Ulster Club Senior Football Championship Quarter-Final

Kilcoo 0-13 Ballybay 0-7

 

 

Ballybay fell at the first hurdle in the Ulster Club SFC when they lost by six points to Down champions Kilcoo in Clones on Sunday. Ballybay needed everything to go their way, particularly in the absence of the honeymooning Paul Finlay (whose absence was keenly felt), but an injury to Fergal McArdle at the end of the first half and a red card for Drew Wylie in the final quarter added to their woes.

In truth, Kilcoo, who have recent experience of this competition from 2009, were the sharper team and were deserving winners. They had impressive performances from Jerome Johnston, Darragh O’Hanlon, Niall Branagan and Niall McEvoy and a good spread of scorers which meant that the lack of scores from their full-forward line didn’t cost them. Ballybay failed to reproduce the form that saw them win the Monaghan championship, despite the best efforts of the likes of Shane McGuinness and Ryan and Drew Wylie.

Kilcoo started brightly with a brace of well-taken points from play by Jerome Johnston, but Ballybay gradually grew into the game, with Shane McGuinness getting them off the mark and Hugh Malone bringing them level. Ballybay had opportunities to take the lead, including a couple of half-chances of a goal, but even though Thomas Kerr converted a free for a foul on Christopher McGuinness, that proved to be the only time that they would be in front.

Two points from Paul Devlin (one from a free) put Kilcoo on the front foot once again, before Johnston landed his third point of the half from a difficult angle. A point from a 30-metre free by Darragh O’Hanlon, following a foul on Devlin, sent the ‘Magpies’ in at half-time with a double-scores advantage: 0-6 to 0-3.

Donal Kane opened up a four-point gap when he kicked the opening score of the second half, but a burst out of defence by Drew Wylie started a Ballybay counter-attack which ended with a high ball from Brent Wylie breaking for Shane McGuinness to kick his second point. O’Hanlon and Kerr swapped points from frees, after fouls on Conor Laverty and Shane McGuinness respectively, before Brian McCabe got on the end of a pass from substitute Cillian McAviney to bring Ballybay to within two points. O’Hanlon replied with a fine long-range point from play, however, before Ryan Johnston marked his introduction by kicking a point with his first touch.

Jerome Johnston added another well-taken score, before Paul Greenan added his name to the scoresheet. Ballybay’s fading hopes of a revival were all but ended with eight minutes remaining when Drew Wylie was shown a straight red card and Kilcoo exploited the growing gaps in the Monaghan side’s defence when a flowing move involving Laverty and Paul Devlin released Niall Branagan to slot over. Ballybay saw a couple of efforts deflected wide from a quickly-taken free by sub Paul Stuart and a ’45 from Kerr, before Stuart picked up a break from another Kerr ’45 to send over their only score of the last 20 minutes. That brought the game to a conclusion, as Kilcoo set up a semi-final meeting with St. Gall’s, while Ballybay can still look back on a year that brought them their first Monaghan SFC title since 1987.

 

 

Kilcoo: S Kane; S O’Hanlon, N Branagan (0-1), D Branagan; Gerard McEvoy, A Branagan, D O’Hanlon (0-3, 2f); P Greenan (0-1), N McEvoy; J Johnston (0-4), P Devlin (0-2, 1f), D Kane (0-1); C Laverty, Gary McEvoy (Capt.), A Devlin.

Subs: R Johnston (0-1) for A Devlin (42 mins), A McEvoy for J Johnston, J McClean for Gary McEvoy (both 57), S Devlin for D Kane (59).

 

Ballybay: S Gorman; E Rutledge, D Wylie, R Wylie; F Smyth, B Wylie, B McCabe (0-1); S McQuillan, T O’Neill; T Kerr (0-2f), S McGuinness (0-2), F McArdle; H Malone (0-1), C McGuinness, C Malone.

Subs: C McAviney for F McArdle (inj., H-T), D Ward for C Malone (39), P Stuart (0-1) for McCabe (56).

 

Referee: B Cassidy (Derry).