Holders Ballinora beat Grenagh by 12 points to ensure Mid Cork Junior A semi-final spot

Ballinora 2-17 Grenagh 0-11 

Ballinora deservedly came away with the victory over Grenagh in this Muskerry Junior A Hurling Championship contest at Ovens.

Although Ballinora this year are going for five in a row Muskerry JAHC titles, they came into this clash dramatically on the verge of group stage elimination.

It is safe to say that Ballinora unquestionably kept up their side of the bargain to ensure their progression.

Proceedings got off to a perfect start from a Ballinora perspective. They started like a steam train, leaving their opposition from Grenagh stunned, with James Keohane blasting the ball to the net in the opening minute.

Less than five minutes were played when Ballinora found the back of the net for a second occasion. This time there was a touch of fortune. A long ball in from Shane Kingston was fumbled to the net by Grenagh goalkeeper James Walsh.

Grenagh then got off the mark with points by Dan Twomey. However, it was Ballinora who kept in a commanding position and charged forward in early momentum.

Scorers by Liam Lyons and Alan O’Shea saw Ballinora lead 2-5 to 0-3 after 20 minutes of play.

Twomey responded with another accurate Grenagh effort. But points at the opposite end from Lyons saw Ballinora hold the advantage at the half-time break at 2-7 to 0-5.

Upon the resumption in the early stages of the second half, Ballinora extended their lead even further courtesy of composed points by O’Shea.

Twomey added to his scoring tally as Grenagh did their best to muster a comeback, with Shane Morley and Sean Joyce also getting in on the scoring act.

But Ballinora did not falter, as points from Tommy Burns and O’Shea saw Ballinora lead 2-13 to 0-9 after 48 minutes.

Although Grenagh got another point from the ever-reliable Twomey, Ballinora always did enough to keep themselves in firm control and ensure they were on the pathway to victory.

Ballinora charged home with the finishing line in sight and they capped off a solid and slick performance with a lovely score from Ben Mayer.

Scorers for Ballinora: A O’Shea 0-6 (0-5 f), J Keohane 1-2, L Lyons 0-5, S Kingston 1-0, T Burns, B Mayer 0-2 each.

Grenagh: D Twomey 0-6 (0-4 f, 0-1 65), S Morley 0-2, K Cummins (f), D Kenny, S Joyce 0-1 each.

BALLINORA: B Crowley; T Forde, N Lordan, J Byrne; M O’Brien, S Kingston, C O’Flynn; T Burns, L Lyons; D Holmes, D Dineen, D Corkery; A O’Shea, J Keohane, S Lyons.

Subs: B Mayer for Dineen (37), K Murphy for Lyons (49), I Quirke for Burns (53), C Quirke for Corkery (58), M Quirke for Keohane (60).

GRENAGH: J Walsh; K O’Neill, P Barry Murphy, A Kiely; J O’Keeffe, K Cummins, D Warren; J Twomey, T Twomey; D Kenny, S Joyce, M White; R Coleman, S Morley, D Twomey.

Subs: C Cronin for White (HT), P Ahern for O’Keeffe (47), B Walsh for Joyce (51), D Coleman for Kenny (55), N Coleman for Cronin (58).

Referee: David Copps (Ballyhea).