Borris-Ileigh GAA Club Match Report
Borris-Ileigh vs Kilruane MacDonaghs (FBD County Championship Group Stage-Round 2)
10th September 2021
Borris-Ileigh and Kilruane MacDonaghs renewed their 2021 battle with a County Championship round 2 contest in Semple Stadium on the 10th of September 2021. Both teams being very familiar with this being the third contest at senior level this year with Kilruane leading with one convincing win and a draw from the previous contests, Borris knew they wouldn’t get anything easy. This was illustrated with a fast start from the Borris men as they showed a continuation of the excellent work rate from the Roscrea game and were putting severe pressure on the Kilruane backline in particular. Brendan Maher attained possession near the midfield area and went forward before nearly finding Niall Kenny for a good goal chance but Kilruane got back in numbers to snuff it out. Borris dominated the first several minutes on ball and off ball in both attack and defence but weren’t able to make it count on the scoreboard. The work rate continued though and led to the first score of the game from Borris, an Eddie Ryan free near the goal which was followed by a well taken Jerry Kelly point to reward the high intensity in the forward line. Kilruane, however came to the pace of the game and were more efficient in front of goal scoring 3 well taken points to take the lead but Dan McCormack in the centre back position retrieved the sliotar from multiple ruck balls, showed excellent strength to withstand the tackles and led to a good catch from Conor Kenny who got fouled to set up Eddie Ryan’s second free of the evening. This was the last score of the quarter for Borris as Kilruane became sharper with the ball and more physical without it from the Borris puck out and used the possession to continue their efficient scoring and open up a 3 point gap as the water break arrived with a score line of Kilruane 6 points to Borris’ 3. Both teams had their period of control led by high intensity but Borris were unable to trouble the scoreboard too often whilst Kilruane used their possession well and were more slick with the ball and in their handling also. Kilruane continued as they had left off at the beginning of the second quarter aided by some inefficient handling by Borris men in the middle third to extend the lead to 5 before Dan retrieved a ball by the old stand side and went on a mazing run from one half back area to the other before being illegally tackled to the ground, the positive being another free for Eddie that making it 3 in the half but unfortunately what looked like a very bad injury for Dan as he took some time to get back up. Dan tried multiple positions to attempt getting over the injury but had to be replaced minutes after by Ciaran Cowan which required a rejig of the Borris half back and midfield lines. Kilruane were on top now but a dropping ball near the Kilruane goal landed at the feet of JD who showed great opportunistic reactions to hit the back of the net to give Borris some life in the game. Kilruane showed excellent resilience however by immediately responding with a goal when a ball dropped near the goal and was flicked in by the forward, 1-1 as a response to Borris’ goal and a real dampener to the comeback. Eddie Ryan looked threatening through the half with pace and scored his first from play soon after before Ray McCormack showed excellent vision near the left side to find an open Jerry Kelly who finished extremely well on his left side to reduce the deficit and give the team momentum as the game neared the break. The half finished with quite the melee starting with Tom Foot and Cian D’Arcy jostling leading to a double red card event before the referee blew the half time whistle with the score 1-14 Kilruane to Borris’ 2-05. As proven by the scoreline, the 2nd quarter in particular was all about Kilruane who punished some handling errors for scores and made little mistakes themselves, the tough game against Nenagh attesting to them for this contest. Borris responded well to the injury of key player Dan with the multiple positional changes but had a mountain to climb in the second half
Borris started the half on the front foot with Conor Kenny getting ball far closer to the goal than the first half with puck outs and long ball travelling further to aid the increased threat, this emphasised with Conor scoring on his left side, Eddie scoring soon after and Niall Kenny gathering a high ball to bear down on goal before being fouled with Eddie scoring free 4 to really give Borris impetus in the game. Eddie continued his scoring spree with a great score from near the old stand before Jerry finished a lung busting Seamie Burke run to reduce the gap with a Borris crowd revving up. Kilruane showed resilience for the second time in the game though by scoring their second goal after composed team play to dampen Borris’ momentum again but the Borris boys reset and went again putting together a great scoring run with Conor scoring high quality back to back scores in what was becoming a great contest between himself and Morgan, Brendan and Eddie sharing two frees and Jerry scoring a great point with a volley like shot near the ground to make it a one point game as the water break arrived with Kilruane 2-17 to Borris 2-16. The third quarter was a polar opposite to the first half with Borris threatening far closer to goal with great high ball catching and quicker reactions to the fallout with Conor and Eddie really leading the way and Borris backs staying composed to negate the Kilruane threat from the first half. Kilruane did very well though to stay calm and composed, they always managed to stay ahead despite a great Conor score from the sideline. Both teams exchanged points with Eddie scoring free 6, Conor continuing an excellent second half with another score with high difficulty but Kilruane found pockets of space perhaps due to Borris’ emptying of the tank to claw back the deficit just to keep the scoreboard ticking over but the game was in the melting pot as the minutes ticked away. Eddie continued his remarkable game with another excellent score before Ray now in an advanced role did really well to win possession and get fouled near the goal. Brendan stepped up but narrowly hit the ball above the crossbar to leave Borris needing a goal as the game entered injury time. Both teams had players with cramp, a testament to the incredible work rate and high quality on display. Borris tried to manufacture late chances but were unable to generate a good look and Kilruane held out for the deserved win on a scoreline of 2-24 to 2-21
Both teams deserve massive credit for a cracking game of hurling under the lights in Thurles, this was proven by a fantastic atmosphere in the stadium and a reminder after so long why hurling is so great. Borris started really well, the work rate sustaining from previous games, unfortunately Kilruane were able to match it but also be efficient with opening up scoring opportunities and finishing them. Kilruane really dominated the second quarter and were able to overcome the opposition’s goal with 1-1 of their own in 90 seconds, a key to the win. Borris did really well to adjust to the loss of Dan with Ciaran Cowan deputising very well in the half back line and Ray McCormack continuing his fine form with great physicality. Borris will look to the 3rd quarter for positivity with Conor Kenny looking a constant threat and Eddie Ryan scoring for fun in what is becoming a cracking debut season at senior level. Borris now meet rivals Nenagh in the final group game in a winner takes all affair in two weeks’ time, wishing both players and management the best of luck in preparation.
Team and Scorers:
James McCormack
Seamus Burke, Liam Ryan (C), Kieran Maher
Paddy Stapleton, Dan McCormack, Ray McCormack
Tommy Ryan, Brendan Maher (0-02(0-02f))
Niall Kenny, Jerry Kelly (1-03), James “JD” Devaney (1-00)
Eddie Ryan (0-11(0-06fs)), Conor Kenny (0-05),Kevin Maher
Subs:
Ciaran Cowan for Dan McCormack
