Ballinderry Shamrocks

TWO sucker punches in the shape of goals, just before half-time, all but wrapped up this Ulster semi-final for Ballinderry.

After playing against a stiff end-to-end breeze, the Derry champions led by 2-4 to 0-5 at the break and when they hammered home another goal in the 49th minute the crowd began to drift into the St Paul’s clubrooms to watch the Leinster football final.

The first half of the minor semi-final was entertaining until those two late goals arrived.

The teams were level three times with Johnny Hughes in midfield and Colm Doris on the ‘40′ for Clonoe causing Ballinderry endless problems.

Left half-back Terence Mansell made some dashing runs through the middle, as well, but it was the more compact play and better teamwork of Ballinderry that held things together against the elements.

Hughes hit four magnificent long-range points, two with each foot, during the opening half-hour but those goals were the killer blows to the Tyrone champions.

The first was a rather fortunate score. Midfield 16-year-old Ronan McCusker received the ball from Ronan Devlin to the left of the posts and his hooked left-footed effort seemed to be going over the bar when it dipped into the corner of the Clonoe net on 29 minutes.

The second ‘major’ strike arrived four minutes later with James Barton, who has snatched a goal in each round of the championship this season, netting after a cross from Colin Devlin.

With the wind in their tails Ballinderry all but killed off the game in the third quarter as they shot 2-9 to 0-5 in front. Clonoe, with Mansell still making dashing runs forward, pushed up-field but a solid Shamrocks’ defence, in which the full-back line was rock solid, beat everything out.

Clonoe had switched Hughes to full-forward but he was wasted there as he was double-teamed.

Clonoe’s only score of the second half was a point in the 47th minute by Ger Corr just before the third winners’ goal - a real classic. Their ‘keeper Rory McGeehan fielded the ball and in a rapid passing move down the left wing it was handled by four Ballinderry players before the excellent Colin Devlin cut in to fire a daisy-cutter to the Clonoe net.

He added a point to make it 3-10 to 0-6 as Ballinderry now go for the Ulster senior and minor double on New Year’s Day.

Their teamwork, with lithe winger Ray Wilkinson cool as a cucumber, shone out in this victory.