Ballyhar made the short trip to CastleIsland on a wet Saturday morning but that did not dampen their enthusiasm for the task ahead.

Ballyhar started the brightest, getting an early corner that delivered perfectly into the box by Alan Mrotek who found Dylan Diaz at the back post and narrowly flashed the ball wide of the right post. Ballyhar dominated the opening stages, but a lapse in concentration on the 15 minute mark, saw them lose their own kick out and Castleisland struck a long high floated ball that was aided by a strong wind into the back of our net. To their credit, Ballyhar kept pressing, and the combination of Alan Mrotek, Luke Bartlett, Shane Edwards and Pete O'Callaghan caused Castleisland plenty of problems. H/T 1-0

Into the 2nd half Ballyhar again soaked up the host teams purple patch and kept pressing for the equalising goal. A good run by Alex Kelly found him getting into the box, only to see his shot go straight into the arms of the Castleisland keeper. Mroteks commanding presence and Bartletts flair in the middle of the park had Castleisland at sea at times but unfortunately for all the possession the equaliser was not forthcoming. F/T 1-0

Ballyhars fault if any today was giving their hosts too much respect at crucial times and were unlucky not to take something from this game. Best on the day were Luke Bartlett, Alan Mrotek and Pete O'Callaghan.