False start for Ardclough as brilliant Kelly performance helps Ballyraggett hammer Kildare champs
Ardclough 1-8
St Patrick's Ballyraggett 0-24
Leinster IHC quarter-final
Ardclough’s Leinster campaign came to a rather abrupt end on Saturday afternoon as they failed to capitalise on a dream start and were eventually on the end of a comprehensive 13-point hammering at the hands of St Patrick’s Ballyraggett in St Conleth’s Park.
They raced into a six-point lead early on, but they managed just one point from play after the fifth minute, meaning they were never likely to hang on to a lead against a team possessing players of the class of Kilkenny county man Kevin Kelly, who would eventually finish the game with 11 points to his name.
This game was always going to present somewhat of an odd scenario for Ardclough as they came into a contest that everyone around the country seemed to be talking about, though none of the coverage related to the Kildare champions. The much publicised celebrations of the Ballyraggett boys meant that there was certainly a greater spotlight on this game than there normally would be for a club Intermedate Hurling Championship tie, but for those outside the confines of Lilywhite boundaries Ardclough were very much an unknown quantity.
The Kilkenny following in St Conleth’s Park was sizeable, but they hardly had a reason to cheer in the opening 10 minutes as Ardclough cut into their opponents from the very first whistle. Colum Buggy and Robbie Spain both levelled opposition players with borderline shoulders, and it took Ballyraggett some time to get accustomed to their unfamiliar surroundings.
Buggy picked up where he left off in the county final by nailing the game’s opening score with less than 40 seconds on the clock with a fine effort from midfield, and that was followed up by a well struck free from the hurl of Martin Fitzgerald. Buggy then stroked over another beauty from the left wing, before Ardclough got the game’s first major break as Martin Fitzgerald bundled home the opening goal in the seventh minute. It came after a huge sideline cut from Paudie Ryan broke to Paul Fitzgerald, and he laid it off to his younger brother who shortened the grip on his hurl to dispatch a close range shot to the back of the net.
That seemed to wake the visitors up as Ardclough slipped off the pace altogether for the remainder of the half, as the service to their inside line dried up and they managed just one further score from play over the next 22 minutes. Kevin Kelly eventually got the Kilkenny Intermediate champions off the mark in the eighth minute when he nudged over a simple free, and though Fitzgerald responded with his second pointed free, Kelly raised another white flag from a placed ball to cut the gap to five points.
Brian Brook Phelan then stroked over their first from play, and further points from Kelly and Michael Brennan drew Ballyraggett to within just two points of the hosts. They were lucky to remain with a full compliment of players after Barry Staunton appeared to swipe his hurl at Robbie Spain after the latter hit him with a late shoulder – both men were shown yellow cards by referee Thomas Gleeson.
Paudie Ryan finally got another point on the board for Ardclough when he picked up a loose ball and boomed a shot over from long range, but it was only a temporary lifting of the siege as Ballyraggett continued to dominate until the break. Kelly lofted over another couple of frees before Phelan drew them level a minute before the break, and though there was some doubt as to whether Michael Brennan’s shot on the stroke of half-time crept inside the upright, the umpires raised the white flag which meant that Ballyraggett hit the front for the first time and went into the interval with a 0-9 to 1-5 advantage.
With momentum strongly rowing against them, Ardclough would have welcomed the half-time break to gather themselves, but it proved to make little difference to the way this game was going as Ballyraggett’s dominance continued upon the restart.
They twice came close to finding the net in the opening two minutes of the second half as Michael Brennan was denied a goal by Aidan Buggle, though they were awarded a penalty in the ensuing ruck for the ball as Eoghan Walsh fouled Ballraggett’s Eoin Bergin. Kevin Kelly stepped up to take the penalty but drive it off the bottom of the left post, more or less keeping Ardclough in the game at that early point.
He somewhat atoned for his miss immediately after when he landed a fabulous point from long range, and another accurate effort from wing-back Bill Staunton pulled the away side three points clear. Kelly smacked over another couple of points to increase his side’s lead, and another exceptional long range effort from Brennan pushed them six points ahead and pretty much out of sight with just under 20 minutes to go. Martin Fitzgerald finally ended a 20-minute barren spell for Ardclough by slotting over a free, but that was emphatically cancelled out with immediate effect by a monstrous left wing effort from Ballyragget full-back Geoff Morrissey.
Fitzgerald’s free-taking seemed to be Ardclough’s only route towards scoring in the second half, and he raised a further couple of white flags for a dying cause either side of points from Kelly and Brennan, though the game was well over as the final 10 minutes arrived, with Ardclough leading by 0-18 to 1-8.
The game teetered out in rather predictable fashion as Ballyraggett took the foot off the gas and tagged on a few late points through Joe and Michael Brennan, Kelly, substitute Sean Mooney and a couple of excellent efforts from Seoirse Kenny.
Scorers for Ardclough: M Fitzgerald 1-5(5f), C Buggy 0-2, P Ryan 0-1.
Scorers for St Patrick's Ballyraggett: K Kelly 0-11(9f), M Brennan 0-5, S Kenny and B Phelan 0-2 each, S Mooney B Staunton, J Brennan and G Morrissey 0-1 each.
Ardclough
Aidan Buggle; Eoghan Walsh, David Collins, Robbie Spain; Liam Hanley, Richie Hoban, Ronan Maguire; Paudie Ryan, Niall Delahunt(M Lynam 41mins); Tony Spain(Tadgh McCarthy 59mins), Enda Duane(Mikey Ryan 59mins), Colum Buggy; Sean Buggy(Matt Stapleton HT), Martin Fitzgerald, Paul Fitzgerald.
St Patrick's Ballyraggett
Michael Gannon; John Mooney, Geoff Morrissey, Mark Staunton; Geoff Brennan, Stephen Staunton, Bill Staunton(Paddy McEvoy 58mins); James Gannon(Robbie Healy 41mins), Paddy Brennan(Oisin Brennan 57mins); Seoirse Kenny, Kevin Kelly, Barry Staunton(Eoin Bergin 22mins); Michael Brennan, Brian Phelan(Sean Mooney 50mins), Joe Brennan.