Buckley: Mallow hurling is back
anywhere.
While pointing out the positives it would be remiss not to also mention that Mallow struggled in the full-back line and for times in the middle third, however, the back three are a very talented trio that will all still be under 21 next year.
Mallow’s battling qualities were magnificent on the night but some of their decision making in front of the posts left a little to be desired as they racked up a disappointing 17 wides, which was 11 more than their counterparts.
For the Muskerry men this was to be a frustrating evening where all their good work, particularly in the second period of normal time added up to nothing as they left this one slip away in injury time after conceding two frees in front of the posts.
For Inniscarra, Aidan O’Mahony may have missed a penalty - to be fair it was a world class save from Mallow’s number one Padraig Buckley, but the corner-forwards contribution of 10 points kept the Muskerry men well in this one till the finish.
O’Mahony was ably assisted by his attacking colleagues of Kieran Rice, Colm Casey, Sean O’Donoghue, Tomas O’Connor and substitute David O’Keeffe with the latter bagging Inniscarra’s only goal on 75 minutes.
For Mallow there were so many stand out performances with Hayes leading the charge with an awe inspiring tally of 2-13 (both goals from penalties). Others to shine for the Avondhu side were forwards, Aaron Sheehan and Donal Relihan as well as wing forwards Pa Herlihy and Cork star Cormac Murphy.
While the plaudits will go to the attacking sextet the display of Mallow’s half-back line was magnificent with Alec Lutrell, Fionn O’Neill and Pa Healy all dominating while keeper Buckley saved the side’s bacon on more than one occasion
“Mallow hurling is back,” manager Joe Buckley screamed at the finish as his side saw off what could be one of the most impressive Inniscarra sides to take to the pitch in many years.
“I thought we were fantastic here tonight. This is probably the best performance from Mallow’s hurlers in the last five or six years. Of course we had some problems, our wides tally in particular needs attention but honestly I couldn’t be happier. We are in round four and we played superbly, I couldn’t ask for more than that.”
Mallow may have previously held aspirations of taking the Premier title but honestly nobody outside and most inside the club would not have agreed however if this side can build on this performance and improve like you expect a side to do in the championship then there 33/1 odds in the bookmakers prior to the championship starting could easily be the worse calculation the bookies have made in some time.