Ahane avoid relegation issue with victory over Ballybrown

Ahane 2-23 Ballybrown 2-11

Though Ballybrown started well, with a seventh-minute goal from Niall Doolin, they struggled for the remainder of the contest and they must have known that the game was up when they trailed 1-14 to 1-4 at the interval.

The architects of the Ahane scoring spree were centre forward, John Meskall with a string of points and Podge Ryan who chipped in with a 23rd minute goal.

Ahane really had the contest settled 20 seconds into the second half, when Sean O’Connor set up John Meskall for goal number two.

While Alan O’Connor and Doolin rattled over three points for Ballybrown, they were really facing into an uphill battle and Ahane taking inspiration from Niall and Ollie Moran and Donal O’Sullivan clicked into gear again leaving it to Meskall, Sean O’Connor and Fergal Ahern to make doubly sure with an avalanche of points.

Alan O’Connor had Ballybrown’s second goal a few minutes from the end and they are now left to fight out a relegation to the intermediate grade.

Scorers: Ahane; J. Meskall 1-8, P. Ryan 1-1, N. Moran 0-5, F. Ahern, S. O’Connor, O. Moran 0-2 each, D. O’Sullivan, C. Riely, K. Berkery 0-1 each. Ballybrown: A. O’Connor 1-7, N.Doolin 1-2, I. Burke, B. Hartigan 0-1 each.

AHANE: F. McCarthy, D. O’Sullivan, C. Smith, D. Fitzgerald, A. Smith, O. Moran, C. Riely, J. Meskall, N. Moran, F. Ahern, D. Laing, P. Ryan, K. Berkery, S. O’Connor, P. O’Connor.

BALLYBROWN: D. Lyons, J. Kennedy, J. O’Connor, M. Byrnes, R. Kenny, P. Hartigan, D. Kenny, B. Hartigan, R. Burke, E. Loftus, I. Burke, A. O’Connor, K. Loftus, P. Mulqueen, N. Doolin.

Referee: H. Ryan (Askeaton).