Borris-Ileigh GAA Match Report 2023
FBD County Senior Hurling League-Round 4 Vs Mullinahone
Borris-Ileigh Starting Lineup
Cathal Bourke
Colm Boyle Liam Ryan Harry Gould
Bill O’Connell Kevin Maher (1f) Seamus Burke
Tomas Ryan (1pt) Sean McCormack
James “JD” Devaney (0-6) Conor Kenny (2pts) Jerry Kelly (8pts (5fs)(1 65’)
Jack Hogan (0-2) Dan Ryan (1-1) Jack Fitzgerald (0-2)
Mikey Kennedy for Sean McCormack
Cathal Hogan for Bill O’Connell
The Borris-Ileigh Senior squad played host to Mullinahone in round 4 of the FBD Senior County League on Sunday, the 30th of April in the Park. Borris were looking to rebound from a defeat to Upperchurch whilst also balancing the need to experiment with both squad and new positions for players, Jerry Kelly and Sean McCormack among the returning experienced players whilst young players Harry Gould and Jack Fitzgerald gaining valuable experience at the level. The game started very well for Borris forward James Devaney who showed efficient shooting prowess to hit a brace within the opening minutes before Mullinahone returned fire with two of their own to leave it level after 5 minutes. Conor Kenny showed his aerial ability with a fine catch straight from the puck out and a corresponding score before his forward colleague JD notched his 3rd point as Borris looked threatening but Mullinahone soon after took the reins in that regard when they opened up the Borris defence multiple times for goal chances and a Cathal Bourke diving save was necessary to keep them at bay. Jerry Kelly resumed his free taking duties after Conor had been fouled as the teams remained level at 5 each after 10 minutes, the hosts then entered a purple patch of control and resulting points when they scored 4 unanswered courtesy of Conor after a Jack Hogan assist, a Jack Fitz point from midfield, Jerry’s 2nd converted free and a Jack Hogan point from play as Borris led 10-6 after 19 minutes. Sean McCormack unfortunately had to leave the field of play and was substituted by Mikey Kennedy but Borris’ control continued with good forward link up play resulting in another Hogan point before the dangerous Conor set up Dan Ryan for his first of the game. Borris leaned on two free takers for their next two points courtesy of Jerry’s 65’ and a long range Kevin Maher score leaving them up 14-9 after 25 minutes. Jerry added free number 3 that was soon followed by midfielder Tom Ryan who scored before engaging in an excellent team score when he linked up with Mikey Kennedy who found Jerry for a well taken score. The half finished in the best way possible for Borris when Hogan found full forward Dan Ryan who scored well to the back of the net before the half time whistle arrived with Borris leading 1-17 to 10 points. Mullinahone were in need of a fast start in the second half to overcome the deficit and duly obliged when they scored two quick points and continued to eat into the deficit before JD scored his 4th of the game to halt the surge from their opponents with Jerry adding another after good work rate in the middle third as Borris led 1-19 to 14 points after 40 minutes. Those scores were to be the last for a while as Mullinahone shut down the Borris attack whilst increasing their presence on the scoreboard to reduce the deficit to 3, JD scoring his 5th of the game in an excellent scoring display but a goal from Mullinahone soon after levelled the game at 1-20 apiece after 52 minutes with only one team looking the victor now. Dan stepped up to score a point for the hosts but Mullinahone went into the lead with only a few minutes remaining and despite a late brace of points from a Jerry free and JD’s 6th of the game, Mullinahone held on for the win on a scoreline of 1-25 to 1-23.
Borris will look at the positives from this game of the 2nd quarter where they completely controlled the game, getting senior game time into younger players and the performances of Jerry, Conor and in particular JD (6pts) whilst the second half as a whole was dominated by Mullinahone from the whistle, Borris struggling to generate scoring opportunities and leaving space at times in the back line that was punished by Mullinahone. Borris are now 2 wins and 2 losses in the league and face a must win contest with Kiladangan in what is essentially a quarter final, stay tuned to the club’s social media channels for fixture details.
