BALLYGLASS CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD TWICE
Soccer News 11 September 1996
WELCOME INN HOTEL MAYO LEAGUE PREMIERSHIP
Urlaur now know exactly what they must do
Ballyglass .............................. 2
Urlaur United ......................... 2
Tom Kelly reports
The intrigue may be far from finished yet.
But a clearer picture is beginning to emerge following a classic confrontation on Saturday between Ballyglass and Urlaur United which demonstrated all that was good and positive about Mayo League Premiership football.
To put it in nutshell, Urlaur now know exactly what they must do to win the title for the third time in their history.
The crown will be their's if they win their remaining three matches against Castlebar United (home), Achill Rovers (away) and Manulla (home). Nine points out of nine would give the East Mayo side an impressive tally of 44 points, two points more than Ballyglass can achieve by winning their last two games at home to Conn Rangers and Achill Rovers.
In that respect, the outcome of Saturday's exhilarating top- of-the-table showdown was more beneficial from an Urlaur point of view. But Ballyglass will certainly not be prepared to give up the fight, particularly after displaying such character and courage by coming from behind twice to deny Urlaur a crucial victory.
In a match which swung majestically from end to end, Urlaur displayed the greater conviction and attacking zeal in the opening stages. But they suffered a major setback when Gerry Rush, their in-form centre forward, was forced to cry off after a quarter of an hour with a pulled hamstring.
Paul Jordan, who had been making significant inroads down the right flank, was switched into the centre as United swiftly re-organised themselves. They then experienced the bonus of a goal from an unlikely source moments later. Ballyglass centre-half Colm Burke suffered the indignity of heading the ball into his own net following a probing cross from the left by the rampant Chris Jordan.
Up to that point, Ballyglass were giving away possession too frequently for comfort, and they could have gone further behind but for a save of the highest quality by goalkeeper, Declan Prendergast, from a superb Paul Jordan strike.
Full-back Mark Diskin helped to spark off a Ballyglass revival with an audacious 35 yards drive which crashed off the Urlaur crossbar. Justin Keady also went agonisingly close with a brilliantly struck free-kick from almost 25 yards which shaved a post.
But the home side's best opportunity of an equaliser came just before half-time when Ray Prendergast produced a neat delivery into the Urlaur penalty area, but Kevin Connolly misdirected his headed effort.
MOST EFFECTIVE
Connolly, Ballyglass's most effective player, made amends early in the second half when he struck his eight goal of the campaign. He outmanoeuvred Urlaur goalkeeper Frank O'Boyle in the air to head the ball cleanly into the net.Now the chances began to flow, and there were goal-line clearances at both ends with Tim Moriarty and Paul Jordan missing opportunities for Urlaur and Martin Vahey and Ray Prendergast being denied for Ballyglass.
Then, in the 69th minute, Paul Jordan ripped the Ballyglass defence apart with a penetrating pass to his brother, Chris. Ballyglass goalkeeper Declan Prendergast was left with no chance as Chris Jordan slammed the ball clinically into the net.
Urlaur were in commanding form now, and Tim Moriarty should have sealed the issue for them three minutes later when he was set up by Chris Jordan's precision pass. Ballyglass, to their credit, refused to die.
Joe Reapy had an effort cleared off the line by Paul Byrne in the 75th minute as their title hopes appeared to be fading fast. But Kevin Connolly proved he was a big man for the big occasion by rescuing them with a second equalising goal ten minutes from the end. He expertly controlled Justin Keady's long delivery before pounding the ball past Frank O'Boyle in the Urlaur goal.
Suddenly, Ballyglass were back in business. But Urlaur could not complain about their evening's work, either. In fact, both teams deserve the highest plaudits for serving up such a high quality game which was a tremendous advertisement for Mayo League football.
Ballina referee Jimmy Cawley, and his linesmen, Liam Ralph and Martin Roughneen, also played their part in a truly terrific game in which there were no bookings and less than a handful of offside decisions. It's what football should be all about.
Ballyglass: D. Prendergast, M. Diskin, K. Staunton, C. Burke, J. Keady, P. Connolly, M. Vahey, J. Reapy, R. Prendergast, K. Connolly, V. Keane. Res: J. Noonan (for P. Connolly); S. Trench (for Keane). Urlaur: F. O'Boyle, M. Horan, J.S. Duffy, M. Harrison, J. Duffy, P. Jordan, P. Byrne, C. Jordan, T. Moriarty, J. Hunt, G. Rush. Res: J. Costello (for Rush inj.); R. Hunt (for J. Hunt).
Ref: J. Cawley (Ballyglass).
* Star Rating: Paul Jordan. . .vintage display by arguably the league's
outstanding player.
Connaught Telegraph - News - September 1996
Connaught Telegraph - Sport - September 1996
