Ballina’s classic coronation

HILL 16 was blessed for future generations on Monday, but yesterday’s titanic All-Ireland club football final between Ballina and Portlaoise should go a long way in converting the heathen to the creed of Gaelic football.

A sweeping epic that saw momentum swing back and forth, this game had everything, including a novel twist in the tail: an All-Ireland win for Mayo.

One passage in the 38th minute summed up the game: when Eanna Casey of Ballina elbowed the ball goalwards, Eoin Bland of Portlaoise rescued his 'keeper with a goal-line clearance; the Laois side then streamed forward, and with the kind of two-man overlap Eddie O'Sullivan would kill for, a goal at the opposite end looked likely. Cue a heroic interception by Ballina's Michael Wynne, and normal end-to-end service was resumed. Wynne was marking Portlaoise captain Colm Parkinson, and the pair's contrasting hairstyles one full metal jacket, the other full heavy metal were mirrored in the different approaches of both teams.

Ballina were regimented and deliberate in their approach play; often they were so deliberate they dawdled, crabbing the ball back and forth. Portlaoise, though often pinned back in the first half, were far more direct, pouring forward in support of the man in possession and swarming with equal effect in defence.

As a tactic it worked well for the Midlanders. When Kevin Fitzpatrick planted a penalty it rocked the Mayo side, whose laboured build-up in the middle third of the field was in marked contrast to the energy of Colm Parkinson. When he skied a kick in the 28th minute, the Portlaoise captain followed his wayward shot and scrapped for a 45. Maybe the fact that Ian Fitzgerald was so long taking that same 45 that the referee threw the ball up shows that dawdling is contagious.

Half-time gave the Mayo men time to regroup. Medals were produced and tears were shed, all in the name of inspiration, but coach Tommy Lyons was pragmatic about what was needed.

"It can be a fault of ours, passing the ball across the field. We started off fine and direct, but then we got into the bad old habits. At half-time we told them to leave the ball into the lads inside, that they'd win it, and they did just that. It's difficult for me to say what kind of game it was, but it was some game for the ticker!"

Lyons needn't have worried. His side came out on the right side of a classic. Adopting a far more direct style, they battled back from another fine goal by Fitzpatrick thanks to David Brady, who drove the side on from midfield and Patrick Harte, who carried the ball deep into Portlaoise territory time and again. They had back-up from the combative Wynne, who never gave up in defence, and captain Brian Ruane, who never gave up turning defence into attack. The official man of the match, Liam Brady, probably edged his colleagues out on account of his match-winning free, a steepler from the 45 yard line when extra time looked inevitable.

Even then Portlaoise might have worked a draw, but Ballina then gave a master-class in closing a game out. If their victory owed much to their relatively old-school kicking game after the break, deep in injury time they held the ball at halfway with a dazzling exhibition of hand-passing.

Even for hurling purists, the opener at Croke Park yesterday wasn't a patch on the football game. For a relatively open game, the final smouldered and never sizzled.

Athenry started brightly, and James Stephens seemed slow to settle for a Kilkenny team in Croke Park. Athenry relied on the metronomic free-taking of Eugene Cloonan, who gave his blessing to the refurbished Hill by dropping a few sliotars on top of it. For James Stephens, Eoin Larkin justified the whispers that he'll figure for Brian Cody this season. Athenry's inside forwards tended to drift outfield in the first half and leave open prairie inside, and the lesson wasn't lost on the Kilkenny side. When the team changed over, they kept their inside line near goal, and much of the shooting was done within 30 yards of the target; little wonder that the Kilkenny men leaped into a four-point lead.

The triumvirate of inter-county players, past and present Brian McEvoy, Peter Barry and Philly Larkin also came into their own in the second half. McEvoy excelled at one of the hardest arts, reading the break of a skittering ball in midfield and distributing well. Larkin clogged the centre expertly, halting Athenry time and again, while Barry was far too brisk for Joe Rabbitte on the wing.

Little wonder that Athenry manager Billy Caulfield singled the trio out afterwards. "They never left anything loose around for our forwards, they cut out a lot of our attacks."

Athenry laboured for scores while James Stephens kept taking the right option. Even when they had a penalty, the ever-reliable Eoin Larkin took the point, a choice endorsed by his colleagues tacking on two points from play within minutes. Further back the field, the Kilkenny men were showing the full range of defensive skills, at one stage pulling off two block-downs and a dispossessing flick within 60 seconds. Athenry's last goal chance was a flicked Cloonan pass to Donal Moran, but Francis Cantwell stepped out to the edge of the square and intercepted.

A stark contrast with his cavalier equivalent in the football game, John Healy of Ballina. Though beaten twice, Healy had the confidence to sweep up a loose ball 30 yards from his line with time almost up, look around and play a calm outlet pass to set his team in motion again. Then again, it was just that kind of game. A classic.