Éire Óg leave it too late as Rockies triumph

Blackrock 2-20 Éire Óg 2-18

IT seemed as if Éire Óg were heading for an embarrassing defeat with five minutes gone in the second half of the county IHC encounter with Blackrock at Pairc Ui Rinn last Friday evening.

After conceding two goals in quick succession they trailed by 2-15 to 1-9 at that juncture, and such were their general shortcomings, there was little to suggest they’d be capable of getting back into the hunt.

With the prospect of humiliation looming large, however, the Mid-Cork men finally sprang to life, stringing six points together over the next seven minutes.

Blackrock recovered their composure to go six points up, 2-19 to 2-16, before an opportunist goal from Daniel Goulding in the 56th minute prompted a renewed effort by Éire Óg to pull the game out of the fire.

Points from Kevin Hallissey and Eoin O’Shea left them snapping at Blackrock’s heels in a thrilling conclusion, but their fate was effectively sealed after Ciaran Cormack had the last word for the city side six minutes into stoppage time.

That Éire Óg emerged from the fray with their pride intact is beyond dispute, but they couldn’t quibble unduly about the justice of the outcome, as was readily acknowledged by team manager Paul Coakley afterwards.

The fact is they were forced to play second fiddle for long periods, particularly in the first half, and Coakley accepted that Blackrock performed with greater consistency over the hour.

“I’d say we only played well for about five minutes in the first half, but we got back into the game before half-time and again after Blackrock got two goals early in the second half.

“The lads showed great fight there near the end, but I expected nothing less from them, because they are that sort of group,” Coakley remarked.

“It’s very disappointing, because the guys put a lot into it this year, but, in all honesty, I thought the better team won tonight,” he admitted, adding that he knew Blackrock weren’t a bád side and that Éire Óg’s sluggish start had nothing to do with complacency.

“While we were very hopeful going into the game, and we were warmly-fancied, we certainly weren’t taking anything for granted.”

Given that Éire Óg, runners-up to Aghada last year, had been beaten by the Rockies earlier in the 2017 campaign, it was easy to appreciate why they wouldn’t have regarded their progress to another decider as being little more than a formality.

Whether or which, it didn’t take Blackrcok long to show they were going to be a hard nut to crack, as they were much quicker to settle and were full value for an 0-10 to 0-5 lead with 19 minutes gone.

After Kevin Hallissey posted a superb point for Éire Óg, they received a badly-needed boost when midfielder John Cooper scorched through the heart of the Rockies rearguard to set Brian Hurley up for a goal in the 22nd minute.

Eoin O’Shea quickly brought Éire Óg back on terms, but Blackrock regained the initiative to open up a three-point gap, 0-14 to 1-8, before the interval.

Forced to rely largely on Kevin Hallissey’s free-taking expertise for penetration, Éire Óg were flattered to be so close at half-time, so when Blackrock, looking much better-balanced, delivered the double-whammy early in the second half the game looked over as a contest.

Blackrock’s first goal came from Ryan Dineen, while full-forward Colin O’Leary claimed the second after blocking an attempted clearance by Éire Óg custodian Dylan Desmond.

It’s testimony to Éire Óg’s resolve that they staged a gutsy rally, with Daniel Goulding, Kevin Hallissey and Brian Hurley (2) contributing excellent scores from play, to get back within striking range, 2-15 to 1-5, nearing the three-quarter mark.

Hurley and Eoin O’Shea both impressed up front where Hallissey continued to shine, while John Cooper and Ronan Toole at midfield, Fionn O’Rourke and substitutes Dermot O’Herlihy and Daniel O’Connor at the back also made their presence felt as Éire Óg upped their performance significantly during the last 20 minutes.

In the final analysis, it was a case of too little, too late, as the Rockies, who were best served overall by Eoin O’Farrell, Ryan Cantwell, Elliot Cantwell, Cathal Cormack, Paul Kennedy and Colin O’Leary, held out for the win, and, ón this evidence, they’ll take a lot of stopping in the final.

BLACKROCK: D O’Mahony; D O’Callaghan, E Cantwell, A Hogan; R Cantwell (0-2), R Laide, D Cormack; Cathal Cormack, F Ryan; P Kennedy (0-3), Ciaran Cormack, E O’Farrell (0-8,3 f); R Dineen (1-1), C O’Leary (1-1), L O’Sullivan (0-2) Subs: S O’Keeffe (0-1) for Ryan, ht, R Coleman for O’Callaghan, 44, L Fogarty for Dineen, 48

ÉIRE ÓG: D Desmond; A O’Connor, J Kelleher, J Mullins; D McCarthy, F O’Rourke, P Kirwan; J Cooper (0-1), R O’Toole; D Goulding (1-1), K Hallissey (0-12, 7f), M Brady; E Kelleher, E O’Shea (0-2), B Hurley (1-2) Subs: P McDonagh for Brady, ht, D O’Herlihy for Mc Carthy, ht, D O’Connor for Kirwan, 38, D Kirwan for E Kelleher, 48

REFEREE: B Murphy (Carrigtwohill)