Ballylanders secure senior status in Limerick SFC as Claughaun drop down

“WE'VE been there a few times before, so the experience stood to us. We got on top after a bad start to dominate the rest of the first half, enough for a match-winning lead,” was how manager Pa Meade summed up Ballylanders' precious 1-15 to 1-12 senior football relegation play-off victory over Claughaun at Cappamore on Saturday afternoon.

The result means that while Ballylanders will compete at the top table of Limerick club football in 2024, Claughaun will drop down to intermediate ranks next year.

This fixture was not without its moments of drama as an all-or-thing assault by Claughaun brought them within a goal of victory deep into injury time, but tantalisingly short of a death-defying escape.

Had they pulled it off, however, they would have reversed the course of a match in which they were second best right up to that late glimmer of hope. 

Claughaun got off to the better start with points from Jamie McGarry and Aodhan Frain had them 0-3 to 0-0 in front.

However, Stephen Fox, Mark O'Connell, Danny Frewen and Eoin O'Mahony completed a 1-6 blitz for Bally' in just five minutes before the sequence was broken by Aodhan Frain's free.

Bally's stranglehold over Claughan saw pointed frees from Murphy and Frewen followed by Frewen and O'Mahony from play leading the winners into a 1-10 to 0-3 lead at the break.

After the sides shared four points evenly at the start of the second half, points from Howard and sub Rory Ward kept Claughaun in touch and points from Gary Bateman's free and Frain from play and a free reduced the gap back to five points.

Four minutes into added time, Claughaun finally found the goal they sought as Cian Byrnes jumped highest to field the long delivery at the edge of the square and lay the ball off to Ward to drill low into the near corner.

Boosted by the score, Claughaun chased after another goal to complete a miraculous escape from relegation and flooded the middle for the kick-out but the breaking ball.

However, possession was gathered by Bally' to feed veteran Kieran O'Callaghan, on the field for barely a minute, to coolly complete the scoring with a match-clinching point.

SCORERS: BALLYLANDERS: Danny Frewen 0-6 (1 mark), Stephen Fox 1-2, Ciarán Kelly, Eoin O'Mahony 0-2 each, Mark O'Connell, Jimmy Barry Murphy (free), Kieran O'Callaghan 0-1 each; CLAUGHAUN: Aodhán Frain 0-6 (3 frees), Rory Ward 1-1, Kevin Howard 0-3, Jamie McGarry, Gary Bateman (free) 0-1 each.