Ballygalget resolve to the fore as Ports slip

27 September 2017

BALLYGALGET retained the Jeremiah McVeagh Cup after a humdinger of a clash with Portaferry

at McKenna Park, Ballycran, on Sunday.

There was never more than a puck of the ball between the sides in an absorbing contest that ebbed and flowed, but it was Ballygalget who had a sting in their tail — they

will now meet Lisbellaw in the Ulster Championship semi-final on October 8.

The sides traded points in the opening exchanges before Daithi Sands drilled the ball to the net on 11 minutes after a Paul Braniff effort wasn’t cleared. However, the calming influence of Gareth Johnson helped Ballygalget recover from this setback and he pointed his side into a 1-2 to 1-1 lead after 16 minutes.

Ballygalget then got lucky when man of the match Cormac Coulter netted his first goal of the day when he capitalised on a defensive error to beat Karol Keating with a clinical finish to the net.

The tit-for-tat nature continued with the sides swapping scores, going in level at the break, 1-6 apiece and all to play for.

The second half was a replica of the first 30 minutes and no sooner had Daithi Sands netted a second goal for the Ports, when Cormac Coulter followed suit immediately to put his side into a 2-11 to 2-8 lead.

This strike gave Ballygalget some breathing space and although Braniff fired over three of the next four scores, the Mitchel Park side had stolen a march on their bitter rivals.

Caolan Bailie notched up an insurance point as the game headed towards conclusion and try as they might, Portaferry just couldn’t get back on level terms.

Paddy Monan, part of the Ballygalget back room team, was delighted to hear Colin Murray’s full time whistle.

“There was little between the two teams, we knew it was going to be tight,” he admitted afterwards. “Thank God we got out. We could have very easily downed tools after they got their second goal, but our boys responded well to that and we got a couple of crucial scores and went on to get the victory.

“The focus for us was to win the Down championship. There was no craic about back-to-backs or anything like that. We just wanted to win and go wherever that takes us,” he added.

Portaferry manager Noel Sands was, naturally, bitterly disappointed, but is adamant that his side will bounce back next year.

“We had chances, but missed them and those are margins you live and die by. It’s very disappointing, but we’ll take it on the chin and bounce back next year.”

Ballygalget: J Crowe, E Clarke (0-1), J McManus, J Smyth, E Coulter, B Toner, P McManus, G Johnson (0-6 4f), B Byers, G Roddy (0-2), C Bailie (0-1), D McManus, M Fisher, C Coulter (2-3), D Toner. Subs: J Doran for Smyth.

Portaferry: K Keating (0-1 f), N White, C O’Neill, D Mallon, C O’Prey, C Taggart, D Coffey, J Gilmore, A Savage, C Fay, K McGarry (0-1), B Trainor, D Sands (2-3), E Sands (0-1), P Braniff (0-6, 4f). Subs: J Convery for Taggart, A O’Prey for Fay, E O’Neill for Mallon.

Man of the match: Cormac Coulter (Ballygalget).

Ballygalget 2-13

Portaferry 2-12

MORGAN FUELS SHC FINAL

Tweets by @TheDownRecorder