Fermoy and Ballinora await Cork County Board verdict on disputed draw

There was drama at the end of the Fermoy and Ballinora Premier Intermediate football clash with the scoreboard showing the teams were on parity at 2-15 to 0-21.

A draw was sufficient for Ballinora to book a quarter-final place game against Macroom but there was a major blip in the game that could force a replay to settle this intriguing contest.

The problem stemmed when referee Wayne King made an error at the break when taking a point from Fermoy, when it was showing on the scoreboard that they had accumulated 10 points. The error seemed to stem from the point and two-pointer that Ben Twomey had kicked in quick succession before the break.

Fermoy have since objected to the result so it's over to the county board to decide the next step.

When the game finished, Ballinora thought they had done enough to make the quarter-final at Fermoy's expense as manager Willie Lyons reflected on his team’s performance.

“We can only control what’s in front of us as we knew coming here it would be a real test of our character but it was a true championship game from start to finish,” said Lyons.

Experience

Lyons paid tribute to Fermoy in the manner in which they battled from start to finish.

“Fermoy showed their experience of playing senior football as they had plenty of physical presence all over the pitch and we needed to move the ball quickly to get clear looks on goal,” added Lyons.

In the words of Lyons, his team is young and making gradual progress to compete against the elite clubs in Cork having come up from the IAFC.

“We have a huge panel and used many of them in our league campaign and after winning last year's Intermediate Football Championship, our aim was to be competitive this season and I guess we have succeeded in holding our own.” 

The mood in the Fermoy camp was one of frustration as they believed their team was denied a win.

For club chairman Ciaran O'Keeffe, it was a case of keeping his players and officials calm in this unusual scenario.

It does seem there was an error so we would be hoping after the referee sends in his report that common sense would prevail.

“For us, everybody taking the score at the game had us winning the game by one point and it will be unfortunate if justice is not served,” said O’Keeffe.

The Fermoy chairman believes that outside of the controversy it was a quality game of football.

“It’s a pity really as I thought both sides served up a wonderful exhibition of football and hopefully it will not be the end of the road for us as I think we showed incredible intensity over the hour."