Tralee/St Brendan’s Senior District Championship Quarter Final
Kerins O’Rahillys 4-12 Ballymacelligott 3-16
Venue: Strand Road
5th November 23
Ballymac went into this game defending their Tralee/St Brendan’s title from 2022. Fourteen minutes into the second half Ballymac did not look like they would achieve this as they were trailing Strand Road 4-10 to 1-09. Nonetheless, they clawed back the lead and won the game. Captain Vinnie Horan led the way and galvanised his teammates throughout the game, especially in the closing quarter.
The first half opened with a point from Vinnie Horan, within two minutes Strand Road had scored a goal and a point. Two points from Daire Keane and Daragh Regan followed by a goal from Vinnie Horan after a great interception by Tomas O’Connor. With nine minutes on the clock, the score was KOR 1-01 Ballymac 1-04, our point coming from a free taken by Vinnie Horan.
Strand Road upped the pace and scored three unanswered points and the game was level. Darragh O’Connor & Niall Collins swapped points. In the 20th minute, Christy Leen saved a goal only to see the rebound caught by Daniel Bowler who hit the back of the net. Strand Road added two points. Just before the halftime whistle Vinnie Horan scored a point from a free.
The half-time score was: 2-07 to 1-06.
Kerins O’Rahillys completely dominated the first fourteen minutes of the second half. Scoring 2 goals and 3 points in a complete blitz. It looked even worse for Ballymac when Rahillys added on another point and were 11 points in front. However, despite this, the Ballymac lads showed grit and determination and fought on. Vinnie Horan had scored two goals in two minutes and Donal Daly had added a point in between. It was 4-11 to 3-10 with twelve minutes left. Conor Brick added a point. There was now a goal between the teams. Two points followed from frees from Vinnie Horan and a point from play from Daire Keane. Tadhg Brick added a point. Strand Road missed a free. The game was now two minutes into added time. Ballymac had the minimum of a lead: 4-11 to 3-15. Could they hold on? Vinnie Horan scored a free four minutes into injury time and just before the final whistle Strand Road scored the last point of the game.
Final Score: Kerins O’Rahillys 4-12 Ballymacelligott 3-16
This was truly a great result for our side, especially after the disappointment of last week. It took great courage and commitment to come back from eleven points down—great credit to all the players who showed up and played with such determination. Captain Vinnie Horan scored the first and last point of the game for Ballymac and in total, he scored 3-08. What an inspirational leader.
The next game is due to be played in two weeks.
Ballymac Team and Scorers:
Christy Leen, Eoin Creedon, Dara Sweeney, Andy Rogers, Niall Collins, Tadhg Brick, Sean Rice, Tomás O’Connor. Daniel O’Shea, Donal Daly, Pádraig McCarthy, Adam Sheehy, Vinny Horan (Capt), Daire Keane and Dara Regan. Subs Used: Conor Brick, Skye Lynch and Ciaran Brosnan,