“The only good thing about playing in Division 4 is that it’s a division we have a realistic chance of winning. If we can get the same level of commitment as last year from the players, if Tommy McDaniel is still around (the former Westmeath forward returned from Australia at the end of last year) and if the young players can step up to the mark, I’d be confident that we can make further progress in the year ahead.” The Ballinagore team which defeated St. Mary’s to preserve their intermediate status was: Mark Doyle; Mark King, Pat Heduan, Enda Claffey; Brian Sheerin, Michael Ennis, Ciaran Carey; Eoin Miller, JJ Hegarty; Ciaran Deegan, Dan Gavin, Paul Maloney; Ian Seery, Niall Kelly, Cathal Ennis. Subs used: Michael Gannon and James Sheerin. Ciaran Carey in action during the championship clash against Shandonagh
level through Kieran Geraghty in the 56th minute, but Ballinagore weren’t to be denied and Eoin Miller had the final say when he converted the winning free in the final minute of normal time after Kelly was fouled. “It was such a relief to win that game,” remembers Louis, who replaced Tyrrellspass man Mark Staunton as manager at the start of the year after a long and distinguished playing career during which he garnered two JFC medals (1994 and 2005), a Leinster club JFC medal (2005) and an IFC medal in 2007. “It was an up-and-down sort of a year for us, but we achieved what we set out to achieve and that is the main
thing. The club is going through a transition phase at the moment, but we have good young players like Frankie Deegan, Enda Claffey, Cathal Daly and Michael Heeney coming through, and that bodes well for the future.” Ballinagore couldn’t avoid relegation in the league with a onepoint defeat to a much-improved Multyfarnham condemning them to Division 4 football for 2013. “We were very disappointed to be relegated, but our league form was poor all year. We would have stayed up if we had beaten Multy, but we had a six-week wait to that game and that didn’t do us any favours,” the Ballinagore manager says.
Michael Ennis will concentrate solely on club football in 2013
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