Liatroim qualify
for
next round of the Championship
2004 Down Senior
Championship: Ballyholland 0-05 Liatroim
1-12
Taken
from Ballyholland website
A
first glance at this scoreline would
suggest that the pundits were right,
that this was all one-way traffic,
that Liatroim simply annihilated their
Division II opponents.
But
appearances can be deceptive.
Don’t
get me wrong; the better side won
this encounter, and in the end at
a canter. But for forty minutes there
was never more than a kick of a ball
between the sides as Ballyholland
chased, harried, tackled and played
like their lives depended on the outcome
of this game. During this time a neutral
observer would have struggled to pick
out which team playing was from the
higher division. It really was that
close.
There
were only two points separating the
sides as they entered the final third
of the game, when a series of small
turns combined to provide Liatroim
with the drive to put some distance
between the teams.
The
most crucial of these turns was the
worsening of an injury Ronan Murtagh
had picked up as early as the third
minute. An innocuous challenge caused
the county player’s left knee
to swell up but you would never have
known, such was his will to succeed
during a first half when he was simply
everywhere, taking the ball off his
defence, winning ball at full-forward
and most importantly, picking up a
huge amount of breaking-ball at midfield.
Ten
minutes into the second half though,
Murtagh simply had nothing left to
give, and this injury robbed the Harps
of the driving force behind their
performance.
Allied
to the Murtagh’s injury, Liatroim’s
management made an astute tactical
change, switching Patrick Pearse McCartan
into full-forward and moving Aidan
O’Prey out among the half-forwards.
O’Prey was having a decent time
of it in full-forward, but the switch
saw him coming even more into the
game, though more importantly it stirred
some life into the previously quiet
McCartan.
Perhaps
the seminal moment though was a majestic
score from centre-back Aidan Rice
with twelve minutes gone in the second
half. After Ballyholland had floundered
a couple of chances at the other end,
their defence had done magnificently
to tidy up a good Liatroim counter-attack
when the ball found its way out to
Rice at the halfway line. Rice took
a few strides then belted over a magnificent
effort from fully fifty yards. The
score served a triple purpose as it
gave his side a three point cushion
for the first time, it visibly lifted
his team, while it also served a sharp
reminder to the Harps that they were
playing a quality side.
As
the greater fitness and individual
class of Rice’s side began to
tell, the scores began to come. Approaching
the end, this left Ballyholland with
no option but to try chasing the game
and Liatroim duly exploited the gaps
left behind to continually top-up
their lead.
In
the end, ten points were between the
sides, but this really was such a
far cry from a first-half when the
two teams served up a terrifically
hard-fought, intense Championship
encounter.
The
main reason for this could be found
at midfield where, if anything, Ballyholland
had the better of proceedings during
the opening half. In this vital sector,
the physical presence of Paul Murphy,
James Patterson and Murtagh was proving
at least a match for their counterparts.
Despite
this platform, Ballyholland could
not manufacture enough scores to seriously
worry their opponents. Implementing
a tactic akin to the ‘blanket
defence’ allowed the Harps to
practice damage limitation at their
own end, but it was at the cost of
genuine attacking presence at the
other end.
They
actually created more opportunities
than their opponents during this half,
but crucially Liatroim, two of their
county men especially, took whatever
opportunities came their way.
Not
that a lot of opportunities were being
created. Indeed, after twenty minutes
the scoreline was sitting at two points
apiece – although much of this
was owed to a fine Kieran Murphy stop
from a low Aidan O’Prey drive.
O’Prey
had actually opened the scoring with
a short free, but Ronan and Paul Murphy
both chipped in with scores either
side of Liam Doyle’s first of
the evening.
Doyle
then showed his class (is there a
more elegant footballer in the county?)
with consecutive scores, including
a fine solo effort after claiming
a kick-out.
Ballyholland’s
defence were coping very well with
whatever Liatroim could throw at them
though and when Mark O’Hare
sent over a patiently worked score
in the 25th minute there was only
one point between the sides again.
Wing-back
Kieran Bannon strolled forward shortly
afterwards to double that advantage
for the Fontenoys but seconds later,
at the other end, a magical catch
from Murtagh resulted in him being
dragged to the ground around the thirteen-metre
line. There was some argument as to
whether it was a penalty or not, but
a free was awarded and Murtagh duly
placed it over the bar.
Liatroim
still managed to take a two point
advantage into the break, as Aidan
O’Prey hooked a point over on
the turn right on the halftime whistle,
leaving his side up 0.06 to 0.04.
If
the Harps players had have been offered
this scoreline at halftime before
the throw-in, I’m sure most
of them would have happily taken it,
but as it turned out it was actually
an unfair representation on proceedings.
The
first ten minutes or so of the second
half followed a similar pattern. Things
were very even at midfield, but at
both ends attackers were imply being
outnumbered by defenders and scores
were very hard to come by.
Unless
you are Aidan O’Prey that is,
and the big county man simply burst
through a host of tackles to set up
the angle for a point after a couple
of minutes.
