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Another solid win for the seniors
Michael Gallagher15 Oct 2018 - 21:23
Ballina 20-7 Malahide
It says a lot about the ambition of Ballina RFC that there was a slight tinge of disappointment in the air at the end of a match where the senior team defeated Malahide by 13 points to win their third game on the spin at the start of the AIL.
The fact that the men in green didn't secure a four-try bonus point might have been the slightest of disappointments, but that only reinforces the mindset of the club right now - nothing is taken for granted; every moment is precious and the players, management and supporters enjoy every minute of action on the pitch.
This is truly a good time to be following the fortunes of the club who have Heffernan Park as their beloved Field of Dreams.
Saturday's match was special. Two seasons ago, Malahide came to town in the AIL Playoff and won narrowly, but handily, if you get my drift. On Saturday it was different! Ballina played with great drive and desire in awkward climatic conditions and won well. The match illustrated the journey already traveled by Ballina, while also illustrating that there's some distance still to complete.
The home side scored three tries in the opening half and led 20-0 at the break. They would have hoped to cross for a fourth try in the second period, but it never materialised. This is something the coaches will pinpoint in the coming days, I'm sure.
That said, the Ballina defensive play was excellent. The tackle count was massive as they chopped down Malahide men at every opportunity. This disciplined aggression was very notable in the first 40 minutes and led to all three tries.
Excellent out-half Kieran Lindsay was the first man over the whitewash when a Malahide drive was disrupted and a number of hard carries and well-timed passes released the big man and he ran in despite the attentions of three covering tacklers.
The next man over was Richard Rowe who marked his senior debut with a predatory score in the corner after great work from the pack opened the way for the backs to do their thing.
The third try arrived when Darragh Whyte showed impressive invention at the back. He ran back a Malahide kick and when the forwards secured quick ball for Mickey Murphy, he released the speed-merchants.
Calum Quinn took the ball into Malahide territory and when the swarm of Malahide chasers eventually brough him to ground, there on his shoulder was his childhood friend, his neighbour, his captain, Fergal Tully.
Tully, with Darren Holmes on his shoulder, took the ball on the burst and when he raced over under the posts, Heffernan Park erupted. The try was a micrcosm of what makes Ballina RFC special - desire, drive, adventure, skill, hard-work and above all, a team ethos.
Lindsay added a penalty and a conversion and the scoreboard read 20-0 as the second half began.
Thoughts had certainly turned towards a bonus-point win at that stage but Malahide are a fine team and they were determined to fight back and get a foothold in the game. They stormed forward from the restart and looked to pin Ballina back in their own ’22.
Time and time again, they powered forward and time and time again they were knocked back by ferocious Ballina tackling. There were huge collisions around the breakdown as the Malahide men looked to make progress and they were also targeting the Ballina lineout at every opportunity.
The Malahide application was relentless but the Ballina tackling was equally impressive. The guests continued to power forward and were eventually rewarded after 64 minutes when Brendan Guilfoyle powered over.
The gap of 20-7 meant that one converted try would get Malahide a bonus point and two of them would provide victory, so the excitement levels rose with every passing moment.
Malahide went for the jugular, but Ballina and their wonderful supporters held firm.
The closing minutes unleashed some tense moments between the teams and the referee had to flash a few cards but there were no more scores and Ballina secured a solid win to secure 14 points from a possible 15 at the start of the campaign and cement second-place in the league table.
BALLINA: Chris O'Neill, Darragh Whyte, Calum Quinn, Alex Corduff, Richard Rowe, Kieran Lindsay, Mickey Murphy; Conor Mason, John Keaveney, Shane Clarke, Andrew West, Darren Holmes, Tim Wallace, Marc Feeley, Fergal Tully
Replacements; Brian Boland, Billy McVann, Joe Sweeney, Craig McCormick, Bradley Nealon
The fact that the men in green didn't secure a four-try bonus point might have been the slightest of disappointments, but that only reinforces the mindset of the club right now - nothing is taken for granted; every moment is precious and the players, management and supporters enjoy every minute of action on the pitch.
This is truly a good time to be following the fortunes of the club who have Heffernan Park as their beloved Field of Dreams.
Saturday's match was special. Two seasons ago, Malahide came to town in the AIL Playoff and won narrowly, but handily, if you get my drift. On Saturday it was different! Ballina played with great drive and desire in awkward climatic conditions and won well. The match illustrated the journey already traveled by Ballina, while also illustrating that there's some distance still to complete.
The home side scored three tries in the opening half and led 20-0 at the break. They would have hoped to cross for a fourth try in the second period, but it never materialised. This is something the coaches will pinpoint in the coming days, I'm sure.
That said, the Ballina defensive play was excellent. The tackle count was massive as they chopped down Malahide men at every opportunity. This disciplined aggression was very notable in the first 40 minutes and led to all three tries.
Excellent out-half Kieran Lindsay was the first man over the whitewash when a Malahide drive was disrupted and a number of hard carries and well-timed passes released the big man and he ran in despite the attentions of three covering tacklers.
The next man over was Richard Rowe who marked his senior debut with a predatory score in the corner after great work from the pack opened the way for the backs to do their thing.
The third try arrived when Darragh Whyte showed impressive invention at the back. He ran back a Malahide kick and when the forwards secured quick ball for Mickey Murphy, he released the speed-merchants.
Calum Quinn took the ball into Malahide territory and when the swarm of Malahide chasers eventually brough him to ground, there on his shoulder was his childhood friend, his neighbour, his captain, Fergal Tully.
Tully, with Darren Holmes on his shoulder, took the ball on the burst and when he raced over under the posts, Heffernan Park erupted. The try was a micrcosm of what makes Ballina RFC special - desire, drive, adventure, skill, hard-work and above all, a team ethos.
Lindsay added a penalty and a conversion and the scoreboard read 20-0 as the second half began.
Thoughts had certainly turned towards a bonus-point win at that stage but Malahide are a fine team and they were determined to fight back and get a foothold in the game. They stormed forward from the restart and looked to pin Ballina back in their own ’22.
Time and time again, they powered forward and time and time again they were knocked back by ferocious Ballina tackling. There were huge collisions around the breakdown as the Malahide men looked to make progress and they were also targeting the Ballina lineout at every opportunity.
The Malahide application was relentless but the Ballina tackling was equally impressive. The guests continued to power forward and were eventually rewarded after 64 minutes when Brendan Guilfoyle powered over.
The gap of 20-7 meant that one converted try would get Malahide a bonus point and two of them would provide victory, so the excitement levels rose with every passing moment.
Malahide went for the jugular, but Ballina and their wonderful supporters held firm.
The closing minutes unleashed some tense moments between the teams and the referee had to flash a few cards but there were no more scores and Ballina secured a solid win to secure 14 points from a possible 15 at the start of the campaign and cement second-place in the league table.
BALLINA: Chris O'Neill, Darragh Whyte, Calum Quinn, Alex Corduff, Richard Rowe, Kieran Lindsay, Mickey Murphy; Conor Mason, John Keaveney, Shane Clarke, Andrew West, Darren Holmes, Tim Wallace, Marc Feeley, Fergal Tully
Replacements; Brian Boland, Billy McVann, Joe Sweeney, Craig McCormick, Bradley Nealon
Further reading