Borris-Ileigh GAA Club Match Report
Borris-Ileigh vs Kiladangan
13th August 2023
Borris-Ileigh starting lineup
Jody Harkin
Colm Boyle Liam Ryan Seamus Burke (1pt)
Brendan Maher (1-0) Dan McCormack (0-2) Ray McCormack
Sean McCormack Tomas Ryan (0-2)
Jerry Kelly (0-1) Eddie Ryan (0-11 (8fs) (1 65’) James “JD” Devaney (0-4)
Kevin Maher Conor Kenny (0-2) Paddy McCormack
Dan Ryan for Brendan Maher
Brendan Maher for Dan Ryan
Jack Hogan for Tomas Ryan
Borris-Ileigh entered another round with rivals Kiladangan in round 2 of the FBD County Championship on Sunday, the 13th of August. The teams are very familiar with each other at this stage of the year having played in the league and in the North Semi Final, Borris coming into the game after a draw in round 1 whilst Kiladangan looking to build on an impressive victory over Thurles in what has been described as the “group of death”. Borris made two changes to their starting lineup with brothers Sean and Paddy McCormack deputising for Shane Kenny and Jack Hogan respectively. Borris were looking for a good start and it couldn’t of began better with the team dominating the early collisions, the ruck areas and then using this Launchpad to set up a dangerous forward line that looked intent on rewarding work further out the field. Brendan Maher set the tone with a run through the middle third which ended up with JD earning the free that started Eddie Ryan’s tally for the day. Borris continued their control when Kevin Maher delivered a dangerous cross field ball that had Paddy McCormack jump high to distract Barry Hogan in goal and the result a green flag and a lightening start for the team. Conor Kenny looked well up for his contest with James Quigley and caught his first aerial dual before finding Eddie who scored his first from play, Borris ahead by 1-3 to no score after 5 minutes. Paddy Mc was showing a high work rate in the forward line and his pressure led to a turnover which resulted in Eddie’s successful 65’ effort but this appeared to awaken Kiladangan who spent the next few minutes on top aided by a cool Paul Flynn goal and another goal attempt requiring a brave stop by goalie Jody Harkin. Borris didn’t relinquish control for long though as Conor continued to win his aerial contests and scored his first of the game before JD showed efficient shooting near the stand to score his opening point as Borris looked far more threatening up front than the previous encounter. Kevin Maher was getting on significant possession in the opening quarter whilst Eddie scored free number 2, the Borris team working as a unit with closing down in the middle third, excellent defending and then ruthless finishing up front. Dan Mc then attained possession which resulted in a drive forward effort through the Kiladangan spine and an assist for Tom Ryan who brought about another white flag for the team as Borris were well on top throughout the field. Young forwards JD and Eddie then added a brace to give a very healthy look on the scoreboard after 15 minutes with Borris leading 1-10 to 1-3. The flow of the game didn’t relent as corner back Seamus Burke found space in the middle of the park and showed no hesitation with his first score before Eddie scored free number 3 after Conor won his individual battle yet again. Liam Ryan deserves mention for the way he marshalled the backline during the period as Kiladangan looked devoid of answers with his corner backs Colm Boyle and Seamus Burke looking to play forward at any chance with Jerry Kelly on a lot of possession also with good positioning at the breaking ball. The lead extended to 8 after 20 minutes with Conor scoring his second point of the half as a reward for his availability as an out ball and win over tough full back Quigley. JD showed finesse and incredible skill soon after before finding Tom Ryan to make it a brace for the midfielder as Borris looked an attacking threat in all areas. Kiladangan needed answers and appeared to be mounting a mild comeback with 2 in quick succession but Conor again won ball to lead to free 4 for Eddie and a brace for JD who took the smart option of the points instead of forcing goal opportunities, an improvement by the team compared to gameday 1. Eddie then showed incredible soccer skills to finish the half on a high which led to free 5 as Borris entered the half time break with a sizeable lead at 1-18 to 1-8. This was the best half of hurling displayed by Borris in a long time with a real showing of team play connected throughout the field with backs winning individual battles, interplay in the middle third and forwards winning possession in a variety of ways and showing a clinical accuracy with shooting.
Borris were dealt a blow on the run out for the second half when talisman Brendan Maher was substituted, Dan Ryan being the replacement. The substitution led to a revamping of the team and coupled with Kiladangan’s desperation looking at the scoreboard, the half started and continued in a dominant fashion for Borris’ opponents. Kiladangan scored two quick points to send a message which was aided by two Borris wides before Conor continued from his first half with another aerial victory which led to free 6 for Eddie but that was to be the sole highlight for the team as Kiladangan went about eliminating their large deficit. The lead was reduced to 6 with Kiladangan completely on top before Jerry Kelly stepped up near the sideline to score an inspiring point but Kiladangan would not be stopped, Borris led 1-20 to 1-17 after 43 minutes but the game was level by the 50th minute, a similar type 3rd quarter to Tipp vs Limerick from 2021. A long ball delivery from Borris was well caught by Dan Mc who scored well but Kiladangan continued to tick over the scoreboard with long range shooting in space as the final minutes arrived. Kiladangan led by two points when Brendan Maher returned to the field of play in the forward line, Borris leaning on Eddie’s free’s 7 and 8 from placed ball with little open play threat compared to their counterparts. Kiladangan continued their leading ways from 2 to 3 points before the 60th minute arrived with them 2 points up, Jerry Kelly doing really well to garner a free with a goal needed for potential victory. Jerry found Dan Mc who had been yearning for possession all half and came through with a forceful drive towards goal before substituting brawn for brain to find his team mate Brendan who showed zero effects of the injury to riffle home to the corner of the net for a goal and the lead for a Borris team who had all the momentum taken from them but never gave up and epitomised by the man who scored the goal to save the day. Borris showed excellent rearguard action in the final moments which has been a staple of the team throughout the championship so far before Conor Doyle blew the full time whistle with Borris winning 2-23 to 1-25 in an absolutely remarkable game of hurling.
This really was a game of two halves with Borris playing a level of hurling rarely seen in the last few years as they knew the test ahead of them and perhaps underperforming in the forward line in the last two games amassing 12 points and 1-13. To score 1-18 in a half was fantastic performance and a backline that didn’t look threatened deserves mention too. The second half had the worst possible start and to lose a 10 point lead without conceding goals was worrying but the team found a way and the dual effort of Dan and Brendan to manufacture the winning goal may be huge for the team going forward. Borris now play Thurles Sarsfields in their final group game in two weeks’ time
