McKinless clan star as Ballinderry see off Austin Stacks to book place in All-Ireland IFC final
Griffin Of Is Colin By Of Ballinderry Tackled O'neill Austin Stacks Mcshane/sportsfile Ryan Ben Pic:
Having frustrated themselves for so long, Ballinderry eventually took to frustrating the life out of their opponents. The Derry champions will be back in the capital next weekend. A bigger stage awaits them.
Having failed to raise any colour of flag between the eighth minute of the first half and 10th minute of the second, Ballinderry then went and split the posts on nine occasions in the remaining 24 minutes. A stunning transformation.
At the centre of this remarkable All-Ireland intermediate semi-final turnaround were the McKinless’. Ben, in goal, offered his team an extra and effective outfield body in every play. Gareth, in that defining last third, sallied through a central channel that Stacks left unforgivably open. Daniel, a second half substitute, finished with three ticks beside his name.
The overtaking movement was spectacular. Two points in the opening 40 minutes was followed by five in seven minutes. The earlier wastefulness disappeared into the freezing air. Darren Lawn, Conor O’Neill, Ryan Bell, and Gareth McKinless took them from 0-5 to 0-2 in arrears to 0-7 to 0-5 in front on 47 minutes. The Stacks restart was creaking. So too their defensive cohesion.
Dylan Casey, with his second of the afternoon, lifted somewhat the pressure Stacks were suffering under. It was not enough. They were time and again turned over in the scoring zone. Those turnovers were the starting point on clever and well-constructed Ballinderry counters. Young Paddy Lane, who was the victim of more than one of those turnovers, finished the afternoon on the bench.
A Daniel McKinless pair either side of a Ryan Bell tap-over nudged the Ulstermen four clear entering time added on.
Stacks' inability to solve or stem the Ballinderry resurgence was starkly captured during those injury-time minutes. Sub Jordan Kissane, some 35 metres from the opposition goal, was swallowed whole and penalised for over carrying. Greg Horan later unleashed a nothing goal effort from too far out. Desperation had set in. Ballinderry had reduced them to such. How Billy Lee's side felt and lamented the absence of midfielder and Kerry senior Joe O'Connor.
The picture was oh so different in the opening half. Austin Stacks won possession from the throw-in. Ballinderry retreated en masse. Ambrose O’Donovan, on Radio Kerry co-comm duty, announced to the press box and all the Kingdom listeners back home that the new rules can’t come quick enough.
When Ballinderry eventually succeeded in getting a hand on possession and turning Stacks over after a minute of Tralee keep-ball, Ryan O’Neill fouled possession, and young Paddy Lane kicked the Stacks opener.
The Derry and Ulster champions, in the ensuing 10 minutes, showed they were as comfortable surging forward as they were sitting back. Ruairi Forbes, down the right flank in front of the main stand, was proving particularly problematic for the opposition defence.
The converted free Forbes won put Ballinderry in front after Conor O’Neill had finished a sweeping move with a booming kick.
That, though, was to prove their first half lot. No improvement on their 0-2 from the eighth to the 31st minute. Even during the 10 minutes where they enjoyed numerical advantage following a black card to Daniel Kirby, there was no improvement on their two-point total.
While Paddy Lane’s nimbleness was an obvious threat, Stacks were finding most joy from the line-breaking and ghosting runs of full-back pair Dylan Casey and Joey Nagle. Both men raised first-half white flags. Both men made easy what the majority of forwards on either side could not do.
An interval lead of 0-4 to 0-2 was grown early in the second period. Then Ballinderry roared and Stacks' challenge retreated.
C O’Neill (0-3, 0-2 frees), D McKinless (0-3, 0-1 mark), C Crozier (0-2 frees), G McKinless, D Lawn, R Bell (0-1 each).
P Lane (0-1 free), D Casey, D Kirby (0-2 each), J Nagle (0-1).
B McKinless; R O’Neill, O Duffin, A Mullan; R Forbes, G McKinless, E Devlin; S Coleman, N O’Donnell; T Rocks, C O’Neill, S McCann; D Lawn, C Crozier, R Bell.
D McKinless for Coleman (34); J Bell for O’Donnell (40); E McCracken for Mullan, M Quinn for Lawn (both 60).
M Tansley; D Casey, J Nagle, C Griffin; A Heinrich, J O’Shea, P O’Sullivan; M O’Donnell, R Shanahan; F Mangan, G Horan, D Kirby; S O’Callaghan, C Purcell, P Lane.
E Carroll for O’Callaghan (39); L Casey for O’Donnell, D O’Brien for Mangan (both 47); C Browne for P O’Sullivan (51); J Kissane for Lane (55).
J Henry (Mayo).