WITHOUT ever reaching for the spectacular, champions Adare did what they had to do as they qualified for the senior football semi-final with a 1-9 to 0-8 victory over Ballysteen in Rathkeale’s drenched Bog Garden on Sunday.
Running up the scores before the break with the help of the wind, they soaked up the Deelsiders’ response on the restart before a spectacular Robbie Bourke goal gave enough of a margin to withstand a late rally.
The four-point margin shows that Ballysteen put up a fight but the winners never looked in serious danger of failing to reach the last four for the first time since their return to senior. Much of this was down to a defence that kept its shape whenever threatened and kept the frees and turnovers to a minimum despite the conditions. And with Danny Neville, theirs and Limerick’s marquee forward of the last decade, now abroad, the losers just hadn’t the magic up front to create enough scores.
Adare led 0-4 to 0-1 at the end of the first quarter and held a 0-7 to 0-2 advantage at half-time.
SCORERS: ADARE: Hugh Bourke 0-6 (4 frees0, Robbie Bourke 1-2 (0-2 frees), Mark Connolly 0-1 (mark). BALLYSTEEN: Dave O’Shaughnessy 0-4 (3 frees), Cillian Ferris, Luke Gammell, Willie O’Meara, Pakie Moran 0-1 each.
By John Redington of the Limerick Leader. Email: sport@limerickleader.ie
Photo by Limerick Leader Photographer.
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