3, E Corr 0-5 (1tpf, 1tp), B Fanning 0-1.
Kenneth Brennan; Philip Byrne, Donal Hickey, Gavin Bvrne; Liam Roberts, Lorcan Kinsella, Liam McGuill; Toe Warren, Tohn Kirwan; Alex Callaghan, Daniel Cronin, Jake Nolan; Niall Hickey, Daniel Murphy, Joseph Roberts.
Ciaran Atkinson-Scott for J Nolan (50, inj), Fionn Doyle for G Byrne (53), Darragh Roberts for P Byrne (60+2), Paraic Hickey for Kirwan (67).
Andrew O'Brien; Johnny Maher, Dan O'Connor, Josh Fernandez; Donncha Murphy, Conor Kelly, Rory McCaffrey; Conor Bolger, Fionn McCaffrey; Jimmie Carroll, Callum Crawford, Corey Kelliher; Alex Kelliher, Evan Corr, Brian Maher.
Dylan Cunningham for O’Brien and Shane Duffy for Carroll (both HT), Brendan Fanning and Lorcan Doyle for C Kelliher and Murphy (both 40), Edward O'Byrne for Duffy (47, inj).
Patrick Murphy.
