Borris-Ileigh GAA Club Match Report
Borris-Ileigh vs JK Brackens (FBD Insurance Senior County Hurling League- Round 3)
15th April 2022
Borris-Ileigh starting lineup
James McCormack
Seamus Burke Thomas Fahy Paddy Stapleton
Liam Ryan (C) (2 pts) Brendan Maher Ray McCormack
Mikey Kennedy Jody Harkin
Shane McCormack (2 pts) Kevin Maher Niall Kenny (2 pts)
Jack Fitzgerald Jerry Kelly (8 pts (6fs) James “JD” Devaney (3pts)
Bill O’Connell for Paddy Stapleton
Jack Hogan (1pt) for Mikey Kennedy
Tomas Ryan (1pt) for Jack Fitzgerald
David O’Connor for Kevin Maher
Templemore was the setting and Good Friday was the day for Borris-Ileigh’s 3rd group game in the FBD County Senior league, a contest against JK Brackens on a wonderful late evening. Borris made some changes from their last encounter against Sars; Brendan Maher returning at centre back, first competitive starts for Jody Harkin and Shane McCormack alongside season debuts for Paddy Stapleton, Niall Kenny and Thomas Fahy with Colm Boyle, Ciaran Cowan, Sean McCormack, Tomas Ryan and Conor Kenny dropping out as Shane O’Neill sought to experiment with positions and players. Borris had won 1 and drawn 1 and were looking to gain a solid positioning in the league table with a win. Borris started sharply and were able to garner a lot of ball without opening their account, this changed when Jack Fitz gained possession and fed off to Ray who created the first free opportunity of the game for Jerry who duly slotted over for Borris’ first point of the game. Borris were clearly adopting the short range passing game from the get go and no more obvious than when the team went end to end from a James McCormack short puck out to Drifter who then was the recipient after multiple passes up the pitch for a well worked team score. Both teams in fact were using a short game well but Borris looking the more threatening thanks in part to Borris’ defensive jobs on the likes of Andrew Ormonde working well. Jerry added free 2 shortly after before Niall Kenny showed little rust when he gained multiple possessions with only goal in mind but took a point calmly when avenues shut down. Borris continued their slick passing game but weren’t opening up the Brackens defense and went a short period without troubling the scoreboard, this ended when Brendan showed good vision to find Jerry cross field for a well taken point from the full forward, reward for an extended period of control for the away team. As the half drew on, Borris started to gather ball in dangerous areas with Brackens having to foul to stop the play, Jerry adding frees 3 and 4 to extend the team’s lead with Brackens struggling to garner possession in an attacking zone. Borris were starting to flow now and Shane McCormack linked with Kevin Maher for the former to score his first point before JD finished another well worked team play for Borris to open a 6 point lead with 5 minutes to go in the half. The final moments of the half were evenly shared to leave a half time scoreline of Borris-Ileigh 0-10 to JK Bracken’s 5 points. Borris showed excellent team play despite the aforementioned changes to the starting lineup, the backs looked very calm in the defensive area on possession with areas to improve being more dangerous entries near goal to open up green flag opportunities.
Tomas Ryan and Jack Hogan replaced Jack Fitzgerald and Mikey Kennedy as the second half started with both teams struggling to create chances. Borris ended the second half stalemate with two well taken points either side of the pitch with JD and Shane McCormack extending the team’s lead. JK Brackens continued their struggle with creation up front thanks to good back play stifling their intentions. Jerry made a great catch to setup his fifth free of the game as the lead grew quietly to 7 with the game going into a significant lull after this, neither team creating chances and a lot of messy play in the middle third. Bill O’Connell replaced Paddy Stapleton before Brendan started to assume control of the Borris half back zone, the number 6 gathering possession and passing off to team mates who then started another surge of scoring for Borris. This began with Jerry scoring free 6 after good Borris intensity causing a turnover, Niall Kenny following suit with a self made score as this finished the game as a contest. Borris added another two fine scores when Tom Foot showed good footwork to score before Jack Hogan created space for a point after JD did well under pressure. Borris had shaken off a slump in the 3rd quarter to show some class with their point taking and cool play near their own goal line with Brendan setting up Liam Ryan for another score, part of an all-round excellent display by the wing back who showed good attacking threat, a cool head on the ball and good team defending skills throughout the game as Brackens never really threatened the Borris goal. Doc O’Connor replaced JD and Jerry finished the scoring late on before the final whistle blew with Borris running out winners on a scoreline of Borris-Ileigh 19 points to JK Brackens 9 points.
Borris will focus on the first half for positives from this game with the team showing sharp passing skills in their defensive zone alongside a good running game with Liam Ryan and Ray McCormack threatening the middle third. Borris will also take positives from shutting down the Brackens attacking options which boasted the likes of Andrew Ormonde and Lyndon Fairbrother. The second half was a dull affair for periods with Borris able to hold on to a good enough lead without it ever being threatened. The Borris backs continued to be diligent throughout the game with the attackers showing class at different points, the slump of the 3rd quarter needing to be addressed for future games. Borris will also look to the positives of getting game time for Paddy Stapleton, Niall Kenny and Thomas Fahy whilst also getting to experiment with some positions most notably Kevin Maher at 11 and Liam Ryan continuing the season at wing back. Stay tuned to the club’s social media accounts for details on the next round in the County League.
Full Time
Borris-Ileigh 0-19
JK Brackens 0-09
