Ferns were pushed all the way
Byrne-Dunbar and Kirwan score heavily for their sides
THERE WAS no shortage of lively fare in Monamolin on Sunday as Group A of the Pettitt’s Senior hurling championship drew to a close, even though both sides were well aware in advance of the more significant challenges to follow.
Oulart-The Ballagh knew that a do-or-die clash with Rapparees awaited them regardless of the outcome, whereas Ferns St. Aidan’s had already avoided any potential relegation worries ahead of a game that they didn’t wrap up until Ryan Nolan struck their third goal in the 55th minute.
The 2022 champions did have an outside chance of going directly into the quarter-finals, but that would have required a loss for Naomh Éanna as well as the victory they fashioned here themselves.
And with the Gorey men clearly in no mood to slip up from an early stage, the focus shifted to taking third spot as Ferns brought their final points tally to seven.
The possibility existed beforehand that all three front-runners might have shared that total by the end, although that would have also required a loss for St. Anne’s and a draw from Naomh Éanna.
And even in such a scenario, Ferns would have been third in the ‘mini league’, while a two-way tie with the Rathangan men wouldn’t have gone their way either on the head-to-head rule.
A typical poacher’s hat-trick from the wily Nicky Kirwan kept Oulart-The Ballagh firmly in the hunt until the closing minutes, and it was a commendable effort on the whole from the losers considering their ever-growing injury list.
The progress of some of their brighter prospects to Senior ranks has no doubt been fast-tracked by the absence of the likes of Shaun Murphy, Eoin Moore, Jack Roche and the latest casualty, Billy Dunne.
Players like Lee Doyle, Séamus Ormonde and Conor Blake will be all the better for the experience they have gained in recent weeks, while Simon Roche was always going to be an automatic choice at this level and has the potential to build on his very promising under-age career with Wexford.
As for Ferns St. Aidan’s, the movement of Corey Byrne-Dunbar was a joy to watch as he matched Kirwan’s 3-3 haul with an equally impressive 2-6.
Manager Pat Bennett – who has linked up again with Davy Fitzgerald for an adventure in Antrim next year – seems to have given his talented attacker the freedom to roam and drift as he sees fit, and this ploy yielded a profitable return on Sunday.
Chris Turner had opened the scoring for Ferns before Nicky Kirwan netted for the first time in the third minute, lashing home from close range after successive handpasses by Ian Storey and Conor O’Leary created the opening.
Simon Roche added a fine point from long distance, but the gap of three that it created didn’t last long as a generally even first quarter ended with sides deadlocked (1-4 to 0-7).
Roche, Conor Blake and Darryl Gray added to Oulart-The Ballagh’s tally, while Ian Byrne contributed three points, including one from play, for Ferns before his enforced departure in the 16th minute – replaced by Benny Jordan whose son, Michael, was a Rackard League medal winner for the red and blacks earlier in the year.
The lively Corey Byrne-Dunbar had also caught a James Lawlor puck-out and opened his account, shortly after Darragh Hayes denied him a goal with a smart save that ended in a follow-up second point for Chris Turner.
The teams were still level when Byrne-Dunbar stood over a 20-metre free in the 18th minute and fired it low to the net, and Ferns extended their lead to a game-high four points at one stage before a late brace of Nicky Kirwan frees left Oulart-The Ballagh trailing at the break by 1-9 to 1-7.
The new half was only 14 seconds old when Byrne-Dunbar struck again, this time from play after a solid tackle by Ryan Nolan saw the sliotar spill loose when a defender was first to the ball.
For a team struggling for consistency, Oulart-The Ballagh’s response was excellent as they hit 1-2 without reply to draw level once more by the 40th minute.
First up, though, another Byrne-Dunbar goal was disallowed for a foul by Nolan in the build-up.
Nicky Kirwan (’65) and Conor O’Leary nailed points before a menacing run by Byrne-Dunbar near the right endline was foiled by a fine tackle from Lee Doyle.
Kirwan availed of a Martin Óg Storey handpass to rattle the net again, after Simon Roche pounced initially on an error and fed Darryl Gray whose shot was saved.
Ferns hadn’t scored in ten minutes before Jordan steadied the ship and restored their lead with a point, but Oulart-The Ballagh were undeterred as they netted for a third time with a move seldom seen in the modern game.
It was all about effective ground hurling as Conor Blake pulled inside to Niall Redmond, and he in turn first-timed it across the square for a stretching Kirwan to bundle home for his hat-trick (3-9 to 2-10).
Adam McRedmond added a point, and Ferns needed to dig deep to fight back.
However, a massive five-minute spell yielded 1-4 on the bounce and that ultimately made all the difference, with Gavin Bailey, Corey Byrne-Dunbar, substitute Jonny Dwyer and Byrne-Dunbar (free) picking off points before their third goal arrived.
Paul Morris caught a James Tonks delivery and handpassed to Ryan Nolan, with the corner-forward rattling the net in his last involvement to establish a 3-16 to 3-12 lead.
A spirited Oulart-The Ballagh made it a two-point game as one last burst yielded scores from Anthony Roche and Conor Blake (free), but Ferns made sure of a hard-earned success that should stand to them against Oylegate-Glenbrien in the preliminary quarter-final thanks to the last three points from Byrne-Dunbar (free), Rory Scallan and Patrick Breen.
Ferns St. Aidan’s: James Lawlor (capt.); Conor Scallan, Niall Murphy, Declan Byrne; Patrick Breen (0-1), Gavin Bailey (0-1), Ciarán Roberts; Eoin Murphy (0-1), Rory Scallan (0-2); Chris Turner (0-2), Ian Byrne (0-3, 2 frees), Corey Byrne-Dunbar (2-6, 1-2 frees, 0-1 ’65); John Breen, Paul Morris (0-1), Ryan Nolan (1-0). Subs. – Benny Jordan (0-1) for I. Byrne, inj. (16), Brian Stafford for Roberts (HT), James Tonks for D. Byrne (37), Jonny Dwyer (0-1) for Breen (49), Christopher O’Connor for Nolan (56).
Oulart-The Ballagh: Darragh Hayes; Ian Storey, Dennis Morton, Lee Doyle; Conor O’Leary (0-1), Anthony Roche (capt., 0-1), Niall Redmond; Darryl Gray (0-1), Séamus Ormonde; Adam McRedmond (0-1), Simon Roche (0-3), Conor Blake (0-4, 2 frees); Tommy Storey, Martin Óg Storey, Nicky Kirwan (3-3, 0-3 frees). Subs. – Peter Sutton for T. Storey (49), Conor Goff for O’Leary (56), Tommy Storey for McRedmond, inj. (60+4).
Referee: Dan Crosby (Kilmore).