North Intermediate Championship Round 3
Silvermines 4-18
Ballinahinch 1-10

Report by Sean Grimes in Nenagh.

 

A first half blitz by the Silvermines helped them overcome neighbours Ballinahinch in round three of the North Intermediate hurling championship on Saturday evening.

Managing three goals, they were home and dry by half time with the concession of goals easily denting the confidence of Ballinahinch, especially because the first two came inside five minutes.
The Mines started with real intent and had their first point after only twenty seconds, from key man Jason Forde, who won the ball from the throw-in and turned smartly before firing over.
In the first few phases of play the 'Mines were highly impressive and their plan was simple - go for goal early and kill off the Ballinahinch challenge.

This worked perfectly and they had their first goal inside a minute, it was provided by Paudie Fogarty who received a crisp pass from David Boland and beat Ballinahinch keeper with a powerful strike.
They had only to wait another four minutes for Seán Quirke to rattle the net once again. Quirke's goal was the best of the game and there was simply no way Ballinahinch keeper Cormac McGrath could reach the shot which nestled right into the very top corner of his goal. After only six minutes the Mines were ahead 2-2 to no score, with the other point coming from the impressive David Boland.
The signs were ominous for Ballinahinch, but they didn't lie down and corner forward Liam Berkery gave them hope with a well-taken point. That score came after Ger Griffin's shot was saved brilliantly by 'Mines keeper Cathal Sherlock, scooped out of the square and into the path of Berkery who doubled skilfully. Ballinahinch enjoyed a period of dominance after that opening score and went on to hit another three points from Kevin Mulcahy, Dave Ryan and Shane McGrath (free).
While they were matching the 'Mines in the points department, the goals were the real difference and another came in the 20th minute. Seán Quirke was once again involved, his shot was saved well by Cormac McGrath, but the ball bobbled around to square and was seized on by David Boland, who pulled along the ground and raised yet another green flag. Jason Forde tacked on a couple of points for the 'Mines and they led 3-7 to 0-5 at the break.
Shane McGrath was sturdy throughout at centre back and it was he who put the first point on the board for Ballinahinch in the second half with a free. Adrian Kelly gave Ballinahinch a bit of a boost in the 35th minute with a well-taken goal. Kelly manufactured the goal from start to finish, soloing in and shooting only to see his shot saved superbly and then following up with a flick to the back of the net.
That purple patch was rudely ended by Jason Forde who hit two points (1 65') to extend his sides lead once again. Forde was in charge of the frees and he was granted plenty of chances in the second half when Ballinahinch began to foul more frequently. He pointed again in the 39th minute after Seán Quirke was impeded. At that stage the Ballinahinch challenge had waned considerably and both sides were just going through the motions, however the 'Mines had one more goal in them. It came in the 45th minute when a high ball was played in from the half back line and landed perfectly for Paudie Fogarty who judged the flight and let the sliotar bounce once before driving it past Cormac McGrath. That was the final nail in the coffin and in the final quarter the Mines dominated and added a flurry of points to further widen the gap.
One of the more notable points came from David Keogh, who fired over impressively after receiving an excellent pass from sub Willie Keogh. Jason Forde also added a late point from a free.
Ballinahinch had some late chances to grab a goal and improve the look of the scoreboard, the first fell to sub Kevin Fitzpatrick, but he was unable to finish with his ground stroke in front of goal. Full forward Ger Griffin had a better chance to snatch a late goal when he stepped up to hit a 21-yard free, but his powerful shot was deflected over the bar by the sturdy Silvermines defenders.

Man of Match: Jason Forde.
Scorers: Silvermines: Jason Forde 0-9 (5f, 1 '65), Sean Quirke 1-3, Paudie Fogarty 2-0, David Boland 1-2, David Keogh 0-2, Ronan Sherlock, Donal Keogh 0-1 each. Ballinahinch: Ger Griffin 0-5f, Adrian Kelly 1-0, Shane McGrath 0-2f, Liam Berkery, Kevin Muclahy, Dave Ryan -0-1 each.