Ballyholland
replied quickly with a Shane Mulholland
free after Murtagh was torn to the
ground midstream.
In
effect that challenge might have sounded
the death knell on Ballyholland’s
Championship aspirations, as that
was to prove to be the injured Ronan
Murtagh’s last significant contribution
to the game.
We
had now gone past the forty minutes
mark and it was time for Aidan Rice
to step up for that wonderful point
and his team to step up a gear or
two.
Despite
the best efforts of a number of players,
noticeably Eugene Campbell and Colman
Smith, Ballyholland were simply outclassed
during the final third of this game.
The
Harps were still picking up possession
aplenty at midfield, but without Murtagh
they lacked the power to trouble a
well-organised Liatroim rearguard,
while the probing of Doyle and the
speed of Burns and Brown in the corners
were testing the weary legs of their
defence.
Patrick
Pearse McCartan was beginning to enjoy
himself at full-forward and he sent
over a huge score from the sideline,
while Doyle and O’Prey proved
themselves to be the main men by both
chipping in with scores.
With
six points to spare and Ballyholland
becoming a bit ragged, Liatroim began
the hunt for goals and were only denied
by a couple of terrific stops from
Kieran Murphy. Unfortunately for Murphy
though one of these stops landed in
the hands of Kieran Bannon, who was
left with an empty net and the easiest
of finishes.
When
substitute Declan Burns wrapped up
the scoring with a flighted effort
in injury-time, it had been over twenty
minutes since Ballyholland had scored
and there was simply no doubt about
which the better team was by this
stage.
Have
Liatroim got what it takes to win
a Senior Championship though? It is
a tough question to answer. They are
undeniably fit, committed and well-organised
and they have a bit of strength in
depth about their squad.
Then
there are the wonderful individual
talents of messrs Doyle and O’Prey.
Their ability to make and chances
out of nothing accounted for two-thirds
of Laitroim’s scores on this
occasion. Maybe this is where any
doubts about Liatroim’s Championship
potential could surface though…if
a team can find some way to snuff
out the threat of these two, then
it is hard to see who could step up
and do the real damage.
Doyle
was particularly eye-catching, his
long stride and eye for a pass always
creating space for him and his teammates
– and he would get my vote for
man of the match.
O’Prey
was always dangerous as well and three
points from play is a good return.
The other major standouts for Liatroim
were the half-backs Aidan Rice and
Kieran Bannon, but by and large this
was a decent team performance from
the Fontenoys and nobody let them
down at all.
Ballyholland
always knew they were going to be
in for a tough time in this fixture.
For the third time in five seasons
Liatroim have put the Harps out of
the Senior Championship and the margin
between the teams, in terms of scores,
isn’t getting any closer.
The
Harps players can take genuine heart
from their performance in the first
forty minutes though. During this
time they gave on of the best sides
in the county a good run for their
money. In the end though, Liatroim
have the fitness and intensity of
a Division I outfit and this proved
too much.
Even
if Ronan Murtagh had have stayed fit,
it is unlikely that the result would
have been reversed, but there is little
doubting the influence that he had
during a first half when he was simply
outstanding.
The
best players alongside him were in
defence, all of whom were sound but
amongst their number Ronan Murphy
and Eugene Campbell were the most
eye-catching. Behind them again, Kieran
Murphy had a fine hour’s play
in nets, with three great saves combined
with assured handling and accurate
kick-outs throughout.
Ballyholland’s
midfielders both had big games too.
Both were guilty of holding onto the
ball too long on occasion, but in
truth it was their ability to win
possession that kept their side in
the game for so long.
Ballyholland
now have just the league left to play
for. They currently just have their
noses in a play-off spot, but face
their toughest run of games of the
season. Fixtures coming up in the
next month include Annaclone, Attical,
Shamrocks and Loughinisland. It is
probably too much to ask to take maximum
points from these games, but something
along those lines will be required
to have any chance of promotion.
It
isn’t an overstatement though
to say that if they can match the
drive, heart and intensity of the
first forty minutes of this Championship
game in those upcoming league games,
then promotion is more a probability
than a possibility.
Player of the Match: Liam Doyle (Liatroim)
Ballyholland Team: K Murphy, E Campbell,
S O’Hare, P McAteer, John Patterson,
M Shields, R Murphy (0-1), P Murphy
(0-1f), James Patterson, R Quinn (J
Barry), S Mulholland (0-1f), R Murtagh
(0-1f) (A McNamee), C Smith, A McAteer,
M O’Hare.
Opponents Team: E Clarke, J Brown,
E Middleton, P Middleton, D Rice,
A Rice (0-1), K Bannon (1-1), C McCrickard,
D O’Higgins (D Morgan), JP Owens
(D Burns (0-1)), L Doyle (0-4, 3f),
PP McCartan (0-1), P Burns, A O-Prey
(0-4, 1f), A Brown.
Referee: M Cole
Match Report by: AMN
