Mitchelstown very impressive

Mitchelstown 3-20 Kinsale 2-10

A SUPERB performance by Mitchelstown during the entire first half saw them sweep aside the challenge form Kinsale in the County IFC quarter-final at Carrigtwohill on Saturday.

Aided by the breeze in the opening half Mitchelstown gained control from the offset being impressive in the key half backline and midfield sectors that ensured constant supply to their forwards who worked very well as a unit.

Shane Cahill, Colin English, Cathal O’Mahony and Seán Walsh had early points before Sean O’Sullivan and Shane Cahill combined well with Cahill’s return pass setting up O’Sullivan for the games opening goal in the sixth minute 1-4 to no score.

Michael Walsh followed with a point before Kinsale got their account up and running when Gearoid Finn pointed a free in the 11th minute. Brian Coughlan followed with a point for Kinsale but it was all Mitchelstown at this stage and they reeled off some great scores courtesy of Cathal O’Mahony (5) Michael Walsh (2) and James Sheehan (2) that moved them 1-14 to 0-2 in front as the half time whistle approached.

In injury time Kinsale added two rapid points by Timmy Broderick but it was Cathal O’Mahony that completed the first half scoring as they all but sealed the issue when leading by 1-15 to 0-4 at the interval.

With the game over as a contest Kinsale to their credit battled hard in the second half. They enjoyed their best spell during the third quarter with Brian Coughlan and Gearoid Finn coming more into proceedings at midfield. In the 33rd minute Colm McCarthy was brought down in the square and a penalty awarded that Gearoid Finn dispatched to the Mitchelstown net. Wing-back Donnacha O’Mahony and Gearoid Finn followed with a point apiece that closed the margin to 1-16 to 1-7.

Mitchelstown quickly steadied the ship. Darragh Flynn kicked a great point from a difficult angle before Aaron O’Brien with their second goal in the 41st minute dispelled any notion of a massive second half recovery from Kinsale as the North Cork side moved 2-17 to 1-7 clear.

Mitchelstown began to show glimpses of their opening half display once again with Cathal O’Mahony, Pat Molloy and James Sheehan having points before Sean O’Sullivan and Pat Molloy linked up well to set up Aaron O’Brien for his second and Mitchelstown’s third goal in the 54th minute that surged them 3-20 to 1-8 in front.

Kinsale had their second goal in injury time when Timmy Broderick scored a cracking goal after Niall McCarthy and Brian Coughlan worked well but in the end there was no denying Mitchelstown their comprehensive victory.