Brilliant Ballinhassig target Munster run after conquering Cork

Ballinhassig 2-22

Ballincollig 1-19

NOEL HORGAN REPORTS

THE momentum changed hands regularly, but Ballinhassig made the decisive push when the crunch came in the county premier intermediate hurling championship final clash with Ballincollig at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday.

Leading by a point, 0-17 to 0-16, midway through the second half, they stung Ballincollig with a Ger Collins goal from a penalty, won by Michael Collins, in the 47th minute.

It had the twin effect of sending Ballinhassig’s confidence soaring and causing Ballincollig's to dip in equal measure, with the result the South East men soon put the game beyond the reach of the Muskerry side.

Fed by substitute Sean Lombard, Conor Desmond bagged a second goal for Ballinhassig, giving them a 2-21 to 0-17 cushion with five minutes of regulation time remaining before Evan Cullinane quickly stretched the gap to 11 points.

It was the biggest margin to separate the teams at any time in a contest that looked destined to go down to the wire for so long, and it was always going to be enough to get Ballinhassig over the line.

The result enabled Ballinhassig to bridge a 13-year gap, and manager John O’Sullivan was obviously delighted they regained the crown they last held in 2012.

‘This has been a long time coming, all the more so since we’ve regularly been ranked as one of the favourites for a county title in the interim. Thankfully, it went right for us this year. While we were hoping to do well at the start of the campaign, we were fully aware this is a very competitive championship that could go any way,’ he said.

O’Sullivan, who shared in county junior and county intermediate success with Ballinhassig as a player in 2002 and 2005 respectively, was keen to understate his involvement in their latest triumph, insisting it’s all about the players who have now created their own bit of history for the club.

‘We're moving up a grade next year, it’s going to be tougher, and more will be expected from the lads, but I’m satisfied we won’t be out of our depth, even if some of our guys are on the wrong side of 30 now. The rest of them are very young, so we’ll see how we go in the Munster club championship and reassess where we're at at the end of the year,’ he concluded.

After falling three points behind early on, Ballinhassig didn’t hit the front for the first time until goalkeeper Patrick Collins converted a long-range free to make it 0-7 to 0-6 in the 19th minute.

They went three points up after that, but Ballincollig rallied to draw level, 0-10 to 0-10, before Ger Collins had the last word for Ballinhassig in the first half from a free.

Ballinhassig's Ger Collins lifts the cup.

Evan Cullinane made his presence felt, winning a free, which Collins pointed, and landing a brace of scores himself as Ballinhassig made the running after the interval.

With 38 minutes gone, they led by 0-16 to 0-12, but Ballincollig, with Brian Keating to the fore at centre-forward, again regained the initiative to get back on terms at the three-quarter mark.

After Sean Lombard posted an excellent point to restore the lead to Ballinhassig, Ger Collins fired home the penalty that served to tilt the issue irrevocably in their favour. As well as his impressive marksmanship from placed balls, Collins did well in general play at full-forward to earn a merited man-of-the-match rating.

Others to make especially generous contributions to Ballinhassig’s triumph were Patrick O’Leary and Kevin Maguire at the back, Michael Collins in attack, not to mention Conor Desmond and Evan Cullinane.

Springing Cullinane from the bench certainly yielded rich dividends, as did the management’s decision to move Desmond on to Ballincollig’s Stephen Wills towards the end of the first half.

After switching wings in the half-back line, Desmond reduced the threat carried by Wills earlier, and, in shooting 1-2 from play, he certainly emerged as one of the winners’ leading lights over the hour.

Scorers

Ballinhassig: G Collins 1-11 (1-0 penalty, 8f, 1 65); C Desmond 1-2; E Cullinane 0-3; F O’Leary, D O’Sullivan, M Collins, P Collins (f), S McCarthy, S Lombard 0-1 each.

Ballincollig: S Wills 1-10 (1-7f); B Keating 0-5; S O’Neill 0-3; T Morgan 0-1.

Ballinhassig: P Collins; C Kirby, K Maguire, P O’Leary; J O’Callaghan, D O’Sullivan, C Desmond; C Grainger, E Lombard; J Grainger, S McCarthy, S O’Neill; F O’Leary, G Collins, M Collins.

Subs: J Lyne for Kirby (inj, 20), E Cullinane for O’Callaghan (ht), D O’Donovan for J Grainger (ht), S Lombard for O’Leary (38), A O’Sullivan for O’Neill (44).

Ballincollig: J Linehan; B Dore, F Denny, J Murray; B Coleman, D O’Sullivan, D O’Leary; T O’Connell, T Morgan; D O’Mahony, B Keating, S Wills; A Wills, C O’Driscoll, S O’Neill.

Subs: C Moore for Coleman (38), M Oldham for Morgan (42), C Dorgan for A Wills (49), P Morris for O’Connell (56), C Dalton for Dwyer (56).

Referee: Patrick O’Mahony (Kilbrittain).