Ballyhaise claim Intermediate Championship title

Intermediate Football Championship final

Ballyhaise 0-13

Denn 0-7

Paul Fitzpatrick at Kingspan Breffni

Ballyhaise put the heartbreak of losing the last two Intermediate Championship finals behind them as they deservedly got their hands on the Gilroy Cup with this merited win over Denn.

Both sides had been quite free-scoring in the build-up, leading to predictions of a free-wheeling, high-scoring contest but the opposite was the case as defences were on top for most of the game, with Ballyhaise pulling clear in the final quarter when the game opened up.

The first half, and much of the second, was cagey and error-strewn, not that the winners will mind. Both sides, clearly wary of the attacking talent in the opposing line-up, set up quite defensively and with their approaches mirroring each other, it made for an attritional contest.

In the final play of the half, Denn’s wholehearted captain Bernard Gaffney barrelled through on a powerful run but just as he looked to finish, his shot tailed wide. And that summed up the nature of the half in a way – every time the game threatened to come to life, a mistake – a misplaced pass, a wayward shot – occurred.

But it was in the second half that the game was won and Ballyhaise’s class came to the fore, with the pre-match favourites landing some outstanding points, despite losing David Brady to a black card just before half-time and Sean McCormack to a red with five minutes left.

At the interval, Ballyhaise led by two, 0-6 to 0-4, with just two of the 10 points coming from play, both scored by the eventual winners.

Ballyhaise started well, with Michael Brady using his pace to good effect as he raced through and pointed with just 70 seconds on the clock.

Denn levelled on four minutes when Ben Conaty won a free which Cavell Keogan converted. Denn led for the first time when Thomas Edward Donohoe was fouled and did the honours from the resulting free but Ballyhaise soon levelled when Colin McKiernan picked out Padraig Moore for a mark, which the inside forward nailed.

Ballyhaise were beginning to purr; Eoin Clarke found Kevin Tierney for a mark with a clever pass but Tierney’s kick struck the top of the upright and rebounded to safety. A 45-metre free off the ground by Michael Brady nudged Ballyhaise ahead and they doubled that lead when they forced a turnover in defence, David Brady went long and captain Moore won the ball in space, took on a defender and fisted over.

Thomas Edward Donohoe, with an excellent strike, sent over a free from the right corner but Ballyhaise again responded, Michael Brady kicking a good free from the hands after a foul on Evan Crowe.

A Donohoe free, from the edge of the D, made it 0-5 to 0-4 but Ballyhaise had the final say of the half when Crowe dinked a nice pass to Brían O’Rourke, who split the posts for a well-taken mark from just inside the 45.

The tepid nature of proceedings continued on the restart with both sides registering wides before Ben Conaty scored a lovely point, taking on a defender and firing over with the left.

Sean McCormack sent a sublime pass to Moore, who kicked possibly the best score of the game off the left and Ballyhaise began to kick on from there. Damien Keaney’s side would land six more points in succession as they dominated proceedings.

Denn had half a goal chance when a Cavell Keogan shot dropped short but Thomas Edward Donohoe lost his footing after gathering possession. Denn’s next attack saw them drop a shot short and Ballyhaise countered at pace, David Brady shovelling the ball out to Tierney, whose strike was perfect.

At 0-8 to 0-5, the next score was going to be huge and it fell to Ballyhaise. Tierney, for so long the talisman on this team, showed all his class as he latched on to a clever crossfield ball from Colin McKiernan and landed a huge point with his right foot.

Michael Brady made a big fetch on the next kick-out and with his first touch, Martin Conaty clipped over and suddenly there was daylight between the teams.

David Brady knocked over the next to make it 0-11 to 0-5, after which tempers frayed. McCormack was red-carded after a brief melee in front of the stand but time was against Denn and Ballyhaise were in the ascendancy anyway.

All of a sudden, Ballyhaise were kicking for home and Denn couldn’t keep pace. Michael Brady knocked over a free after Tierney was felled and Conaty landed another smart score from the right corner to make it 0-13 to 0-6, just before Cavell Keogan was sent off for a body check off the ball which blindsided Tierney.

Cian McCann scored a good point from play and Thomas Edward Donohoe had the final say with a free but it was cosmetic at that stage as Ballyhaise won easing up to finally end their hoodoo in this particular fixture.

Keaney’s side can now look forward to a crack at the Ulster title while Denn are entitled to look back with satisfaction on an excellent run. Man of the Match went to Ballyhaise full-back Eoin Clarke.

Ballyhaise: Gary O’Rourke, Aaron Watson, Eoin Clarke, Fiachra McGoldrick, Marcus Duffy, Aodhagán Watters, Darren Reilly, Brían O’Rourke (0-1m), Evan Crowe, Colin McKiernan, Michael Brady (0-4, 3f), Jack Maguire, Kevin Tierney (0-2), David Brady (0-1), Padraig Moore (0-3, 1m)

Subs: Sean McCormack for J Maguire (ht), Cormac Callaghan for F McGoldrick (44), Martin Conaty (0-2) for C McKiernan (52), Luke Gilmartin for P Moore (59), Killian Brady for K Tierney

Denn: Mark Fegan, Leon Cobey, Micheál Gaffney, Kian McMahon, James Brady, Caoláin McCabe, Mark McSherry, Bernard Gaffney, Oisin Kiernan, Oran Callaghan, Cavell Keogan (0-1f), Sean Donohoe, Thomas Edward Donohoe (0-4f), Ben Conaty (0-1), Conor O’Reilly

Subs: Oisin O’Reilly for O Callaghan (44), Brandon Keogan for S Donohoe (52), Cian McCann (0-1) for K McMahon (60), Cian Courtney for O Kiernan

Ref: Ollie Donohoe