Ballymore Eustace survive early surge from Grangenolvin to claim vital JFC victory

Tom Cross JFC round 3 Group B

Ballymore Eustace came into this game as overwhelming favourites to get the better of Grangenolvin, but a spirited and energetic first half display from the losing side made this game a real contest for most of the way through. Last year's relegated IFC side were expected to swat aside the challenge of Grange, but a fine start by the south Kildare club mixed with some dreadful shooting throughout by Ballymore meant that the margin of victory was substantially lower than many expected.

Any notion that Grange would be outplayed by their more illustrious counterparts was put to bed in the early stages as the struck 1-1 within three minutes, though both of those scores came either side of Ballymore hitting the onion bag for the first time.

The game was less than 60 seconds old when Lorcan Kelly floated over the opening point with a superb effort from the left wing, but Ballymore responded with a goal through Eoghan Kavanagh after he was played in by William O'Donoghue. It wasn't long before Grange netted however, as Tom Nolan was fouled in the large square and Oran Bergin converted with aplomb.

Keith Conway responded with a free, but Ballymore hit a succession of wides after that during a period in which Keith Leigh and Bergin both chipped over scores at the other end and Nathan Doyle slotted home a fine goal after a meandering run. Shane Kavanagh eventually ended the spell of wayward shooting by his side as he pointed from close range, but strikes from the impressive pair of Bergin and Nolan had Grangenolvin 2-5 to 1-2 ahead.

Ballymore soon kicked into gear however, and a stunning point from the right wing from Mark Slevin boosted their confidence, before O'Donoghue strode up from full-back to raise a white flag with a 40-metre effort. Kavanagh then plundered his second goal as he once again got through the Grange defence a bit too easily, and a tidy score from Mark McCarville drew the sides level at 2-5 apiece.

Grange entered the break with a one-point advantage however, as fine scores from Doyle and Kelly arrived either side of Eoghan Kavanagh's first point of the evening.

Ballymore Eustace opted to make two changes in defence for the second half, bringing in Joe Broderick and Caolan Halpin in a bid to sure things up, and it certainly had the desired effect as they kept their opponents scoreless for the first 13 minutes of the new half. That period was ultimately the winning of the game as they reeled off five points in succession to take a commanding lead, with Michael Stewart Byrne, Slevin, Kavanagh, McCarville and Gerry Fennell all splitting the posts.

Grange were struggling to create up front, and their solitary score in the third quarter came from a neatly worked free as Bergin converted. That score only squeezed the gap into three points, but Ballymore were relatively comfortable by that stage as their opponents began searching for goals a bit too early and a lack of composure infected their game.

But for a fine save by Grange 'keeper Damien Donovan on a close range effort from Fennell, the gap could have been wider, but scores from Conway, McCarville and Slevin had them five clear with eight minutes left to play. The scoring rate dropped off after that, with Kavanagh's score in the 60th minute the final occasion in which an umpire had to raise a white flag as Ballymore eased home to a five-point win.

Scorers for Ballymore Eustace: E Kavanagh 2-2, M Slevin 0-3, M McCarville and K Conway(2f) 0-2 each, G Fennell, M Stewart Byrne, S Kavanagh and W O'Donoghue 0-1 each.

Scorers for Grangenolvin: O Bergin 1-3(1-0pen, 2f), N Doyle 1-1, L Kelly and K Leigh(1f) 0-2 each, T Nolan 0-1.

Ballymore Eustace

P Maloney; T Murphy(J Broderick HT), W O'Donoghue, J Meehan; T O'Roure(C Halpin HT), K Conway, M Stewart Byrne; T Grace(M Barrett 40mins), S Kavanagh; C McClintock, E Kavanagh, G Fennell; R O'Malley, M McCarville(S Byrne 53mins), M Slevin.

Grangenolvin

D Donovan; C O'Neill, G Kelly, D Lambe; C McMahon, T Nolan(R Dooley 52ins), K Casey; J Lambe, K Leigh; D Dooley, N Doyle, J Cullen; L Kelly, D Leigh, O Bergin.