Borris-Ileigh GAA Club Match Report
Borris-Ileigh vs Nenagh (North Junior A Championship- Final)
9th October 2021
By Denis Ryan
Dolla was the setting for the 2021 North Junior Championship Final between Nenagh Eire Og and Borris-Ileigh. Both teams won their semi finals with relative ease following two Junior games between the clubs this season resulting in a win apiece. Borris kept the same team intact that beat Toomevara, the majority of the 15 having played together through league and championship. Borris started the game well with long range free taker David O’Connor finding the radar early for the team’s first score before again splitting the posts from near the 45 metre line to give the team a good foothold on the scoreboard early on. The first 10 minutes could be summarised as pace v power with Nenagh using physicality to win ball and run through the lines whilst Borris men were very quick to the breaking ball and using speed to make progress and work hard in defence to stop the opposition near the half back line. Borris were evidently utilising a long ball strategy but unfortunately were unable to generate any positive from it with ball after ball returning to their defensive lines. Nenagh looked threatening from early on but Borris did really well with their hooking and blocking to keep it a draw game at 3 points each after Bill O’Connell passed to Adam Galvin who connected with a clean strike from near half way. This was Borris’ last score of the quarter as Nenagh took control of the game with a penetrating pass inside Borris’ inside backline nearly resulting in a goal before Nenagh pierced through again soon after to an unmarked forward to make it count and Nenagh’s first goal of the game. Nenagh maximised their dominance by adding three points to the goal to open up a good lead at the water break on a scoreline of 1-6 to 3 points. As mentioned, Borris were doing really well with long range shooting from play and also the placed ball but the tactic of long ball failed to return any positive result with Nenagh backs doing very well in the aerial battles. The Borris half back line in particular were doing well in the hooking and blocking but twice left men unmarked near goal with one time the ultimate punishment of a goal. Nenagh continued the second quarter with momentum finding pockets of space to continue peppering the Borris rear guard which stood up well but Nenagh were clinical with their distribution and scoring. Borris did come into the quarter when Mixie ended the drought with a free before Doc scored his third free after a well earned turnover by Borris forwards, Jack Fitz producing a great score from a Mixie pass to end a 3 point block for the team. Borris were unable to continue the form though by missing two frees with the gap remaining at 6 as the half neared its end, the half time score finishing up 1-10 to 6 points. Both teams had their period of good play in the quarter with Borris looking more threatening up front but Nenagh were able to match score for score to keep a good lead going into the second half.
Mixie was the real standout in the opening moments of the third quarter as he used excellent footwork in the corner forward position to generate some scoring threat for the team, this resulted in a well taken point from play and then a free that he won himself. Vinnie Stapleton replaced Fintan Holland during the period but Nenagh didn’t lose their edge and kept the scoreboard ticking over through a mixture of frees and good shooting. Borris were given a lifeline when a Doc 65 dropped short and the goalkeeper lost the ball in the sun and resulted in Borris first goal, a goal that rejuvenated the team and supporters. Mixie continued his form with another score and Jack Fitz scored his second to make it a 4 point game at one stage, Borris forwards working tirelessly to alleviate pressure on the backline and hurry Nenagh backs into mistakes and turnovers. Nenagh kept their head though and went into the second water break with a lead of 5 with the score Nenagh 1-15 to Borris-Ileigh’s 1-10. Borris were much more threatening in their inside forward line in the third quarter and had higher work rate out the field which yielded scores, the goal galvanising the team to a scoring run but Nenagh were clinical when presented with the opportunity to score and just kept the lead above a single score for the mental edge going into the 4th quarter. Nenagh came out for the final quarter and upped their intensity again and looked powerful throughout the pitch and matched Borris scores mainly through frees generated to give them easy opportunities to keep the lead intact whilst looking more assured in defence. Borris moved to their plan B with Thomas Fahy shifting to full forward which resulted in an incredible 2-2 in a very short period of time to give Borris some hope but too much time had elapsed on the clock and Nenagh ran out deserved victors on a scoreline of 1-22 to Borris’ 3-12.
Borris-Ileigh deserve huge credit for the multiple periods of the game where they didn’t give in and put together scoring blocks to reduce heavy deficits, most notably the 2-2 from Toco near the end but Nenagh were a class outfit and fully deserved to win the championship based on the overall campaign and on the day. Borris have shown great progress and development from the first league game against Roscrea with fantastic new young additions including James Kelly, Cathal Hogan, Jack Fitz and Adam Galvin whilst also being able to lean on experienced performers such as Doc, Toco, Shane Mc and Bill O’Connell. Borris deserve high praise for bridging a 43 year wait for a North Junior A final berth and hopefully players and management go from strength to strength on the back of this achievement.
Team and Scorers:
Jack Bourke
James Kelly, Thomas Fahy (2-02), Martin Treacy
Maurice Ryan, Bill O’Connell, Matthew Stapleton
Cathal Hogan, Shane McCormack
David O’Connor (1-03 (1-3fs)), Danny Ryan, Jack Fitzgerald (0-02)
Micheal Carey (0-04(0-02fs)), Fintan Holland, Adam Galvin (0-01)
Subs:
Vinnie Stapleton for Fintan Holland
Seamus Ryan for Adam Galvin
