The Kerry Petroleum: Premier Junior Football Club Championship Group 2 Round 1
Ballymacelligott V Renard
Date: Saturday 3rd August 2024.
Venue: Cromane.
Ballymacelligott V Renard
Date: Saturday 3rd August 2024.
Venue: Cromane.
The Ballymacelligott senior team and management travelled to Cromane last Saturday evening to play Renard in the first round of the Kerry Petroleum Premier Junior Championship 2024. The management and squad worked hard all season. In Kerry, the Championship is everything at inter-county and club level. The Club Championship is the season’s highlight for every club, and Saturday last was a big game.
It was a challenging start for the Ballymac team as they had to line out without six key players who had played in the Premier Junior Final last October. Their absence was felt, but the players who started were determined to give their best.
The match began with Renard opening the scoring with a point, swiftly followed by a fine point from Ballymac’s Donal Daly, levelling the game.
Donagh Quinlan added another for the South Kerry side. Michéal Reidy levelled the game for Ballymac, and Aidan Breen added another to give Ballymac the lead after five minutes of play.
Renard continued playing against the stiff breeze, and Donagh Quinlan levelled the game with a point from a free.
With 15 minutes left in the first half, two fine points from Michéal Reidy gave Ballymac the lead again. Cromane scored their last point of the half from a free. Before the whistle blew, Ballymac added three more from Aidan Breen (f), Micheál Reidy, and James Kenny.
Renard continued playing against the stiff breeze, and Donagh Quinlan levelled the game with a point from a free.
With 15 minutes left in the first half, two fine points from Michéal Reidy gave Ballymac the lead again. Cromane scored their last point of the half from a free. Before the whistle blew, Ballymac added three more from Aidan Breen (f), Micheál Reidy, and James Kenny.
The Half Time score: Ballymacelligott 0-9 to Renard 0-5.
Brendan Kelly opened the scoring for Renard in the second half with a point from play. Two points from frees followed for both teams: Ballymac’s from Aidan Breen and Renard’s from Donagh Quinlan. The next ten minutes saw a lot of play, but neither team registered a score.
With fifteen minutes to go, Renard scored a mighty point from James O’Sullivan’s free kick. The score was Ballymac 0-10 to Renard 0-8. Aidan Breen extended the Ballymac lead by a point from a free. Renard’s never-say-die attitude showed them working hard, and they added two points.
It was now a one-point game. Aidan Breen scored a point from a free, and Fintan O’Sullivan scored a point from play for Renard. The referee blew the whistle. Ballymac had won the game by a point.
Final Score: Ballymacelligott 0-12 Renard 0-11.
Ballymacelligott Team & Scorers. Christy Leen, Josh O’Keeffe, Daniel O’Shea, Seán Rice, Micheál Reidy (0-4), Tadhg Brick, Cian Counihan, Aidan Breen(0-6:3Frees) Cathal Dunne, Adam Sheehy, Vinnie Horan (Captain) Michael Herlihy, James Kenny (0-1), Donal Daly (0-1) and Darragh Regan.
Ballymacelligott Substitutes Introduced:
Daragh Sweeney, Brian Lonergan, Brian Cassidy, and Andy Rogers,
Manager: Ian Blake
Selectors: Tony Silles, Gene O’Keeffe, Mike Broderick & Padráig Laide.
Selectors: Tony Silles, Gene O’Keeffe, Mike Broderick & Padráig Laide.
Physical Trainer: Anthony O’Leary. Physio: Eoin Culloty.
Stats/Logistics: Aidan Savage and Bridget Leen.
We wish Cian Counihan a speedy recovery from his injury during the match. Our warmest thanks to all our supporters, who made their way to Cromane and showed their vocal support, which meant a lot to the players. .
Well done, and thank you to Cromane GAA Club for hosting the game and for the organisation put into the presentation.
Our upcoming game against Churchill on Friday, August 9th, at 7.15 pm, is a crucial one. It’s our final home game in the Junior Premier Club Championship, making it a must-attend for all our supporters.
It would be fantastic to have strong home support to cheer the team on, letting them know we stand with them at every game, proudly wearing our colors and giving them our vocal support.
Ballymac Abú.
A few facts
8 Players from our B Team panel played their part in the game.
6 Players: Missing from the starting 15 team V Listowel in the Junior Premier Final 2023.
3 Players: Seán Rice, James Kenny and Andy Rogers made their Championship Debut.