Ten point haul for Helebert as Gort men canter home

Gort 2-20

Ballinderreen 0-11

Eanna O’Reilly at Kenny Park

AN outstanding second half performance from Gort saw them comprehensively dismiss the challenge of Ballinderreen at Kenny Park on Sunday. On a day when the elements played a huge role, Gort powered away from their south Galway rivals with wind advantage in the second period.

Mattie Murphy’s side had successfully managed to limit the damage in terms of scores conceded in the opening 30 minutes, while Ballinderreen were left to rue their failure to convert a number of scoring chances with the wind behind them.

While Gort booked their place in the knock-out stages, they were unfortunate to miss out on promotion to the Senior A division. A late Craughwell goal in Pearse Stadium saw them lose out narrowly, based on points scored. Nevertheless, this victory and the nature of their second half display should give Gort great confidence heading into the business end of the championship.

Ballinderreen began well, with two excellent points from Roy Lane (one sideline cut) in the opening minutes. Aiden Helebert pointed a free for Gort at the other end, before Lane got his third point, a fine score from the left wing. A minute later, Shane Larkin fired over a point as Ballinderreen extended their lead to three.

Although playing with the wind, Ballinderreen opted to play with Kevin Lane as a sweeper. He pointed an excellent long range free in the 13th minute, before David O’Connor added a neat point from the right wing shortly after. Helebert kept Gort in touch with two pointed frees, before the lively Luke Prendergast landed a good score at the other end.

Roy Lane pointed a ’65 in the 30th minute, extending the margin to five points. While Ballinderreen were well on top throughout the field, they were also wasteful up front. Despite winning the vast majority of possession, with Kevin Lane, Larkin, Prendergast and Roy Lane getting on lots of ball, they failed generate a significant scoring boost from the wind. Seven wides, all from from scorable positions in the first half, was no help to their cause.

Gort on the other hand, were happy to limit the damage caused by their opponent’s dominance. Helebert reduced the margin to four points with another free, before Seán Meehan concluded the first half scoring for Ballinderreen, firing over an excellent point from the right wing.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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