A draw in a game, that could have gone either way
May 04, 2025
Killavullen and Ballinora swerved up a good tough, uncompromising game of hurling, earlier today in Ballymah, the second field of this club, on the outskirts of Cork city. It is the second field in name only as the conditions were superb, in a complex featuring ample parking, two pitches and a walkway all around the grounds. Both teams will fell that the two points could have been gleamed for various reasons, but a draw was the outcome.
Jamie Magner opened the scoring for us, in the first minute, and Colm O Mahony added a second from open play. Killavullen were playing with the wind advantage on this elevated ground, but Ballinora equalised with two free’s in the 5th and 8th minute to draw level. We lost Michael Cagney to a hamstring issue shortly thereafter, and Darragh O Grady was introduced. Ballinora took the lead with the scoring of another free from the sharp shooter , Alan O Shea before Owen Magner raced onto a breaking ball and fired it over the cross bar to draw us level., and we retook the lead with a fine point, quickly executed in a crowded play situation by Darragh. Jamie pushed us further ahead from a converted 65 metre shot, after their goal keeper turned aside a decent goal bound shot from Owen Magner. Ballinora responded with a point from play before Owen pushed out lead back out to two points, in the 20th minute.
Both centre backs, Liam Cronin for us, and Conor Quirke for Ballinora were very influential in the game and Ballinora scored next to leave only a point between the teams. We had several chances in and around their goals, when Colm Looney and Colm O Mahony fetched good possessions from the air, but got crowded out in the act of shooting. Jamie scored from open play, but Ballinora got that point back from a free, and we thought that Colm Looney deserved a free and a penalty when he was fouled and had to resort to kick the ball goalwards when his hurley was held. That kicked effort deflected out for a 65 Metre shot, which Jamie converted. Ballinora got the last point in the opening half from play, to leave the score at the interval 0-08 to 0-07 in our favour but that was surely not effort with the breeze to favour our hosts in the second period. We had seven wides in that opening half.
Ballinora drew level shortly after the restart, but then lost a player to straight red card that was spotted by the referee. Jamie put us level again from a free but Ballinora equalized from a free of their own, and took the lead in a vert tight game, from another free after 15 minutes, of dogged but determined play from both sides, this was from a situation when our puck out went askew, and a fould was conceded needlessly. Ballinora went further ahead with a nopther point, but we got a live line when Darragh O Grady scored in the 52nd minute. Scores were hard earned and scarce in this half. Baallinor got another point before Darragh scored his third point of an impressive game for him, in the 55th minute. Jamie added another free to draw us level, and Owen Magner capped another fine game for himself with a point, before Eoin Birchill though he had sealed the win for us, in the 60th minute of the game. Still Ballin ora fought back and got a point to reduce t he arrears to 1 point in the 32nd minute, before Brian Cotter scored a long range point for us, in the 34th minute of the half. Ballinora forced a free when time was almost up, but in the next play, Killavullen sent a long range free over the sideline to eat up some time, but were not set up for the quick side cut that Ballinora took, and from that play, they forced the equalizer on the 8th minute of additional time.
Game over on the restart, and the teams shared the spoils on 0-15 each.
The team and those who scored were;
Charlie Cremin
Brian Cotter (0-01)
Ronan Barry
Fionn Magner
Eddie Cotter
Liam Cronin
Eoghan Buckley
Patrick O Grady
Eoin Birchill (0-01)
Michael Cagney
Jamie Magner (0-6, 0-03F, 0-02 x 65M)
Mikey O Conner
Colm Looney
Colm O Mahony (0-01)
Owen Magner (0-03)
Substitutes utilized were;
Darragh O Grady (0-03) for Michael Cagney (injured)
Padraig Looney for Colm Looney