Dripsey force Kildorrery to dig deep

Kildorrery 1-22 Dripsey 2-14

THEY made hard work of it but Kildorrery eventually found what was required to see off a spirited Dripsey side in Round 1 of the IHC in Mallow last Sunday afternoon.

After looking like they would coast away to an easy victory by the quarter hour mark Kildorrery had to dig deep to secure a Round 2A berth after the Muskerry side refused to bow to serious pressure.

In near perfect conditions for championship hurling the Avondhu side battled through a significant period where they missed more than scored before seeing out the win with late scores Peter O’Brien, James O’Sullivan and substitute Cathal Harrington.

A fine showing from centre back Richard McEniry, as well classy displays from James O’Sullivan, Jamie O’Gorman and Dylan Kent all went a long way to ensuring the win for a side tipped by many to go a long way in this competition.

Others to show their worth on the day for the victors were PJ Keating at corner back and Ian Butler in goal, who looked the most assured player on the pitch for the duration.

Credit must go to Dripsey for the way they stuck to their task, despite trailing from the second minute and although they never quite managed to close the gap they did cause Kildorrery no end of problems – particularly with their goals from Eoghan Maher (36 minutes) and Michael O’Riordan (50 minutes). Dave and Mark O’Sullivan also did well up front while John Carey and Aidan Murray gave a creditable display in the middle of the park.

Kildorrery’s goal came in minute 16 after a brilliant team move saw no fewer than four players link up to put Eamon O’Connor in on goal – an opportunity the forward wasn’t likely to pass up.

O’Brien was the star of the show for the victors with nine points, however from play the danger men were on the Dripsey team with Maher and O’Riordan impressing in equal measure.

Kildorrery looked comfortable by the 20th minute with a seven point lead but Dripsey pulled it back to a four point gap by the break. (1-8 to 0-7).

The second half saw Kildorrery dominate possession, but also the wides count with 10 misses alone in the second half but in the end the scoring power of O’Brien, O’Sullivan and O’Connor would prove enough to take the win.

The loss was always on the cards for Dripsey after letting their opponents steal a march however the Muskerry men should be pleased with their overall display as they improved dramatically from the team that went all the way to the relegation play-off fixture last season.

A little improvement and a modicum of luck and Dripsey could easily be back in the winning circle come the conclusion of the next fixture

For Kildorrery, they will be pleased to get off to a positive start however there is little doubt that they will need to improve substantially from a display that saw them miss the target on fourteen occasions.

The important point from Sunday is the win and Kildorrery have secured that so from here on in the pressure should be off.

KILDORRERY: I Butler; C O’Baoill, S Fitzgerald, T Monaghan; S Kelly, R McEniry 0-1, PJ Keating; J O’Sullivan 0-3, D Kent 0-1; A O’Brien, P O’Brien 0-9 (3f), J O’Gorman 0-1; W Fouhy, E O’Connor 1-1, F Stapleton 0-1 Subs: S O’Neill 0-2 for F Stapleton (half time), J McEniry 0-2 for R McEniry (35), C Harrington 0-1 for W Fouhy (48)

DRIPSEY: D O’Sullivan; S Murphy, S O’Riordan, D Buckley; J Cotter, J O’Riordan, J O’Sullivan; J Carey 0-1, A Murray; K Kelleher, D O’Sullivan 0-1, M O’Riordan 1-7 (5f); E Maher1-4, M O’Sullivan 0-1, D O’Riordan Subs: S Murray for K Kelleher (29), A Buckley for J Carey (inj)(42), R Daly for S Murray (46)

REFEREE: M Murphy (Bride Rovers)