Ballymore fall at the first hurdle as Offaly men power through to JFC semi-final after extra-time
Ballymore Eustace 0-13
Erin Rovers(Offaly) 1-16
Leinster JFC quarter-final
Pullough was the venue on Saturday afternoon as Ballymore Eustace got their first Leinster Championship campaign since the memorable 2010 Leinster Intermediate Championship winning campaign underway when they visited the home of Offaly junior champions Erin Rovers.
In what was a pulsating encounter from start to finish in which there was absolutely nothing to choose between the sides for the first 60 minutes as the teams finished level at half-time and then once again at full-time, leading to a couple of additional extra 10-minute periods to decide a winner. From there it was the Faithful men who proved to have the greater amount of fuel in reserve as they powered clear in the first half of extra-time before hanging on to secure victory following the turnaround.
The sides were level on numerous occasions throughout the 80 minute showdown, but the two extra-time periods belonged to the home side as they outscored Ballymore Eustace by 1-4 to 0-1.
It was the Pullough-based club who settled into the game with consummate ease in the opening exchanges, racing into a 0-4 to no score lead after nine minutes thanks to points from Gio Russon, Nathan Poland and two from Ryan Delaney as they took early control.
Ballymore Eustace battled back into the game superbly, despite playing against a strong wind, and an exceptional eight minute period saw them power into the lead as they struck five points in quick succession. Eoin Kavanagh opened their account before Callum McClintock, Niall Murphy and Shane Barrett all raised white flags, and from that point until the final whistle it remained decidedly even.
Declan Cooney knocked over a couple of points and Russo also added a second to his tally to nudge Erin Rovers back into the lead, but Kavanagh struck again on the stroke of half-time to leave the scores at 0-7 apiece at the break.
Rovers immediately hit the front with a score from Poland, but midfielder Caolan Halpin levelled matters again straight after. Another couple of points from Delaney - one of which an exceptional long range effort - pushed the Offaly club into a two-point lead, but Halpin, McClintock and Kavanagh all responded with points to swing momentum back in Ballymore's favour.
Declan Kelly tied things up with his solitary point of the game, though Gerry Fennell's 58th minute point looked to have won it for Ballymore. It wasn't to be however, as Cooney stepped up to nudge over a late score from close range to send the game to extra-time.
With the wind at their backs it was Erin Rovers who seized the initiative and scored the only three points of the first additional period, with Russo, Delaney and Poland all splitting the posts, leaving the Kildare champions with an uphill battle in the second half.
Tom Spain's 74th minute goal put the final nail in the coffin, and Ballymore never truly recovered as they lost Eoin Kavanagh to a late red card and their single point in the 20 minutes of extra-time came from a Murphy free.