Five points up with fifteen minutes to go, this looked like turning out to be one of Ballyholland’s happier days in the First Division. But they ended up with nothing at all for their pains as Rostrevor rallied to grab both points with a brace of goals in the final quarter.
PROMISE
Harps optimism had been based on a storming third quarter performance, spurred by the impact of introducing teenage stars Robbie White and Patrick Quinn to the mix. They had trailed 1-5 to 0-9 at the end of a stodgy first half, but things began to look up immediately once county minor White came into the fray. After Ronan Murtagh had equalised from a free in the 38th minute, young White broke over the half way line, linked with attacking centre back, Joe Murphy and shot an inspiring lead point from the right wing. And then, in the 42nd minute, the talented seventeen year-old was again at the heart of things, sending Ronan Murtagh powering through the middle and draw the cover to leave James Patterson clear for his second goal of the day! The even younger Patrick Quinn also made a mark with his first touch, shooting a fine point on the run to give Harps a 2-8 to 0-9 lead going into the final quarter.
LOOKED ENOUGH
It looked more than enough, for Reds had been bereft of a cutting edge up front following the injury to Conor Daly midway through the first half. They had managed to register only via Colm Clerkin frees since that, and even that source had dried up since half time. The man who stepped in to change things was Dermot Mackin. Dermot ended the nonsense with a fine point under pressure , and with just over ten minutes to go, he eeled along the end-line before fisting the ball across goal for Richie Reynolds to leap high at the far post and knock to the net. Ballyholland seemed to have weathered the storm when they broke back upfield after a Dermot Mackin shot had hit the upright and Joe Murphy converted a free to push the home team back into a two point advantage with five minutes to go. Reds kept up the pressure , however. Turlough Murphy and Colm Clerkin led a closely co-ordinated charge through the middle which winkled out a sliver of space which Anthony Donnan used to bang his shot past Kieran Murphy from fifteen yards, and Colm Clerkin extended the lead to 2-11 to 2-9 on the 60th minute. Harps tried desperately to redeem things in added time, and almost managed it too, but Tony Havern had to settle for a point after trying to force a way through on the edge of the square.
MORE INTERESTING
The second half of this match turned out to be much more interesting than the first. Rostrevor had the edge in the opening quarter, primarily because Conor Daly was being so productive at full forward. Conor scored three of Reds first five points as they led 0-5 to 0-3. The two other scores came from Dermot Mackin and Anthony Donnan, [an excellent effort from distance], but the power of Ronan Murtagh and James Patterson had been posing problems for the visitors defence and their three points had been contributed by Kieran Murphy [from a free], Rona Murtagh and Johnny Barry. Harps led for the first time when James Patterson was left to fist to the net after the Reds defence had been unable to clear a long high ball to the goalmouth, but two Colm Clerkin frees restored Rostrevor’s lead before Ronan Murtagh turned to level scores again. And after Colm Clerkin knocked over another two frees, Joe Murphy came up to leave Harps only a point in arrears at the break.
DULL
Rostrevor duly took both points to re-inforce their Top Four bid, but they must be concerned by the lack of penetration in their attack following the departure of Conor Daly. In due course, Dermot Mackin stepped up to the plate to provide the leadership up front and they will draw encouragement from the fact that their two late goals came from less experienced forwards like Richie Reynolds and Anthony Donnan. Their best performances were at the back, especially from the Magee brothers, Paul and Gary, who weathered a searching test from strong full forwards like Ronan Murtagh and James Patterson. Big contributions were also made by Turlough Murphy and Eamon McConville at half back. Ballyholland’s best were Joe Murphy, Paddy McAnulty, Paddy McAteer, Ronan Murtagh and subs Robbie Murphy and Patrick Quinn. But the danger of automatic relegation looms ever larger for them.
Ballyholland scorers; James Patterson [2-0]; Ronan Murtagh [0-3] 1 free; Joe Murphy [0-2] 2 frees; Tony Havern [0-1]; Patrick Quinn [0-1]; Robbie White [0-1]; Kieran Murphy [0-1] 1 free; Johnny Barry [0-1]
Rostrevor scorers; Colm Clerkin [0-5] 5 frees; Anthony Donnan [1-1]; Conor Daly [0-3] 1 free; Richie Reynolds [1-0]; Dermot Mackin [0-2]
Ballyholland team; Kieran Murphy; Gavin McAteer, Eugene Campbell, Anton Haughey; Shane Fitzpatrick, Joe Murphy, Paddy McAnulty; Paddy McAteer, Damien McCrink; Tony Havern, Shane Mulholland, Mattie Shields; Ronan Murtagh, James Patterson, Johnny Barry
Subs ; Robbie White; Patrick Quinn.
Rostrevor team; Christopher McCartan; Gary Magee, Paul Magee, Jarlath Farrell; Turlough Murphy, Eamon McConville, Kevin McGrath; Niall Farrell, Colm Murney; Conor Mackin, Colm Clerkin, John Fegan; Dermot Mackin, Conor Daly, Anthony Donnan
Sub; Richie Reynolds
Referee: Kieran Rice [Warrenpoint]
Man of the match: Gary Magee [Rostrevor]