Ballylongford 4-10 Valentia 1-10

 

Ballylongford maintained their push for promotion with a convincing win over Valentia played at O'Rahilly Park on Saturday evening last.  Played in perfect conditions, it was Valentia who went into an early lead with two quick points from Paul O'Connor.  
Ciaran O'Connor with a pointed free got Ballylongford off the mark in the fourth minute and by the sixth minute, the same player had them a point in front and it was a lead they would keep until the final whistle, as they began to come on top of their opponents.

Thomas Doherty got the first of Ballylongford’s three first half goals, when he picked up a loose ball and drove a powerful shot to the top corner in the seventh minute.  Stephen Foley added goal number two with one of his many runs up field, when he launched a high ball into the goalmouth, which deceived goalkeeper, Fionan Falvey, and dropped into the net.  
Ciaran O'Connor was on hand to tap in goal number three, after a good run by Jack Mulvihill in the 20th minute to put them nine points ahead.   Brendan O'Sullivan was moved to the verge of the square for Valentia and his presence paid off, when a breaking ball fell to Sean Shanahan which he toe poked to the net to reduce the deficit.  Paudie Moroney had to be at his best a minute later to keep out another goal bound shot from Paul O’Connor. Both sides swapped points to bring the half to a close.  Half time score:  Ballylongford 3-6  Valentia 1-7.

The pace of the second half dropped significantly, as did the scoring.  Ciaran O'Connor kicked over three pointed frees in the third quarter, with Anthony Sheehan replying with two for the visitors.  Paudie Moroney was the star player in the second half, with a string of
saves to deny Valentia, while Jack Mulvihill saw his efforts rewarded with a goal in the 26th minute, bringing the scoring to a close.

Referee Eamon Moran

 Ballylongford Team which was a 13 aside game.
Paudie Moroney, Kenneth Tydings, Stephen Foley 1-0,Tadhg McEllistrim, Mike
McEllistrim, .James OConnor, Joe McCarthy 0-1,.Jack Mulvihill 1-0, Padraig O'Neill 0-1,      Matt O’Connor, Thomas Doherty 1-0, Ciaran O'Connor 1-8, Kenneth Foley.