Ballyvarley's senior hurlers began
their league campaign with an away
game to Clonduff last Tuesday night.
Playing with the wind in the first
period the Reds dominated with early
scores coming from Paul O'Neill(2)
and David McGovern before five minutes
had gone. In defence they were tight
with Thomas Lennon and David Lavery
leading the way with some crunching
but fair tackles. Upfront the Reds
were creating numerous chances and
just failed to add to their tally
due to the last ditch tackles and
tireless running of the home defence.
Ciaran Connolly was covering well
and winning ball in the middle and
it looked as if the game could be
over before the break. Clonduff
were restricted to place balls with
Clonduff's John Murphy unusually
wasteful.
As the half went on Paul O'Neill
and David McGovern were showing
well upfront. Chances came to Ballyvarley
off the hard work of Niall Higgins
and James McDermott as Ballyvarley
stretched their lead to seven points
with the home side unable to score.
The Reds though didnt make the most
of their possession yet they still
led by 0-7 to 0-1 at the break.
HALF-TIME: Clonduff 0-1 Ballyvarley
0-7
On the restart a dubious early
free awarded to the home side set
the tone for the rest of the half.
Frees were the order of the day
with a contest in accurate place
ball striking taking place between
Ballyvarley's Paul O'Neill and Clonduff's
John Murphy. Point after point from
frees went over from Clonduff so
that with 10 minutes left the Reds
found themselves two points in arrears.
In a bid to get back into the game
Eunan McConville went upfront, Paul
O'Neill moved to midfield and Colm
O'Neill moved to centre half-back.
A few minutes later James McGrath
moved to the half-forward line.
The changes began to have the right
effect as slowly the Reds won more
possession and tuned it into scores.
David McGovern led the way with
a good lift, turn and strike over
the bar while Paul O'Neill struck
twice. The Hilltown men replied
through Eddie Clancy and John Murphy,
before Paul O'Neill leveled it with
a 30 yard pointed free. The Reds
went for the winner but time was
against them and the two teams shared
the spoils.
FULL-TIME: Clonduff 0-12 Ballyvarley
0-12
This was a useful start to the
season with a very young Reds team
taking to the field. Stewart Cartmill
and Jamie Murray both made their
debuts and worked hard throughout.
Ballyvarley's senior hurlers play
Warrenpoint at home on Tuesday 6th
May, Castlewellan away on 13th May
and Portaferry at home on 20th May.
Team: Cathal O’Neill, Thomas
Lennon, James McGrath, Jamie Murray,
Sean Kennedy, Eunan McConville,
David Lavery, Ciaran Connolly, Colm
O'Neill, Conor McClorey, David McGovern
(0-2), Niall Higgins, Paul O’Neill
(0-10), James McDermott, Stewart
Cartmill.
Subs: Sean O’Neill, Niall
Savage, Pat McGrath, Michael Cairns
, Colin O'Neill
