Junior A Football Championship Group Two Round Three @ Ennistymon

Ballyvaughan-Fanore 4:09 Clondegad 1:05

Referee : - Kieran Harvey Ennistymon

Ballyvaughan-Fanore are back in the knockout stages of the Clare Junior Football Championship for the fourth year in a row.

Top spot in Group 2 was the goal and it was obtained by a well-deserved victory over Clondegad's second team on Sunday Sept 12th at Ennistymon GAA Grounds.

Ballyvaughan-Fanore have played Doonbeg (2) in round two and now Clondegad (2) in round three and a walkover from Meelick in round one sees maximum points on the table with a healthy scoring average also but is not needed. Unbeaten in three outings, Ballyvaughan-Fanore can take great positives and push on in this junior championship and reach the final for the second year in a row. This was a game where it was great to see a big score again put up and all of the starting players #9 to #15 had got on the score sheet also.

In the opening quarter scores were scarce and by the water break Ballyvaughan-Fanore had two points on the scoreboard, both from Jonah Culligan one from a free first on six minutes right on the edge of the D and then from play on sixteen minutes, while Clondegad did cause problems to the Ballyvaughan-Fanore defence they had nothing to show for it as the highlight was two kicks at goal one from a free and the other from play had dropped short and keeper Damien McNamara had no problems clearing his lines. Lorcan Mahon, Donnchadh Mahon and Martin Howard did provide great efforts to get Ballyvaughan-Fanore in to attacking mode, this provided the platform to get Jonah Culligan in for him to score his first from play . Twice the ball had hit the post also in this opening fifteen minutes, in the first attack saw the ball cleared by Clondegad, the second time the ball drifted wide of the post from a great individual effort by Phelim Kyne.

After a lacklustre opening period, the second quarter the game really opened up for Ballyvaughan-Fanore, on the twenty-minute mark Lorcan Mahon found the target with a point from play and after this started a three-goal fest. The first goal was scored on twenty-one minutes by Jonah Culligan after great work by midfielder Cormac Brennan delivered the ball to John Martyn and in turn found Jonah Culligan to bury the ball in the net from close range. Goal number two arrived two minutes later on twenty-three minutes played when Lorcan Mahon also found the net from close range. In between the second and third goals scored, Clondegad did score a point from play on twenty-six minutes and this was their first score of the game, then goal number three arrived when Martin Howard scored from play also on thirty-minutes, between the 26th and 30th minute Ballyvaughan-Fanore had two wides. Jonah Culligan had a score from a free and Cormac Brennan got on the score sheet also to leave the half time score Ballyvaughan-Fanore 3:05 Clondegad 0:01

At the start of the second half Donnachadh Mahon tagged on a point from play in the 31st minute, Jonah Culligan accurate as always from placed balls scored his fourth from a free on 33mins , 13m out but close enough to the side-line. Now the second half work rate was excellent, after an early back lash and the first goal on 37 minutes conceded in this current championship Ballyvaughan-Fanore regained composure where Adam Walsh found the net on 42 mins to cancel out all the good work that Clondegad had put in. Joseph Flanagan was introduced for Cormac McGann and Ian Queally for Mark Walsh in a double subsitiution. Clondegad got their second point on 51 minutes but Captain Cian Walsh cancelled out this effort with a score from play on 53, James Hynes made a return now as a sub at midfield replacing James Howard , and shortly afterwards Ian Woods came on to earn his second introduction as a subsitiute in as many weeks replacing Donnchadh Mahon. Doonbeg had three points to the trot on 56, 58, and right at the end all from play, there was time for one more score by John Martyn from play before the referee Kieran Harvey blew up for full time.

Damien McNamara Neil Walsh Mark Walsh Adam Walsh (1:00) Scion Flanagan Philip Queally Phelim Kyne James Howard Cormac Brennan (0:01) Martin Howard (1:00) Jonah Culligan (1:04)(3f) Cian Walsh (C) (0:01) Lorcan Mahon (1:01) John Martyn (0:01) Donnachdadh Mahon (0:01) Subs Joseph Flanagan for Cormac Brennan, Ian Queally for Mark Walsh, James Hynes for James Howard, Ian Woods for Donnachdadh Mahon.

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