Ballina’s classic coronation
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.
