Ballinderry manager Jarlath Bell praises players for handling 'great expectations' after championship win

The Shamrock's were already assured of a return to the senior championship next season before Saturday's 0-13 to 0-10 win in Owenbeg but they now go there in style after Bell and Davy Harte oversaw a first trophy in 11 years for the 2002 All Ireland club champions.

Ballinderry went into half-time on Saturday with a 0-9 to 0-5 lead after hitting four unanswered points in the final seven minutes of the opening half and while Bell pinpointed that period as crucial, he said he was proud how they'd handled the favourites' tag throughout a notoriously competitive Oak Leaf Intermediate division.

"It probably was the winning of the match, that period," he admitted, "It gave us that platform at half-time. Had it had gone to five or six I think we would have closed it out a bit easier but these boys like putting you through the ringer! I wouldn't want to see what the blood pressure is like at this stage," he laughed.

"But no, I'll be honest; coming down from senior to Intermediate, as much as we can talk around the issue, there was expectation on this group this year. There was pressure and expectation on myself and Davy too and that was tough to deal with.

"The boys played an awful lot this year like a team with expectation on them so we're hoping now that we have got through today that we can throw the shackles off a bit and just play with a bit more freedom."

If Ballinderry got the benefit of last week's contentious late free during the drawn game in Celtic Park, it was they who had cause for complaint this time around with a harsh second half red card following two bookings for Gareth McKinless, after which the Shamrocks were forced to dig deep in the face of a Faughanvale fightback.

"Last week there was a lot talked about the late free but for us, when you went through the match, we had a black card and were a man down and pulled ourselves back into it," explained Bell, "We were two points up and then were hit with a sucker punch of a goal at the end, right on 59 minutes.

"People talk about the free and when you go through the game methodically, it probably was harsh enough but, look, it was just about getting over the line. When you go down to 14 men sometimes you actually play a bit better; it galvanises the team a bit more and that's certainly how it looked.

"The big man, Ryan Bell, dropped back into the full back line and he must've caught four or five balls there which kept us in the game. But we always knew it was going to go down the stretch against Faughanvale and down the stretch it went but thankfully we pulled though."

And despite his delight at the victory, Bell said he had nothing but respect for a Faughanvale squad that had pushed his team to its limits over the two games.

"We have tended to do things the hard way all year but I suppose finals are there to be won regardless of how you get over the line. It's very hard to reflect when it is only over but we went in four points up, we had two or three chances at the start of the second half and of all the men to miss them, it was big Ryan Bell who was excellent.

"That could have put us six or seven ahead and it didn't go our way. We kept giving Faughanvale oxygen and they kept coming and kept coming but as Gareth (McKinless) said in his speech, full respect for Faughanvale and everything they've done this year. They’re a club on an upward trajectory. They'll be devastated today, there's no doubt about that but, look, despite the mistakes we made throughout the game, I think we probably just deserved it on the day.

"Before we went out I mentioned how important our young boys would be. Ryan Bell kept us in it last week, Gareth (McKinless) kept us in it last week but I was very clear today that there were four, five or six lads there today 22 and under that had to step up and pull the older lads along with them.

"Niall O'Donnell was one, Ruairi Forbes was another, Tiarnan Rocks another, Shea McCann too - those lads really stepped up today and got crucial scores at crucial times. To me they got the older lads over the line today."

Ballinderry will now take on Armagh’s Carrickcruppen in the Ulster Intermediate quarter-final in Celtic Park on Sunday, November 10th, not that Bell is looking that far ahead just yet.

"Everything at this stage is just bonus territory really," he added, "We never talked about winning this championship this year, we just took every game as it came and that's the God's honest truth. Now it has taken us into an Ulster campaign and to be honest I can't even get my head around that at this stage. We'll worry about that tomorrow and probably the day after but for now, we're just going to enjoy this."