Crossmolina 0-1 Ballinrobe Town

One win. Five defeats. Out of both cups within seven weeks. And only the league to to concentrate on over the Summer months. Crossmolina are as lost as St. Patrick's Day in May after a 1-0 defeat at home to Ballinrobe Town on Sunday in the League Cup. After being beaten previously this season by Ballinrobe downtrodden Crossmolina had ample warning about the quality of the newly promoted side. The late arrival of the referee afforded both teams extra time to acclimatise to the pitch and they seemed to be too psyched up as the match commenced at a trememdous tempo. After 6 minutes John Duggan rattled the Ballinrobe crossbar with a stinging 20 yard shot. The visitors replied by hitting the crossbar with an equally dangerous effort of their own minutes later. They continued to exert pressure on the home defence and only some decisive tackling by John Hegarty kept the lively visitors at bay. Eventually though they were rewarded when a 17th minute set piece was only half cleared by Crossmolina. The ball was delivered from the left hand side straight back into the home 18 yard box where Adrian Fahy controlled the ball on his knee before turning to score from 12 yards out. Crossmolina goalkeeper John Heffernan dominated the rest of the match with three spectacular saves which kept his team in the tie when they could have succumbed to a severe beating. The first save in the 30th minute came from a curling left wing shot destined for the top right corner of the goal. Heffernan backpedalled and somehow palmed the ball onto the bar before scrambling it to safety. This kept Crossmolina within reach of their opponents and allowed for a more positive half time discussion. Crossmolina had better possession after the break but a solid Ballinrobe defence, protected by a dogged midfield, didn't allow them to translate it into actual shots on goal. Indeed it was Heffernan who received the greater test with his defence leaving him exposed as a Ballinrobe striker charged forward with the ball. The netminder stood his ground and acrobatically tipped over a venomous 18 yard shot, much to the home side's relief. Crossmolina mounted a rare attack in the 70th minute, as their Cup hopes ebbed away, when Ronan O'Mara volleyed a shot at the Ballinrobe goalie from 12 yards out. Then it was Heffernan's turn to shine again when he thwarted Ballinrobe with another stupendous save in a one-on-one situation. With minutes remaining Steven Canavan glanced a header wide from Paul Flaherty's free kick and that was all she wrote for Crossmolina. Ballinrobe deserved to advance to the next round after creating more quality chances than their demoralised hosts in this rollicking cup tie. Referee Michael Walsh can also take some credit for the entertainment factor due to his good-natured, no-nonsense style of officiating which allowed the game to flow freely.