Burgess hold on to win the County League Div 3 title against Ballina

Burgess 2-12
Ballina 1-14

Burgess staved off a late rally from opponents Ballina to claim the FBD Insurance County Hurling League Division 3 title at Dolla this afternoon  in a very keenly contested tie.

Despite being down to fourteen men from four minutes before half time, the Burgess lads showed a lot of composure and desire as they got the scores against a strong breeze and then defended staunchly as the game went into the final frantic phase.

A strong breeze right down the middle of the field favoured Burgess in the first half but they were not exactly making the most of it. By the end of the first quarter they were in front by 0-5 to 0-2 - Stephen Murray getting all their scores from placed balls against Daire Whelan and Matthew Power efforts for Ballina.

The lead stood at double scores, 0-8 to 0-4, with five minutes to go to the half time break when Burgess lost Michael Ryan to a straight red card. But, the event did not affect his sides morale and they bagged two match winning goals in two minutes to give them a real fillip as they went to the break.

Those goals, both from full forward Tony Dunne who was proving a real handful for Ballina, helped his side to a 2-8 to 0-4 lead, but even allowing for the distance between them on the scoreboard, spectators still wondered if it would be enough, considering the strength of the breeze.

Ballina sprung into action upon resumption and points from Matthew Power (3 frees) gave them a real shot in the arm. David Grace and David Kelly chipped in with further scores against an Eoin Hogan effort for Burgess, to leave two clear goals in it.
Stephen Murray and Power traded points once more before Cathal O’Donnell pointed for Ballina. And, when Jack Collins hit a piledriver to the top corner of the net in the 23rd minute, Ballina had the deficit down to two points.

Stephen Murray’s 24th minute free was an important score for Burgess as Ballina came in search of equalisers - Paddy O’Donovan finding a lovely point for them. Murray had another, this time from play, and as the clock ticked into injury time Ballina probably needed a goal, but were content to take their points - Power and Brian McKeogh cutting the lead to the minimal. However, try as they did, they just could not get an equaliser and as tension mounted on the field and on the sideline, referee Gerry Treacy called time on what had been a very competitive and keenly contested final.