Ballyconnell NS 3-5

Hacketstown NS 3-3

 

The two schools have a long, shared history in the competition. In 2014, Hacketstown NS won their first title in many years by beating Ballyconnell in the final. The following year, the two teams met again and this time it was Ballyconnell who came out on top to win a first title since 2005.

As for the class of 2022, Ballyconnell had beaten Hacketstown last month by three points in the blitz stage of the competition. A close contest was in prospect and so it proved!

Warming Up

At a packed and sunny Fenagh Centre of Excellence, Ballyconnell started the better, dominating possession and territory. Midfielder Dara Townsend opened the scoring with a nice point from play before Ethan Hutton made it 2 points to no score from a free. Moments later, Jack O’Connor, making his Cumann na mBunscol debut, smashed into the Hacketstown net to put Ballyconnell 1-2 to no score up after just seven minutes of play. Many in the crowd might have thought at that point that this would be a stress-free evening for the boys in red and black. The following five minutes, however, would show that Hacketstown were not planning on throwing in the towel.

Firstly, they got off the mark with a fine point from their midfielder and then their number 9 snuck through for a goal which gave Ballyconnell NS goalkeeper Luke Hilliard no chance. Before too long, the same player had a second goal and suddenly, Ballyconnell were behind!

They refused to push the panic button however and continued to play nice possession football with Kian Hutton, Luke O’Connor and half-back pairing, Liam Kennedy and captain Luke Denton, showing great composure in possession. It was that composure which allowed Jack O’Connor to drill in his second goal of the match and give the lead back to Ballyconnell. Before too long though, the Hacketstown number 9 had his hat-trick and quickly added another point to ensure that Hacketstown lead at the break by two points - 3-2 to 2-3. Ballyconnell’s second point came from the trusty boot of Ethan Hutton from a free.

The 2^nd Half – Battling Back!

In their previous meeting before Easter, Hacketstown had led by 3 points at half-time and Ballyconnell had come back to win by three so they would not have been too worried. There were two changes made at the break – Elliot McCarthy came on at half-forward and Conor Butler moved out to the half-back line with Liam Kennedy moving into the full-back line.

These changes worked a treat as, amazingly, Hacketstown only scored 1 point in the second half.

The key score in the second-half was a goal 10 minutes in by Dara Townsend – the midfielder finishing calmly when one-on-one with the goalkeeper. His midfield partner Luke O’Connor added a point from play while Ethan Hutton hit over his third point of the evening to give Ballyconnell a narrow two-point lead as the clock ticked down.

Hacketstown went in search of the goal they needed to snatch victory. Ballyconnell, though, defended heroically with Darren O’Toole a colossus in the full-back line. The forwards also worked hard to make life difficult for Hacketstown with Elliot McCarthy tracking back 40 metres at one stage to make a vital interception.

A short time later, the final whistle sounded and Ballyconnell were Cumann na mBunscol Champions for 2022! Captain Luke Denton raised the Tom Morris Trophy aloft to huge applause from all the large Ballyconnell support.

Míle buíochas to all of the supporters who provided such vocal and positive support from the sidelines. It was noticeable how many of the girls’ team showed up early to offer their support – it just goes to show the school spirit we have here in Ballyconnell!

Ballyconnell NS: Luke Hilliard, Conor Butler, Darren O’Toole, Liam Kennedy, Luke Denton (c), Dara Townsend (1-1), Luke O’Connor (0-1), Kian Hutton, Jamie Coleman-Murray (Elliot McCarthy), Jack O’Connor (2-0) (Jack Farrell), Ethan Hutton (0-3).

Teegan O’Callaghan, Cathal Nolan, Seán Byrne, Barry Quinn, Cathal O’Leary, Oisín Townsend, Ryan Abbey, Aaron Hiney-Doyle, Aaron Nolan, Rory Donohoe.

Championnes!

 

The Presentation

Buachaillí Rang a Sé