May 26th 2018 Mayo Senior League (Mayo News)
Ballintubber 1-9 Garrymore 3-12
A subpar second half performance on a balmy summers evening saw our seniors were well beaten by a sharper and more clinical Garrymore outfit yesterday. The home side performed quite capably without Mayo panellists Shane Nally and Caolan Crowe as the Abbeysiders lined out without Cillian and Diarmuid O’Connor . Their absence deprived the visitors of a badly needed attacking fulcrum as our attack could only muster two points from play in the second half as Garrymore cruised to a comfortable victory.
Our lad got off to an ideal start when we landed a sucker punch in only the second minute when Ray Geraghty slid the ball past Brian Lynskey after Alan Plunkett intercepted his kickout before passing to Padraic O’Connor who provided the assist. Playing into a stiff breeze, the home side found the net five minute later when former Mayo minor Cathal gathered up a ball and nearly burst the net after the ‘Tubber defence failed to clear properly. Indeed, our rearguard was given quite the run-around all evening by the likes of Paul Deeley, Trevor Lydon, and Slattery, who assisted Brendan Cunningham for their second goal in the nineteenth minute. A clinical execution after a flowing attacking move, Cunningham’s goal ultimately made up the deficit at half-time.
Much like the playing surface in the balmy summer heat, our firepower dried up substantially in the second half as many shots fell short in the face of the notable breeze. Following a Damien Coleman point the home side were able to rattle off four unanswered scores. The result was put beyond doubt when substitute Bradley Hughes palmed home his side’s third goal after centre-back Trevor Nally drove through the Tubber defence before hand-passing laterally for Hughes to finish.
Having lost corner-forward Stephen O’Malley to a red card for dissent, there was simply no way back at this stage for the Abbeysiders. Spirits never wavered though, as we continued to tackle hard while Michael Plunkett and Jason Gibbons battled manfully in the engine room. The home side gave as good as they got though, as Ronan Gurren began brandishing yellows with increasing frequency before black-carding Garrymore’s substitute Darren Quinn for what he deemed to be a foot trip.
Brian Murphy eventually pointed towards the end but it proved futile as the home side were well ahead at this point. Indeed they might have raised yet another green flag towards the end when substitute Ian Commins blazed his shot over the bar before Ronan Gurren blew his whistle (no doubt eager to get home to watch the Liverpool match!)
Ballintubber team: (1)Brendan Walsh (2)Gary Loftus (3)Brian Murphy (0-1) (4)Declan Larkin (5)Ciaran Gavin (0-1) (6)Damien Coleman (0-1) (7)Myles Kelly (8)Michael Plunkett (9)Jason Gibbons (10)Padraic O’Connor (0-1) (11)Alan Dillon (0-1) (12)Alan Plunkett (0-1) (13)Noel Geraghty (14)Ray Geraghty (1-0) (15)Stephen O’Malley (0-3, 3f)
Substitutions used: John Kerrigan for Padraic O’Connor, Hugh Geraghty for Noel Geraghty