Big game clash rules Brady out for Ballina

By Shane Brophy

A clash of high-profile fixtures means Ballina will be without influential goalkeeper Jack Brady for Sunday’s County Intermediate Football final against Mullinahone.

Brady plays League of Ireland soccer with Treaty United in Limerick, who themselves are in a huge game this Sunday afternoon in their first ever FAI Cup semi-final, away to Derry City, which kicks off at 2.00pm, an hour after the Gaelic Football match starts 187 miles away in Thurles.

“We won’t have Jack, that is a definite unfortunately,” confirmed Ballina manager Kevin Byrne, as Brady is contractually obliged to play for Treaty United.

“Jack would love to have played in both matches but it is just an awful pity that the clash has happened, and it is a pity for us as his contribution in the semi-final was huge.”

Brady, a former Tipperary minor goalkeeper, has played in all four championship games on route to the final, and was particularly influential in the semi-final against Grangemockler/Ballyneale where he chipped in with three long range frees, along with his effective kickouts which is an important aspect of a goalkeeper’s role nowadays.

“A goalkeeper is now one of the most important players on the field,” Byrne added, confirming that club stalwart Jerry O’Brien will deputise between the posts.

“Jerry was our full back in last year’s campaign so he was playing not far away from the goalkeeper so will have an understanding of the set-up in terms of kickouts and playing the ball out of defence. Jerry is an experienced player and has played an amount of soccer in goals as well.”

Ballina are hoping to have Tipperary senior panellist Teddy Doyle available having missed the last two games through injury, but they will definitely be without Eoghan Dalton (ankle) and Mike Grace, the latter having missed most of the campaign with a cruciate knee injury.

It is Ballina’s second consecutive county final, having only come up from junior ‘A’ last year, going onto play in a Munster final where they lost to Gneeveguilla of Kerry last January. So, did Kevin Byrne expect them to be as challenging in the intermediate grade so soon?

“It was a target at the start of the year,” he confirmed.

“We have a very good bunch of players, a good group that are dedicated and have an awful lot of potential and we saw that potential last year. So, it is a natural progression to try and go as far as we can this year.

“We realise there is a big challenge ahead of us with Mullinahone. They beat us by five points (in the group stage), so we have a job of work to turn around that deficit in the final, and we know Mullinahone are going to be as determined as we are to win this game.

“I think it is going to be a very good game of football. We had a very good game against Grangemockler in the semi-final, so we think we have progressed since last year in how we play the game. Mullinahone set the standard a few years before us in terms of winning a junior and getting to a Munster final as well. They have county players in their team.”