Senior Football USFL

Clontibret 2.7  -  0.6 Ballyholland

4th Feb 2007

Ballyholland's first competitive encounter of the season culminated in defeat, but considering the standard of the opposition, as well as the nature of the second half performance from the Harps, plenty of heart can be taken from the game. Their opponents Clontibret were unquestionably the best side in Monaghan in 2006, with trophies at under-21 and reserve level complementing the coup de grace, the senior championship. In the Ulster Championship they pushed eventual champions Crossmaglen to the wire.

So a victory for the home side was no surprise, and when they clicked during the first half there appeared to be a tremendous gulf between the sides.

Yet it is no overstatement to suggest they were outplayed during a second half in which they could only manage one score, an extremely fortunate goal at that. The only changes to the Ballyholland XV that took on St Paul's the previous week saw Ruari Matthews and Ciaran Hartigan replace flu victims Kieran Murphy and Mark O'Hare - but faced with a much superior challenge, there was nothing like the same early swagger about the team this week.

A long ball into the small square found Clontibret a goal as early as the second minute, and it got little better for the Harps during a first 20 minutes when they were truly obliterated at midfield. The Monaghan men used their wealth of possession to knock over six unanswered points during this time, and could have had even more but for some valiant defending by an under-pressure Harps back line.

At times their football was a joy to watch, full of smart running and accurate passing. But before the halftime whistle sounded, Ballyholland looked to have turned a slight corner. The positional switch of Paudie McKernan and Ciaran Murtagh strengthened both sectors considerably, while Damien Campbell strode forward to finally register his side's first score of the day. Clontibret replied almost immediately though, which left them much the happier side at the break, taking a nine point margin with them.

Things were a bit disjointed on both sides during the opening part of the second half, but as James Patterson and McKernan gradually gained a firmer foothold at midfield, Harps finally began to see some of the football. The result of this was they showed they can play a bit of football too. Central to much of this was Campbell, by this stage moved up to an unusual berth at centre three-quarters, while at centre-back Damian McCrink really took command of this critical area.

A fine move ended with John Barry opening the half's scoring, and he was joined on the scoreboard just a few minutes later by Conor Sands, pointing a free from 30 metres. Indeed Barry's score was well deserved on an individual level, as his ability to back the play up was a crucial part in much of Ballyholland's better play.

But any lingering thoughts of a comeback were extinguished by the halfway mark of the second period, when a Clontibret forward's feeble attempt at a point from 30 metres was allowed to drop between Ruari Matthews and his corner-back, the resultant bounce taking the ball into the back of the net. It was a horrible goal to give away.

Still, the Harps kept their heads up and replied with three points of their own, one each for Paddy McAnulty, Patterson and Campbell, and the Clontibret netminder was called upon to make a great save in the closing stages from McAnulty's low drive.

Any attempt Clontibret made at extending their lead during this time was generally snuffed out by strong defensive pressure, and it's worth mentioning that home side's freetakers never got a single chance to practice their technique during the game - full credit to the Ballyholland backline for that. Incidentally, it is also worth noting that the oldest player in the Ballyholland side finishing the game was Damien Campbell, at the age of 26.

Next up is Aghyaran on Sunday, somewhere in the South Down area.

Player of the Match: Damien Campbell / John Barry

Ballyholland Team: R Matthews; C Barry, P McKernan, J Murphy; P McAnulty, D McCrink, D Campbell (0-2); J Patterson (0-1), C Murtagh; J Barry (0-1), A McAteer, G McAteer; T Havern, C Hartigan, C Sands (0-1f). Subs used: S Fitzpatrick, K Dunne, C McAteer, S McClelland.

Opponents Team: n/a

Referee: n/a

Match Report by: Anthony

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