Brave Ballon battle back to share the spoils with Cocks
Ballon's Fionn McCaffrey and Cocks' Liam Sheppard battle for control of the ball. Photo: Pat Ahern.
A late Brian Maher point from a free gave Ballon a share of the points in this Talbot Hotel Intermediate Football Championship third round game at Netwatch Cullen Park on Friday.
The Fighting Cocks, last year’s Leinster Junior Football finalists, started as if they were going to drive on to a convincing victory. They did all the running, carrying the ball into the heart of the Ballon defence which reaped its reward.
Emmet Moran slotted an early point and Aaron Dowling converted a tenth minute free. Possibly they should have had further scores.
Ballon lived on scraps but Callum Crawford still managed to squeeze over a point. The game started to change when Donncha Murphy came up from his position in the half-back line and found the posts from out on the left into the O’Hanrahans end of the ground.
Even though Dowling converted another Cocks free, the game had changed. Now everything Ballon did began to work. Edward O’Byrne slotted an equaliser and last year’s intermediate finalists dominated. Brian Maher found the posts from outside the arc when converting a free and Evan Corr also raised a white flag.
When a cross-field ball was delivered from left to right it travelled at least 50 metres before ending up in the hands of Maher. The corner forward had it all to do but he beat Darragh Byrne in the Cocks goal from close range. That finished the first half scoring with Ballon leading 1-6 to 0-3.
Dowling opened the second-half scoring for the Cocks with a point while he also provided the assist for Willie Kelly to raise another white flag. When Maher and Fionn McCaffrey replied with points, Ballon looked to be weathering the mini-storm which the Cocks were blowing.
Dowling added a two-point free when a ball had been brought forward for dissension. Ballon came forward once again and were unlucky not to raise another green flag. This time the Cocks’s last line of defence enjoyed a charmed life with Ballon forwards getting off two shots but each of them were blocked at point-blank range.
Conor Kelly also hit the bottom of the Cocks left-hand upright, while at the other end, Ballon keeper, Andrew O’Brien was smart when saving for Dowling.
Yet the corner forward was compensated when he landed a two-point free. Cormac McElligott followed suit and his boomer levelled matters with time running out.
Four minutes of injury time was announced and when Cillian Fagan struck over a good point it looked as if The Cock’s had secured the win.
Ballon dug ever so deep. Their heads had to be spinning but they still had the presence of mind to work the ball down towards their fast forwards.
When the free was earned, the responsibility fell on Maher. It was a tight angle on the right and having missed a few earlier on, the pressure was on him. The corner forward never batted an eyelid as his free sailed over the crossbar for the equalising score. A draw was a fitting end to an intriguing contest.
B Maher 1-4 (1-2pf, 2fs), E Corr 0-1, D Murphy, E O’Byrne, F McCaffrey (f), C Crawford 0-1 each.
A Dowling 0-7 (2-2pfs 3fs), C McElligott 0-2 (1-2p), E Moran, C Fagan, W Kelly 0-1 each.
Andrew O’Brien; Johnny Maher, Dan O’Connor, Josh Fernandez; Donncha Murphy, Conor Kelly, Rory McCaffrey; Jimmie Carroll, Fionn McCaffrey; Lorcan Doyle, Callum Crawford, Edward O’Byrne; Brendan Fanning, Evan Corr, Brian Maher.
Conor Bolger for Carroll (40), Myles Hutton for E O’Byrne (57).
Darragh Byrne; Sean McGrath, Eoin O’Byrne, Dylan Ruane; Alex Gordon, William Kelly, Billy Nolan; Cormac McElligott, Liam Sheppard; Niall Fitzpatrick, Jack McDonald, Emmet Moran; Cillian Fagan, Glenn O’Rourke, Aaron Dowling.
Padhraig Eustace for Fitzpatrick (36), Matthew English Hayden for Gordon (40), James Hickey for E O’Byrne (51).
Marion Kavanagh.
