Ballymac overcome Clonmel Óg to secure Munster junior final showdown with Buttevant

ONTO THE FINAL: Dan O'Shea in action for BallyMacelligott. Pic: Domnick Walsh © Eye Focus LTD.

Munster Club JFC semi-final: Ballymacelligott (Kerry) 4-12 Clonmel Óg (Tipperary) 2-9

VENTURING beyond your own county bounds for the first time can be daunting and Ballymac’s authority in Saturday’s Munster Club JFC semi final was only undermined by their own inexperience at provincial level.

They had too much about them for a game Clonmel Óg side, but their profligacy – especially in the first half – kept their hosts fully engaged and believing a semi-final upset might be on the cards.

Ultimately, Clonmel ran out of gas, and a pair of Donal Daly goals after the break gave Ballymac the breathing space they needed to see this one out and progress to a tasty Munster final against Buttevant in a fortnight.

For the Kerry side, one to be filed under ‘Made Heavy Weather of It’.

By way of example: they left three clear goal chances after them in the first period and a pair of two pointers from Clonmel Óg’s Niall O’Connor and Darragh McVicker had the Tipp men within four at the break, 1-7 to 0-6.

With only Jack Joy’s roofer to show for their dominance in terms of goal-scoring chances, it was a frustrated Ballymac who headed for the interval dressing room. They even looked in temporary bother when caught unawares by a McVicker goal from a quick free three minutes after the break. Suddenly a one-point game.

However Ballymac’s response to peril was immediate and impressive – Donal Daly was fouled for a penalty which Jack Joy dispatched, and three minutes later a sweeping move featuring Aidan Breen, Dan O’Shea and Tadhg Brick finished with Daly pinging Ballymac’s third goal. When Darragh Broderick added a tap over free in the 40th minute, it was an eight-point gap, 3-8 to 1-6.

Daly summed up Ballymac’s efforts – impressive ball-winning ability and 2-2 from play, but too many wasted moments from the young full-forward. Nevertheless, he’s a handful.

Clonmel Óg weren’t done yet. A mix up in the Ballymac defence that keeper Christy Leen should have dealt with ended up with a penalty for the Tipp side after a Ballymac player handled the ball on the ground. Leen made up for the mix-up, however, with a smart save to his left from Luke Hannigan’s penalty.

Ballymac are easy on the eye when they move it quickly. Mairtin McKivergan was impressive in both halves, and teed up Daly for the fourth Ballymac goal in the 53rd minute. Aidan Breen was calm and assured in his decision-making, while Niall Collins also buzzed into the game as it opened up.

Defensively there is still work to do and though Eoin Creedon and Cathal Dunne impressed, they won’t be happy conceding a second goal to Clonmel sub Mikey Jones in the 59th minute. However with this one out of the way, Ballymac should be a sharper more clinical proposition in the decider against the Cork winners.

Scorers for Ballymac: D Daly (2-2), J Joy (2-1, 1-0 pen), N Collins (0-3), A Breen (0-2, frees), M McKivergan (0-2), D Broderick (0-2, frees).

Scorers for Clonmel Óg: D McVicker (1-5, 1-4 frees), M Jones (1-0), N O’Connor (0-3), C O’Sullivan (0-1).

BALLYMACELLIGOTT: C Leen; E Creeedon, D O’Shea, E Moriarty; C Dunne, T Brick, D Galvin; A Breen, D Broderick; A Sheehy, M McKivergan, J Joy, N Collins, D Daly, D Regan.

Subs: C O’Connell for Regan S Rice for Galvin, B Cassidy for Dunne (all 55), A Rodgers for Sheehy, M Herlihy for Broderick (both 57).

CLONMEL ÓG: K Grant; B Landers, A Tobin-Purcell, R Lonergan; D Kelleher, S O’Connor, L Hannigan; G Quinn, C Arrigan; N O’Connor, A Arrigan, C O’Sullivan; D McVicker, C O’Gorman, J Yousif.

Subs: J Dillon for Hannigan (bs 4-12) and for Tobin-Purcell (23), J O’Donnell for O’Gorman (39), M Jones for Yousif (49), M Norris for Quinn (57).

Referee: C Murphy (Cork).