Niall Deasy was unplayable on Sunday.
When most of Ballyea were being horsed out of it by Inagh-Kilnamona in the first half of their Clare SHC quarter-final, Niall Deasy was standing tall, standing large.
The battle-hardened amalgamation club were underdogs but they began this last eight clash like ravenous hounds. Since their joining forces in 2008, Inagh-Kilnamona haven’t won a Clare senior title and they set off in Cusack Park like a team hell-bent on changing that.
It was men in green and yellow who were winning those dirty 50:50 balls, it was the men in green and yellow who were taking more of their chances. They were on top in most places of the field, apart from the areas occupied by Ballyea half forward Niall Deasy.
The brawny half forward scored Ballyea’s first six points of the game, two of them hard earned but stylishly finished efforts from open play. He ended up scoring nine of their ten first half points.
Inagh-Kilnamona were leading by 0-5 to 0-2 after ten minutes of that opening period and it looked as if Ballyea were in for a tough afternoon. Deasy called for puck-outs, he won them. He slotted frees, he tapped over a few beauties from open play as none of the opposition backs could manage him.
Lovely score for Ballyea by Niall Deasy. pic.twitter.com/l3xvXI31Oy
— The GAA (@officialgaa) September 23, 2018
So Inagh-Kilnamona tried to lay down a marker to Deasy. Their county man, Jason McCarthy took responsibility.
A raking cross-field pass found Deasy about 45 metres out from goal after 26 minutes of that first half and he uncharacteristically dropped his effort into goalie Patrick Kelly’s hands.
McCarthy arrived late to block down Deasy’s strike. He could have averted Ballyea’s number 11 but as often tacklers, he went in hard and he went in aggressively.
He appeared to catch Deasy with a dirty hurl to the face.
Video Credit: GAA BEO TG4.
A minute or two later, a row broke out on the sideline of the pitch, with that man McCarthy again the instigator.
Somehow, and the only explanation for this is a case of mistaken identity, Deasy was yellow carded for taking a belt to the face, while McCarthy, after all his indiscretions got away scot free.
It’s no wonder the man was mystified.
He who laughs last, laughs loudest however, and Deasy can comfort himself with the knowledge that himself and his Bally boys are heading for the semis while McCarthy was red carded late on and Inagh Kilnamona are out for another year.
He went onto score the game-changing goal in the second half and his free-taking remained dead-eyed and consistent.
The draw for the semi-finals, between Ballyea, Cratloe, Kilmaley & O’Callaghan’s Mills will take place on Monday evening.
