Junior 'B' Hurling Final
Ballymena All Saints 1-21
Ardoyne Kickhams 1-3
At Dunsilly
THE Junior 'B' Championship honours headed back to Ballymena after All Saints delivered an exhibition of point-scoring over their title rivals Ardoyne Kickhams on Friday evening under the lights in Dunsilly.
Despite a depleted squad, Ardoyne never really looked to threaten the Saints men who seemed to cover every inch and blade of grass that sat within the perimeter of the home of Antrim GAA.
From the moment Luke Mulholland opened the scoring in the third minute, All Saints dictated the tempo, dominated possession and repeatedly exposed an Ardoyne defence that struggled to contain their opponent's movement and attacking threat.
Daniel Kelly doubled the advantage two minutes later before Damien Gillan added a third point in the seventh minute.
The talisman Gillan was quickly back on target, registering his second score before the quarter-hour mark as the Ballymena men seized control of proceedings and never looked back from there.
The north Belfast outfit eventually opened their account through a Pádraig McGreevy free in the 14th minute, but that brief response did little to stem the tide.
Harry Conlon landed another point for All Saints in the 17th minute before Cormac and Jack Magill struck in quick succession, stretching the gap and leaving the Belfast side chasing shadows.
CLASH OF THE ASH: Ballymena ran out the victors over Ardoyne
Cormac Magill then added to Ardoyne’s misery with successive scores as All Saints continued to find space and opportunities at will. The pressure was relentless, with the Ballymena attack operating at a tempo their opponents simply could not match.
The contest took another turn in the 28th minute when Ardoyne were reduced to 14 men following Matthew Cromie’s red card.
Already struggling to cope with the All Saints onslaught, Kickhams now faced the prospect of attempting to turn the tide with a numerical disadvantage.
Damien Gillan rubbed further salt into the wounds with another point before the interval, completing a miserable opening period for Ardoyne and sending All Saints into the dressing room with a commanding 0-10 to 0-1 advantage.
There was little indication of a let-up after the restart as Gillan pointed a free in the 31st minute to push the Ballymena tally into double figures and underline the scale of the task facing Ardoyne.
To their credit, Kickhams briefly threatened a response. McGreevy pointed in the 36th minute before finding the net in the same passage of play, offering a rare moment of encouragement for the Belfast outfit.
However, any thoughts of a revival were swiftly extinguished when Saints raised a green flag of their own within a few minutes.
Daniel Kelly replied with a point for All Saints before Kelly and Gillan added further scores in quick succession.
Gillan then registered again in the 42nd minute as the Ballymena men reasserted their authority and ensured Ardoyne’s brief spell of momentum would count for little.
The decisive blow arrived in the 45th minute when Kelly found the net, putting the result beyond any realistic doubt and rewarding another incisive attacking move from an All Saints side that had been in complete command throughout.
With the game effectively settled, Ballymena showed no inclination to ease off. Cormac Magill added another point before Luke O’Rawe got in on the scoring act, further stretching the margin as the All Saints attack continued to rack up scores.
Ardoyne, meanwhile, had precious little opportunity to build any sustained pressure of their own. The early dismissal had undoubtedly made their task more difficult, but the sheer quality and consistency of Ballymena’s performance had already left them with an enormous mountain to climb, which became all the tougher when Conor Larkin was dismissed moments after his emergence from the bench.
Gillan remained central to the Ballymena charge, producing another excellent point in the 53rd minute before completing the scoring three minutes later with his latest effort.
It was an emphatic finish to an afternoon in which All Saints had controlled the contest from the outset, combining accuracy in front of the posts with an attacking fluency that Ardoyne struggled to live with.
For the men from the Crickey, they finish with the Division Four title, and promotion to the third tier despite a disappointing championship campaign.
For Ballymena All Saints, however, this was a thoroughly convincing performance. They were sharper from the throw-in, more clinical in possession and relentless in their pursuit of scores, leaving little doubt as to who deserved the spoils as they head into the Ulster championship campaign.
Ballymena All Saints: R McAllister; K Brady, D McKee, F Connon; D Gray, R Crooks, N Savage; V Esler, H Connon 0-1; L Mulholland 0-1, C Magill 0-5, L O'Rawe 0-1; J Magill 0-1, D Kelly 1-3, D Gillan 0-9 (2F)
Ardoyne Kickhams: C O'Neill; C Clarke, P Baker, E Corey; S Searle, C Wallace, P Clarke; M Cromie, P McGuigan 0-1; A Stewart, C Barnes, D Martin; F Lagan, J Callinan, P McGreevy 1-2
Referee: Seamus Shannon
