Mallow miss out on quarter-final berth to Ballincollig

Ballincollig 0-23 Mallow 2-11

BALLINCOLLIG advanced to the quarter finals of the Under 21 Premier 2 HC after they defeated a resolute Mallow side at Mourneabbey on Saturday.

Following a lively opening half Ballincollig shaded matters with Paul Cooney in splendid form finishing with a personal tally of 0-15 while Paul Lyons was Mallow’s top marksman accounting for 1-9. At the break Ballincollig held a 0-10 to 0-6 lead.

On the changeover the winners gained an early foothold that helped them surge into a 0-13 to 0-7 lead. Mallow regrouped very well from here Paul Lyons reeled off three points in quick succession before great play by Charlie Carroll resulted in Tom Duignan billowing the net to force level at 0-14 to 1-11.

Try as they might Mallow were unable to get ahead in this half with Ballincollig finding scores easier to come by. Mallow were dealt a blow in the last quarter when they were reduced to fourteen players. Further pressure by the Mid Cork side saw them move 0-18 to 1-11 clear as the final whistle approached.

Mallow, who were narrowly beaten by Erins Own in their opening game, refused to give in.

The impressive Paul Lyons had their second goal late in the game but time was not on their side with Ballincollig adding late points by Sean Walsh and Paul Cooney to emerge victors by a six-point margin.

J Linehan, R O’Donovan 0-1, J O’Leary, C Connery, F Denny, J Murray, G O’Donoghue, K Walsh, R Burke, S Willis 0-1, K Spillane, P Cooney 0-15 (13f, 1 ‘65’), S Murphy 0-1, S Walsh 0-4, L Fahy 0-1 Subs: C O’Leary for S Murphy, E Cooke for K Spillane

MALLOW: A Cremin, E Murphy, J Healy, R Sheehan 0-1, C O’Driscoll, D Moynihan, P Hennessy, P Lyons 1-9 (0-6f, 0-1 ‘65), K Mills, S Buckley, D Buckley, C Carroll, E Murphy, S O’Callaghan 0-1, T Duignan 1-0 Sub: S O’Flynn for D Buckley

REFEREE: N O’Neill (Midleton)