Balilncollig must go again with CIT

points from Patrick Kelly reduced the arrears to the minimum. Time was running out but a purposeful Ballincollig attack ended with the in form Sean Kiely sending the football between the uprights thus keeping Ballincollig in the Championship race.

CIT made the perfect start to last Sunday’s encounter when their full forward Peter Kelleher in the space of seventeen seconds had the football in the net. Ballincollig replied, immediately however as Sean Kiely.

Ciarán O’Sullivan and John Miskella all raised white flags. Daniel Daly registered a minor for the students during the same period so wide open contest was in the offing, poor shooting by both sides then ensued before CIT hit on a purple patch and four points without reply when Moynihan, Clifford, Daniel Daly, and Clifford again were on target greatly enhanced their prospects of a win.

Ballincollig fought back well in the remaining twelve minutes before half time however when the sensible decision of moving Sean Kiely from left half forward to centre field had the desired effect.

Kiely scored two points to keep Ballincollig in touch and the 2014 champions reduced the arrears further before the interval. A good bout of combined play ended with John Miskella recording their sixth minor so it was 1-5 to 0-6 in the students favour at the short whistle.

Ballincollig took up where they had left off when the action resumed and they were on level terms in the space of two minutes when Noonan and Kiely sent the football between the uprights.

Seven minutes then elapsed without a score, and Cathal Vaughan broke the deadlock when he converted a long range free. Ballincollig attacked from the kick-out however and they moved determinedly towards the students citadel. Kelly, Durrant, and Miskella were involved in a combined attack which finished with the latter being hauled down.

A penalty was awarded which was expertly converted by Durrant so Ballincollig were back in the driver’s seat. Their joy was short lived however when an attacking movement broke down following a misplaced pass and play swung to the opposite end of the field.

The end result was a second Peter Kelleher goal so the students were a point ahead and by the 44th minute they had increased it to three.

Ballincollig performed well in the final period, however, and Kelly raised two white flags one from a free and one punched effort and they had time to secure an equaliser.

One or two attacking efforts broke down and it then came right for them when Kiely moved on the perfect delivery from Kevin Browne. The former’s good form did not desert him as his scoring effort was in the centre of the uprights so the sides will meet again. THERE is no denying the signs began to look ominous for Fermoy early in the second half of this PIHC quarter final encounter with Inniscarra at Pairc Ui Rinn last Friday evening.

Although they were just two points behind, they hadn’t registered a score since the 22nd minute, and they had been forced to relinquish a three-point advantage in the interim.

It’s testimony to the resolve and self-belief of Denis Ring’s charges that they managed to stop the rot, with wing forward Liam Coleman providing the initial inspiration for a resurgence that steadily gathered momentum as the second half progressed.

They were full value for their victory in the end, given that they could have bagged two goals in the third quarter when Padraig Shanahan was foiled by a brilliant save from Inniscarra ‘keeper John O’Keeffe, and Martin Brennan by the intervention of the Mid-Cork side’s full back John O’Callaghan.

By contrast, Inniscarra , for whom Colm Casey and Conor Buckley achieved most in attack, never threatened to grab a three-pointer against a Fermoy rearguard that established almost complete control in the last quarter.

It meant there was a definite sense of inevitability about the outcome after Fermoy, aided by a hat-trick of points shared by Liam Coleman, Padraig De Roiste and Martin Brennan, had forged 0-13 to 0-10 approaching the last ten minutes.

De Roiste and Brennan both finished strongly up front for the North-Cork side, as did Tomas Clancy at midfield, but it was primarily down to Coleman’s input that Fermoy got their title-aspirations back on track after Inniscarra struck a bit of a purple-patch at either side of half time.

The teams looked evenly-matched for much of a tension-packed first half during which the slippery surface militated against quality forward play and defences generally held sway.

Making better use of their chances, Fermoy led by 0-5 to 0-2 after full-forward Padraig Shanahan gathered a high ball to place David Geary for a point in the 15th minute.

Geary showed up well at corner forward during the opening exchanges, but Sean O’Donoghue kept him on a tight rein for the rest of the first half when Ger Burke and John O’Callaghan were particularly effective in the central defensive berths for