Ballinderry Shamrocks

Ballinderry’s ability to take their goal chances proved decisive as they prevailed in the last ever match to be played under the auspices of the South Derry board to claim the Larkin Cup. 

Having played second fiddle for the opening 38 minutes of this game the Shamrocks looked set to finish their season on a downbeat note as they trailed by 0-7 to 0-4 at that stage. However, with James Conway and Martin Harney taking charge in the middle of the field Ballinderry dominated the final 20 minutes of the match, scoring an unanswered 3-6 over the closing stages thanks to goals from Conleith Gilligan, Raymond Wilkinson and Michael McIver. 

Had the Loup taken either of two goal chances that fell their way in the opening period then the result might have been different. Unfortunately for the St Patrick’s men Paul Young dragged his low drive wide of the far post in the 18^th minute when a handpass would have allowed Paul McVey to palm the ball to the empty net. Then in the 25^th minute, McVey’s shot clipped the top of the bar for point when a goal had seemed the more likely outcome after Young had broken the ball down to him. 

Anyone who arrived at the Loup expecting to see a half-paced end of season clash will have been pleasantly surprised with the level of commitment display by both sides. As befits a loughshore derby there was a niggly edge to this game throughout and on a number of occasions it threatened to boil over making sure that referee Adrian McGilligan had a busier afternoon than he might have envisaged. 

It was the home team who started the brighter with Shane McFlynn setting up Johnny McBride for the opening score. The Loup continued to edge the opening exchanges and doubled their lead when Shane McFlynn converted a free after Niall McCusker hauled back Paul Young. 

James Conway’s ball into the square was deflected wide for a 45’ in Ballinderry’s first attack but on seven minutes Loup extended their advantage to three when McFlynn converted his second free of the day after Kevin McGuckin was adjudged to have fouled Paul McVey. Then came the first of a number of altercations that punctuated the game before Ballinderry clawed their way back into contention. 

Collie Devlin got the Shamrocks off the mark on 13 minutes with a free after Martin Harney was fouled after claiming an incisive ball from Gilligan. On 16 minutes Ballinderry struck again with Raymond Wilkinson pointing on the turn and by 20 minutes the score was level with Gilligan pointing a free after Paul McFlynn’s foul on Kevin McGuckin. 

However during the closing stages of the opening period Loup regained the initiative. Firstly McFlynn kicked his third free after Ryan Scott was penalised for lifting the ball off the deck. Then McVey’s goal effort clipped the top of the bar when he should probably have found the net and with two minutes to go to the break Joe O’Kane raided forward to drive over a superb score to give Loup a 0-6 to 0-3 interval lead. 

Ballinderry pulled an early point back when Collie Devlin pointed a free after he himself had been fouled in the 32^nd minute. Loup then regained their three-point lead on 36 minutes when McFlynn again pointed a free after Paul Young was fouled. At this stage the game seemed set to continue as a nip and tuck affair but that would prove the last time that Damien Barton’s side troubled the scorers.
The Ballinderry onslaught began when Gilligan claimed their first goal on 39 minutes by flicking the ball to the net after Fabian Muldoon’s attempted ball in was tipped by a Loup defender wrong-footing his goalkeeper to level matters at 1-4 to 0-7. 

Ballinderry then edged in front when Gilligan followed up with a free after he had been fouled and Wilkinson quickly kicked his second score to make it 1-6 to 0-7 after 45 minutes. Two minutes later came Ballinderry’s killer second goal came gift-wrapped by the Loup defence on 47 minutes as John Young coughed up possession and allowed Wilkinson the simplest of finishes.
Ballinderry were totally in the ascendancy at this stage and with their half-backs starting to bomb forward, Gilligan converted a free after a foul on Kevin McGuckin. Then a quick free from Harney set Michael McIver free down the right wing and he cut in on to his left foot before pointing. McGuckin followed suit from the other wing-back berth when he kicked a 50^th minute point but McIver was not to be out done. Two minutes later this season’s Derry under 21 skipper was found by Darren Conway and after playing a one-two with Gilligan he blasted home from close range to make it 3-9 to 0-7. 

In the closing minutes Ballinderry gave their substitutes a run out and Stephen Scullion availed of the opportunity to kick the final score of the game as the Shamrocks won the last ever game to played under the auspices of a district board in county Derry. 

Ballinderry: Mickey Conlan; Declan Bell, Niall McCusker, Ryan Scott; Michael McIver (1-1), Ronan McGuckin, Kevin McGuckin (0-1); James Conway, Kevin (Moss) McGuckin; Darren Conway, Fabian Muldoon, Martin Harney; Colin Devlin (0-2, frees), Conleith Gilligan (1-3, three frees), Raymond Wilkinson (1-2).
Subs: Stephen Scullion for Moss McGuckin, Jarlath Bell for Ryan Scott; Gerard Cassidy for Collie Devlin; Ronan Devlin (0-1) for Muldoon, Aidan Heron for Darren Conway. 

Loup: Ronan Devlin: John Young; Joe O’Kane (0-1), Eamon McGuckin; Dominic McVey, Paul McFlynn, Fintan Devlin; Johnny McBride (0-1), Padraig O’Kane; Chris Denvir, Shane McFlynn (0-4, frees), Sean Michael O’Neill; Aidan McAlynn, Paul Young, Paul McVey (0-1).
Sub: John Bigmore for Sean Michael O’Neill. 

Referee: Adrian McGilligan (Drumsurn). 

Star Man 

Michael McIver (Ballinderry) – Not only did McIver carry out his defensive duties with aplomb but he also counterattacked effectively and chipped in with 1-1 in the second half to kill of the Loup challenge 

Duel of the game  

Niall McCusker v Paul Young 

McCusker and Young enjoyed a titanic struggle at the edge of the Ballinderry square. The Loup full-forward shaded the early exchanges but the Shamrocks skipper battled back in the second half and this particular contest probably finished with honours even.
Key moment 

Conleith Gilligan grabbed the first goal of the game to bring Ballinderry back into contention but it was Raymond Wilkinson’s three-pointer on 47 minutes that really killed off the Loup challenge 

Source: Derry Post - Chris McCann - sport@derrypost.com