Carrigaline power past Ballymartle after dominant second half.

Carrigaline 2-2-12 Ballymartle 1-8

JJ Hurley

Eoin Deasy Ballymartle and Tomas Vaughan Carrigaline in a tustle for the ball at the Procure.ie SE Junior A Football Championship clash at Minane Bridge Friday night (Bernard Laverty)

Carrigaline produced a ruthless second‑half surge to overpower Ballymartle in the Procure.ie South East Junior A Football Championship at Minane Bridge on Friday night, overturning what had briefly looked like a potential upset.

Ballymartle were the sharper outfit early on and held a deserved two‑point lead at the interval.

With six minutes left in the first half they were cruising at 1‑6 to 0‑3, moving the ball crisply and finishing well.

A two‑point free from Tim Cronin halted their momentum, and Carrigaline added two more points before the break to leave just two between them.

The restart completely changed the tone. The introduction of Ben Delaney proved decisive, as he took command around the middle and drove Carrigaline forward with real intent.

Their tempo lifted, their tackling sharpened, and Ballymartle suddenly found themselves under sustained pressure.

Ballymartle keeper Gavin Murphy briefly kept his side afloat with a superb penalty save from Cronin on 36 minutes, but Carrigaline were relentless.

The breakthrough goal arrived on 42 minutes when Neil O’Keeffe finished smartly after a clever pass from Sean Turner, pushing Carrigaline firmly into the ascendancy.

Ballymartle’s best chance of a revival came on 48 minutes, but Ronan Sheehan could only fire over after good work from Cillian Lordan, leaving the score at 1‑11 to 1‑7.

From there, Carrigaline tightened their grip, and O’Keeffe’s second goal late on sealed a victory that had long looked inevitable.

Ballymartle had started brightly, with James O’Sullivan opening the scoring. Carrigaline responded through Thomas Foley and Eoghan Landers, both supplied by Cronin, before a Cronin free pushed them two clear on 11 minutes.

Ballymartle then enjoyed their strongest spell, driven by Luke O’Callaghan and Ryan Deasy, with Deasy, Jack Dwyer, Sheehan and Jamie O’Sullivan all raising white flags.

Their lead stretched further on 23 minutes when O’Sullivan finished confidently after a swift Deasy delivery.

But they couldn’t sustain it. Carrigaline reeled them in before the break and dominated the second half, outscoring Ballymartle by 2‑9 to 0‑2.

With one game left, Ballymartle now face the prospect of exiting the championship, while Carrigaline’s performance sends a clear warning to the rest of the contenders.

Carrigaline's Thomas Foley is surrounded by Ballymartle trio of Killian Lordan, Cillian Barry  and Gavin Murphy at the Procure.ie SE Junior A Football Championship clash at Minane Bridge Friday night (Bernard Laverty)

Scorers for Carrigaline

N O’Keeffe 2‑1, T Cronin 0‑6 (1 2‑point free, 2f), B Delaney 0‑5 (0‑2f, 1 2ptf), T Foley, E Landers, J Shannahan, J Kelly 0‑1 each.

Ballymartle:J O’Sullivan 1‑2, R Deasy 0‑3 (0‑1f), R R Sheehan 0‑2, J Dwyer 0‑1.

CARRIGALINE:S Mellett; S Browne, I Sheerin, E Murphy; S Turner, J Kelly, N O Keeffe; N O Keeffe, T Foley; E Landers, J Connolly, D Sutton; T Cronin, M Vaughan, S Horan. Subs: J Shannahan for E Murphy (HT), B Delaney for J Connolly (34), B Greene for E Landers (45), L Ahern for S Browne (58), S Connolly for M Vaughan (58).

BALLYMARTLE:

G Murphy; E Deasy, C Barry, D Murphy; C Lordan, E O'Leary, L O’Callaghan; J Dwyer, F Desmond; N Crowley, R Deasy, L Hennessey; J O'Sullivan, P Cronin, R Sheehan. Subs: A Harte for E O'Leary (34), D O'Leary for J Dwyer (42), F McCarthy for P Cronin (47), S Looney for L Hennessy (50), F O'Keefe for D Murphy (50).

Referee: Sean Forde (Nemo Rangers)