Ballyea extend unbeaten run

BALLYEA maintained their unbeaten run in the Minor A Hurling Championship when they proved too strong for Sixmilebridge in the third round in Ballyea on Friday evening.
The home side had the better of exchanges in the first half with their defence and midfield performing well. Points from Lee Brady, Martin O’Leary, Tadgh Lynch and 1-4 from Tony Kelly, the goal coming from a well-struck 20m free 10 minutes before the interval put Ballyea in a commanding position at the break leading by 1-9 to 0-4.
The winners continued to hold the upper hand in the third quarter with further points from Niall Deasy and Tony Kelly but the visitors did score a goal in the 48th minute to bring them back into contention and reduce the deficit to five points.
Ballyea pulled away again when Tony Kelly soloed 20m to blast the sliotar to the ’Bridge net with seven minutes to play. The East Clare side tried hard to get back into the game but the black and amber-clad side finished strongly with two pointed frees from Kelly to record a seven-point victory.
The winners had good displays from Darragh Crowe, Jack Browne, Aongus Keane and Gearóid O’Connell in defence, while Tony Kelly and Stan Lineen hurled well at midfield. Up front, Niall Deasy, Lee Brady and Tadgh Lynch performed well, while Martin O’Leary had a good first half.
In other games on Friday evening, Clooney-Quin produced a good performance to defeat a fancied Clonlara side, while Clarecastle had a big win over Doora-Barefield. In a high-scoring tie, Éire Óg and Newmarket shared the spoils.
In the race for the B title, there were wins for Meelick, Cratloe, Smith O’Brien’s, Corofin and Kilmaley.

Results
Minor A: Ballyea 2-15 Sixmilebridge 1-11; Clooney-Quin 2-11 Clonlara 1-9; Éire Óg 4-13 Newmarket 3-16; Clarecastle 6-17 Doora-Barefield 2-8.
Minor B: Meelick 3-15 Broadford 3-13; Cratloe 2-20 Parteen 2-11; Smith O’Brien’s 5-12 O’Callaghan’s Mills 2-9; Corofin 3-9 Tulla-Bodyke 1-9; Kilmaley 2-15 Inagh-Kilnamona 2-4.