Ballinora stun Kilmurry to reach Intermediate A FC final
Ballinora's Neil Lordan bursts away from Kilmurry's Denis O'Mullane during the McCarthy Insurance Group Intermediate A FC semi final at Ovens. Picture: Eddie O'Hare
Ballinora are heading for the Intermediate A Football Championship final – and no, that scoreline isn’t a misprint. Four points clear at the finish, they stunned neighbours Kilmurry in Ovens on Sunday evening after a ferocious, breathless Muskerry derby.
The celebrations told their own story. Players and management alike leapt in disbelief, Ivan Quirke dropping to his knees on the pitch, trying to take it all in.
Disbelief or exhaustion? Probably both. Because this was one of those days when football asks everything and gives back even more.
Ballinora went in as underdogs, free of pressure, and played like it. They met Kilmurry stride for stride, hit harder, kicked cleaner, and by the end, nobody could deny they were the better side.
The first half was football at full tilt. Both teams shot the lights out, Kilmurry taking a 1-10 to 1-9 lead to the break and marginally worse off on the wide count, three to one. Only two of the opening half’s scores came from placed balls – it was as open and expressive as the game allows.
When Denis O’Mullane clipped over under pressure in the 41st minute, it was the first score since the interval. But that two-point cushion didn’t last. A Kevin Werner free and a Neil Lordan two-pointer swung momentum Ballinora’s way by the 44th minute – their first lead since the sixth.
Ruadhán Ó Currain’s free and a neatly-worked Liam Wall effort restored Kilmurry’s edge, but six minutes later Ballinora hit the front again. They would not be led after that.
A quick break – Mark O’Brien to James Byrne to Shane Kingston – opened the space, and Kingston’s laser of a pass sent Michael Quirke racing clear. Quirke’s shot looked to be sailing over until it began to dip and drop, sneaking under the bar and over Jason McDonnell’s head, 2-12 to 1-13.
Kilmurry clawed it back to a single point as normal time expired, but Ballinora’s finish was fearless. Ivan Quirke clipped one over and wheeled away with a finger in the air; O’Brien fisted over seconds later.
Laurence Asling teed up Max O’Leary for a Kilmurry reply, but O’Brien answered again. Then, in the 64th minute, Darragh Holmes won the next kick-out, sent Michael Quirke charging through, and the latter sealed it with a white flag.
It was a conclusion that seemed to shock Ballinora more than anyone, but they earned every inch of it. Their aerial strength on kick-outs was relentless, their work-rate collective, their spread remarkable – ten different scorers in all.
The teams had been tightly matched until the start of the second quarter.
James O’Mullane tried to pick out Liam Wall, Neil Lordan surged in to intercept, but lost control. Wall recovered the ball and though his shot was saved, Ó Currain was there to knock home the rebound. The second of Denis O’Mullane’s three two-pointers in the first half left Kilmurry 1-6 to 0-3 ahead after 16 minutes.
But you cannot fault the Cork senior. Lordan was immense at the back. His response to conceding the goal was to kick 0-3 himself and make a string of vital interceptions, including a brilliant block on Ó Currain to deny a second goal in the 57th minute.
Six behind, Ballinora closed out the half in style, kicking five of the next six points, Lordan and Kingston with the pick of those scores. Kilmurry had got the margin back to five before Ballinora broke through for their first goal.
Neil Lordan with the initial ball, Quirke’s clever pass, and O’Brien’s crisp finish. When Werner converted Ballinora’s first free in the 29th minute to take their tally to 1-9, he became their first repeat scorer. They were flying, and they wouldn’t go away.
They proved it again and again – and when the final whistle came, the roar was one of release, of belief confirmed.
Ballinora are into the county final against Ilen Rovers. Nobody can say they don’t belong there.
M Quirke, M O’Brien 1-2 each, K Werner (2 f), N Lordan (1 tpf) 0-3 each, I Quirke 0-2, R Quirke (f), S Kingston, L Lyons, D Holmes, J Byrne 0-1 each.
D O’Mullane 0-7 (3 tp), R Ó Currain 1-5 (0-3 f), L Wall, John O’Mullane, L Asling, M O’Leary 0-1 each.
A McAllen; A Laverty, N Lordan, C O’Flynn; J Byrne, S Kingston, D Dineen; J Lordan (c), D Holmes; M Quirke, I Quirke, M O’Brien; L Lyons, R Quirke, K Werner.
T Burns for Lyons (39), J Keohane for Werner (55), I Wycherley for J Lordan (59 inj), A O’Sullivan for R Quirke (60+2).
J McDonnell; B Hinchion, W Ronan (c), E Keane; A Asling, K Kelleher, T Collins; John O’Mullane, James O’Mullane; R Duggan, L Asling, L Wall; S O’Leary, R Ó Currain, D O’Mullane.
M O’Leary for John O’Mullane (HT inj), J McGinn for Wall (49), Wall for Duggan (58).
J Bermingham (Bride Rovers)
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