Charleville complete the double with eight point victory over rivals Mallow

corner-forward Sean Hayes.

Andrew Cagney, James O’Brien and Mark Kavanagh ( chipped in with four points apiece to add to Mallow’s pain. For the vanquished side, they were off the pace for most of the game, which isn’t that much of a surprise considering their season all but ended six weeks earlier when they lost out to Newcestown in the PIHC semi-final.

Mallow’s effort couldn’t be faulted, however on this day, despite good displays from Conor Hannon in the mid field, Cork star Cormac Murphy between midfield and full-forward and corner forward Aaron Sheehan, they had to play second fiddle to the Charleville Juggernaut that just keeps rolling on.

A brilliant point from Fitzgibbon set the tone inside 20 seconds with the same player racing through two minutes later to goal past a helpless Padraig Buckley. Charleville added points seemingly at will for the next 28 minutes with Casey netting again inside 20 minutes to open up a nine point gap before

Hayes dragged the boys from the banks of the Blackwater back into the tie with his goal on 21 minutes. 2-12 to 1-05 at the break.

Charleville kept up the intensity on the resumption and went 11 points clear by 40 minutes however Aaron Sheehan’s goal and three top class points from full back Killian O’Connor meant that Mallow were not going down without a fight.

Not even a mass coming together near the end involving most people inside the wire was likely to change this result as Charleville deservedly took the spoils. Both sets of players get the well-earned opportunity to take a break from competitive action now before picking up again in the new year for what will be one of the most important seasons in a generation for all concerned.

Charleville have exactly what it takes to claim two promotions in a row as their mixture of skill, commitment and youth means they are great candidates or a berth in senior hurling.

For Mallow, if they can improve to the same extent next year as they did for this, then it is clear they too will be well in the hunt for a promotion place come next autumn.