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You are > Home > Walsh hits winner as Ballina let lead slip
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Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Walsh hits winner as Ballina let lead slip
By Anthony Hennigan
SWINFORD 1-10
BALLINA STEPHENITES 0-12
THREE unanswered points – a pair of Stephen Walsh frees either side of Conor Campbell’s ‘45’ – in the final three minutes earned hosts Swinford the narrowest of wins to keep alive their hopes of group qualification.
Defeated Ballina Stephenites must now overcome Castlebar Mitchels in their second and final Section B outing to have any chance of advancing to the U-21 quarter-finals.
Tuesday evening’s fixture had looked like turning out very different when Ballina scored five of the first six scores of the second half.
Corner-forward Daniel O’Hara was also denied a goal during this Ballina-dominated third quarter by Swinford ‘keeper Robbie Hunter’s superb save.
The Green and Red kicked the ope ning three points of the second half t o lead by four until Swinford attacke r Jack McDonnell pounced for a 41st minute major, but Ballina recovered from that set-back to still lead by three with just 12 minutes to play. It wasn’t to be enough, however.
The first half was very evenly contested. Ballina hit the front three times and Swinford two, and four times the teams were level before the visitors carried a slender 0-5 to 0-4 advantage to the dressing-room.
Ballina’s Evan Regan opened and close the first half ’s scoring with two classy points from play in between which Stephen Walsh and Conor Campbell, both frees, Kevin McShea and Jack McDonnell tallied a point each for Swinford and midfielder Alex Corduff, Niall Doherty and Diarmaid Farrell, from a free, a point each for Ballina.
Tellingly, the locals, despite playing with a slight breeze, trailed having kicked four wides to Ballina’s none.
By and large, both sets of defenders had been on top, with Mayo minor Conor Horan impressing at full-back for Swinford and Peter Rouse in the same position for Ballina. Rouse would later be troubled by the height of Swinford full-forward Barry Brennan as Swinford began to play Route 1 style, but not before Ballina seemed to have taken a firm grip of proceedings.
A point each by Daniel O’Hara, Alex Corduff and Evan Regan, a free, had helped the Stephenites into a 0-8 to 0-4 lead within five minutes of the restart and although Jack McDonnell made the most of a break off Brennan to pull first time to the Ballina net, the North Mayo men retaliated with a further two points by O’Hara and the impressive Corduff to face into the home straight 0-10 to 1-4 ahead and unfortunate not to have a five-man move end in O’Hara also finishing to the Swinford net.
When Jack McDonnell followed up a converted Conor Campbell free by rewarding Cian Forkan’s fine buildup play with a superb catch and kick point, Swinford’s arrears were now just the minimum and they even drew level for a brief period thanks to another Campbell free. However, when a pair of Evan Regan frees moved Ballina 0-12 to 1-7 in front by the 53rd minute and Swinford’s Barry Brennan had honest appeals for a penalty waved away by referee Jerome Henry, the tide looked to have turned against the Black and Red once more.
Walsh and Campbell had other ideas though, and held their nerve when it mattered most. The former was adjudged to be fouled by David Durcan, Ballina’s excellent corner-back, and slotted over the resultant match-winning free.
SCORERS – Swinford: Jack McDonnell 1-2, Conor Campbell 0-4 (3f,1 ’45), Stephen Walsh 0-3f, Kevin McShea 0-1. Ballina: Evan Regan 0-5 (3f), Alex Corduff 0-3, Daniel O’Hara 0-2, Diarmaid Farrell (f) and Niall Doherty 0-1 each.
SWINFORD: Robbie Hunter; Paul McNicholas, Conor Horan, Kevin Barry; Jason Carney, Cian Forkan, Shane Philbin; Conor Campbell, Daniel McNicholas; John Carney, Kevin McShea, Stephen Walsh; Jack McDonell, Barry Brennan, Colin Dempsey.
BALLINA: Shane Strogen; David Durcan, Peter Rouse, Ciaran Twomey; Pat Crowe, Cian Mullarkey, Blaise Devaney; Alex Corduff, Sean McGarry; David Brunker, Austin O’Toole, Diarmaid Farrell; Daniel O’Hara, Niall Doherty, Evan Regan. Subs: Francis Conroy (for 42), David Twomey (for Mullarkey 51).
Referee: Jerome Henry (Castlebar).
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