Coolaney Mullinabreena 0-14 Ballymote 4-9

Demot McTiernan scored three goals as Ballymote claimed the Sligo Park Hotel Junior B Championship after recovering from a slow start at Kilcoyne Park on Friday night.

Three goals in 14 first-half minutes did the damage as a dominant Ballymote had to withstand a period of Coolaney Mullinabreena pressure in the second-half.

Coolaney Mullinabreena did reduce the margin somewhat in the second-half, but Ballymote were far too strong in the end.

Coolaney Mullinabreena opened up a two-point lead early on, but John Lavin’s men soon fired back, and a two-pointer from Ewan Boland saw them move two points ahead.

From there, Ballymote dominated as they were winning the Coolaney Mullinabreena kick-out with ease, as Colin Finn and Malachy Healy stretched that lead to five points after 13 minutes.

Ballymote’s first goal of the evening arrived on 14 minutes, when Ballymote collected the Coolaney Mullinabreena kickout, with Malachy Healy firing into the net.

McTiernan had the ball in the net seconds later, only for officials to rule it out, but he was celebrating in a matter of seconds when he scored from another Coolaney Mullinabreena kick-out.

Three points from Riain Maloney halted the Ballymote dominance briefly, but another mix-up in the Coolaney Mullinabreena defence led to a third goal for Ballymote, with McTiernan getting his second.

The half-time scoreline would have made for less pleasant viewing for Coolaney Mullinabreena were it not for Kevin O’Brien’s two-pointer, but sub Eoin McDonagh missed an opportunity for another two-pointer minutes later.

The three goals separated the sides at the break, and Coolaney Mullinabreena did reduce the gap.

McDonagh’s two-pointer and Conor Feely’s point gave Coolaney Mullinabreena a bit of momentum, but a dogged Ballymote were always there chipping away at the scoreboard to keep their healthy lead.

McDonagh’s free from two-point range dropped short on 56 minutes, a score that would have put real pressure on Ballymote.

Kieran Finan’s point on 57 minutes reduced the deficit to four points with minutes to go, and while Ballymote sent a couple of efforts wide of the target late on, they found the net once again in the dying minutes as Jason Dwyer teed up McTiernan for his hat-trick as the celebrations got underway for John Lavin’s men.

Scorers – Coolaney Mullinabreena: K O’Brien 0-4 (1 tp), E McDonagh 0-3 (1 tpf), R Maloney 0-3 (2f), B Henry, K Finan, C Feely, O Gorman 0-1 each. Ballymote: D McTiernan 3-0, M Healy 1-2, C Finn 0-3 (1f), E Boland 0-2 (1 tp), N Colsh 0-2 (1f).

Coolaney Mullinabreena: C McCormack, K Gallagher, J Coleman, E Shanley, O Gorman, P Gorman, D Hosey, K O’Brien, P Connolly, C Kerins, S Feely, B Henry, R Maloney, C Davey, C Marren.

Subs: E McDonagh (24), K Finan (HT), C Feely (HT), E Gallagher (50).

Ballymote: S Keane, C McGettrick, P Mullin, T Sexton, C Anderson, K Meehan, J Dwyer, E Boland, L Hogg, C Finn, N Colsh, D Brehony, D McTiernan, M Healy, C McHale.

Subs: M Kielty (46), J Sweeney (56), G Rafferty (58), S Healy (59).

Referee: G Cawley.