Ballymac V Ardfert
Referee Brendan Griffen
Ballymac were host to rivals Ardfert on Friday the 13th of July in the 9th round of The County League and it was a game to be remembered for some time to come. It was Ballymac that immediately dominated the game with an opening point from Darragh Keane just 1 minute from the off and it was the start of great things to come for his side as Eanna Reidy, Vinnie Horan and Aiden Breen all gave Ballymac a total of 5 more outstanding points without reply from Ardfert . Ballymac worked well together to get the early lead and it was 20 minutes before Ardfert managed to put a point on the scoreboard following a series of attempts that resulted in wides. Credit to the Ballymac defence for working so tight to keep their opponents at bay. The real blow to the visitors was when Ballymacs Luke Sweeeny landed the ball in the back of the net on the 24th minute to bring his team to 1-06 to Ardferts 0-01 . Ardferts John Egan did managed another point but Ballymac responded with another outstanding goal from Josh O’Keefe and 2 further points from Padraig McCarthy and Vinnie Horan , The opening scorer Darragh Keane ended the first half as he began by landing another point for Ballymac to bring the half time score Ballymac 2-09 to Ardferts 0-02.
At half time the Ballymac under 8 and under 10 boys showed a great display of talent when they entertained the supporters by playing a small sided match refereed by Brian Lonergan. They also provided both senior teams with a guard of honor as the teams left the dressing rooms . Thank you to all the young players and coaches for giving us this great display.
The second half began with a new energy from both sides and a well taken free resulting in another point from Ballymacs Aiden Breen just 3 minutes into the start ensured that Ballymac were well and truly on the path to victory . Ardfert did respond with a well placed point but it wasn’t enough as Aiden Breen again widened the score with another blowing point against the visitors. 2 more points from Ardfert followed but it was Ballmacs Josh o’Keefe that secured the lead when he overtook the Ardfert keeper to give Ballymac their 3rd and final goal 14 minutes into this half. The visitors did try to close the gap with 4 further points on the scoreboard but as they were down to 13 players it was never going to easy against this strong Ballymac side. 2 further points from Ballymacs Thomas O’Connor and Christy Leen saw their side come out as the victors.
The final score Ballymac 3-14 to Ardferts 0-08
An outstanding performance from Ballymac and we congratulate the team and management on this great achievement .
We would like to wish Ardfert the very best for the remainder of their league campaign.