Borris-Ileigh GAA Club Match Report
Borris-Ileigh vs Nenagh Eire Og (FBD Insurance Senior County Hurling League- Round 4)
26th April 2022
Borris-Ileigh starting lineup
James McCormack
Seamus Burke Ciaran Cowan Bill O’Connell
Liam Ryan (C) Brendan Maher Ray McCormack (1pt)
Mikey Kennedy Kevin Maher (2 pts)
Thomas Fahy (1 pt) Jerry Kelly (9 pts (6fs)) Niall Kenny (1 pt)
Shane McCormack Conor Kenny (2 pts) James “JD” Devaney (1-2)
Sean McCormack (1pt) for Mikey Kennedy
Jack Hogan (1-1) for Niall Kenny
Borris-Ileigh resumed their league campaign by hosting Nenagh Eire Og in Bishop Quinlan Park on Tuesday, the 26th of April. Looking to solidify themselves at the top of the table, motivation was clear for Borris as they fielded a near to full strength team with likes of Conor Kenny and Ciaran Cowan returning whilst also testing squad players with an eye later into the season. Borris started very sharply out of the blocks with very sharp passing to hand and clear intent to challenge the Nenagh inside line with JD in particular looking threatening. The early intensity however, did not lead to scores as the team missed three early makeable chances, this being overturned shortly after when Kevin Maher found Jerry who finished well on his left side to open scoring proceedings for the evening. Borris continued to display crisp passing in the early stages with Brendan Maher in particular getting on a lot of breaking ball aswell as misguided Nenagh deliveries but Borris were struggling to gain distance from their opponents on the scoreboard. The link up play in midfield then resulted in Jerry delivering a near carbon copy score of his first from the game but Borris only leading by a solitary point after 10 minutes despite the superior possession. Borris’ passing game began to break down more often as Nenagh came more into the game from a physicality point of view but Conor Kenny was able to create his own score to keep the scoreboard ticking over but chances for both teams dwindling in the second quarter. Niall Kenny was able to garner a free which was reward for good early efforts with Jerry opening his free taking duties with a good placed ball before he doubled up his efforts minutes later. The aforementioned Niall then created some space to score a well taken left side score to mirror the team’s score output from the first 10 to the second 10 minutes with Borris leading 6 points to 4. Borris were showing an excellent eye for team play up front with each forward on the ball observing their options rather than shooting instantly and this led to another Jerry point when he was found by JD. Borris nearly scored a goal when the Nenagh backline failed to deal with a routine incoming ball but they managed to drive away the threat. The game then went into a drought of scoring with both teams missing some frees before JD found space and showed great footwork before a good score but this was an isolated highlight of the final moments of the half as the whistle blew with Borris leading 8 points to 7.
Sean McCormack replaced Mikey Kennedy as the second half arrived with a great start for the home team as Kevin Maher isolated himself from the Nenagh marker to deliver a cool finish and a white flag before Ray McCormack made a lung busting run down the left hand side to garner a free that was missed but Jerry followed up quickest to score from the left side. Ray started to make more frequent support runs and this led to score making opportunities as emphasised by a team up play with brother Sean who slotted a well taken point but Nenagh were starting to establish their threat more in the game with little between the teams in the period both in play and on the scoreboard. The Borris team began to increase their intensity however with a turnover leading to Jerry’s 3rd free of the game as Jack Hogan replaced an injured Niall Kenny. As the hour mark arrived, the game was deadlocked at 12 points apiece. Borris then really started to turn up the heat in their use of the sliotar and their intensity in the tackle, this leading to free 4 for Jerry and an ever running JD finding a cross field pass to Thomas Fahy who duly slotted the point as Borris were starting to find reward in scores for their efforts in open play. Borris’ confidence in the forward line began to really show as JD scored from inside followed by a Jerry free, the 5th of the evening and Ray who was dominating the middle third area scored as Borris started to open a gap from their opposition. The dominance of Borris in the period was solidified when Jerry garnered a breaking ball and unselfishly found a wide open JD who finished to the net and in turn finished the game as a contest. Borris had put together a run of 1-5 without reply from an even contest within a 6/7 minute period, a great sign with it especially happening in the 4th quarter. Jerry followed up with free 6 before Conor found a wide open Jack Hogan who scored the team’s second goal as the final minutes arrived. Kevin scored another from wing forward before Jack Hogan finished the scoring with another point before the final whistle blew with Borris running out deserved victors on a scoreline of 2-20 to 12 points.
Borris will be very happy with the 1st and 4th quarters from a sharpness point of view both on ball and off ball. They looked to have intent with most delivery into the forward line and will look to the 2-8 and in particular the 1-5 in a short burst as promising signs when a game is in the melting pot. Key players came to the fore in the game whilst others showed excellent versatility in multiple positions so far this season to give management plenty of options which will be vital as shown last year. The team remains undefeated in the campaign so far and have fellow undefeated team Kilruane MacDonaghs away from home in their final group game. Stay tuned to the club’s social media outlets for details on the fixture.
