Ballinagh take title in style

A gusty Knockbride side were overpowered by an excellent Ballinagh outfit in a hard-fought Roinn C Under 12 final last Sunday evening. Ballinagh lead by seven points, 0-9 to 0-2, at half-time and although Knockbride rallied well, they always looked like holding on. The winners were 0-4 to 0-1 ahead after just ten minutes following points from Barry Connolly, Sean Keating and impressive midfielder Colin McCabe, with Cian Carolan slotting over Knockbride"s sole response. A brilliant save by Knockbride goalkeeper Philip Rogers denied Keating, who had an outstanding match, a gaol in the 12th minute but Ballinagh continued to pile forward and scores from Keating and Darren Lynch (two) made it 7-1, before Barry Connolly and Lynch again extended the lead to eight, 0-9 to 0-1, approaching the interval. To their credit, Knockbride continued to battle hard and showed that they are certainly a team to watch out for with some spirited attacking football. A point from David Rogers just before the break narrowed the gap to seven and a lovely score by centre-forward Roy Donohoe just two minutes into the second half made it 0-9 to 0-3. However, Ballinagh soon re-asserted themselves and a well-struck free by Keating, followed by a superb Cormac Timoney goal, saw them pull ten clear with 20 minutes remaining. Knockbride needed a goal to drag themselves back into contention and it arrived in the 33rd minute when David Rogers did well to set up Patrick Rogers for a cracking goal. Donohoe drove over an excellent point with his left foot to cut the gap to seven and Patrick Rogers and the towering Colin McCabe traded points to leave seven it with five minutes to play. Like true champions, Ballinagh took control at this point. With goalkeeper Cillian Finnegan having a fantastic match, they held off the best efforts of a game Knockbride side, who played some super attacking football, and turned in a strong finish. Cormac Timoney latched on to a rebound after a great save by Knockbride"s Philip Rogers to tuck away his side"s second goal and a point by McCabe made it 2-13 to 1-5. Knockbride replied with a sweet goal from Roy Donohoe following a move involving Niall McCabe, Patrick Rogers and David Rogers, but Ballinagh ahd the final say with a superb goal by Sean Keating to wrap up the result. Ballinagh: Cillian Finnegan, Dylan Daly, Patrick Gaffney, Sean Kellegher, Damien Reilly, Ronan Garvey, Colin McCabe, Martin Gaffney, Darren Lynch, Sean Keating, Barry Connolly, Patrick Gaffney, Cormac Tomoney Knockbride: Philip Rogers, JJ Traynor, Cian Sherwin, Declan Nulty, Jordan McCabe, Liam Meehan, Stephen Maguire, Cian Carolan, Conor B Smith, Roy Donohoe, Patrick Rogers, Dylan Clarke, David Rogers