Ballinasloe break new ground with All-Ireland glory

Ballinasloe 0-14Kenmare Shamrocks 0-10

CIARAN TIERNEY AT CROKE PARK

A sustained period of domination in which Ballinasloe hit nine unanswered points either side of half-time laid the foundations for a victory over Kenmare Shamrocks which was far more comfortable than the final scoreline suggested in the All-Ireland Junior Football Final at Croke Park on Sunday.

It was a dream outing for the Galway champions, who got their tactics right from the start. They largely kept the shackles on the Kerry club’s danger man, Paul O’Connor, while showing they were a far better balanced side with no less than eight players getting on the scoreboard in what was a fantastic day in the history of the St Grellan’s club.

It could be argued that the biggest headache Ballinasloe faced all day came when they realised someone had left the jerseys at home just 90 minutes before the game. That resulted in a mad dash across the city to secure a set from Dublin’s Na Fianna club. Ballinasloe’s own jerseys eventually arrived just before the end of the match.

By that stage, Sean Riddell’s side had wrapped up the issue with a powerful display. Full back Declan Nevin and corner back James Shaughnessy worked hard to contain the threat posed by O’Connor, who had been the Kerry champions’ star player in the three match semi-final saga against Castleknock of Dublin.

Surprisingly, the Kenmare management opted to deploy the spare man D.J. Brennan – their club’s only other genuine scoring threat – as a sweeper in front of their full-back line and it soon emerged that Ballinasloe had far more attacking options than their Munster rivals.

Backed by a vocal travelling support, the Ballinasloe men never let the occasion or the venue, or even the missing jerseys, get to them as they played a sparkling brand of direct football to keep the crown won by Clonbur last year in Co. Galway.

This was a fantastic all-round team performance, epitomised by the performances of towering midfielder Liam Lynch, corner forwards Darragh McCormack and Paul Whelehan, centre forward Padraic Cunningham and captain Keith Kelly at centre back, each of whom was a strong contender for the Man of the Match award.

It must have thrilled Riddell and his selectors to see how comfortably the Ballinasloe men got into the swing of things, making light of an opening five minute period in which Kenmare enjoyed the lion’s share of possession without troubling the scoreboard operator.

For more, read this week's Connacht Tribune.