Grenagh triumph in dour first round clash

round tie.

It was a merited victory by the Mid-Cork men, who displayed admirable resolve and self-belief in recovering from a most uncertain start to overhaul a Mallow side that had built up a five-point lead during the opening quarter.

Mallow certainly had good cause to fancy their chances after bagging 1-3 in reply to an early pointed free by Grenagh's DD Dorgan. Cian O'Riordan and Ryan Harkin, who converted two frees, shared three points for Mallow before O'Riordan expertly dispatched a penalty, won by towering full forward Donal Relihan, to send their prospects soaring in the 14th minute.

They struggled to make headway up front after that, however, enduring a fruitless 13-minute spell before O'Riordan, their only forward to make a decent impact, completed the scoring before the break.

Even O'Riordan was kept fairly well in check by tenacious Grenagh centre-back Gerry Russell, who also made a telling contribution from frees in the first half. So too did DD Dorgan as Grenagh battled their way back to equality before O'Riordan's late point enabled Mallow to turn over 1-4 to 0-6 to the good.

It was a tenuous advantage, given that Mallow had been favoured by a strong wind in the first half, not to mention the fact that Grenagh's inside line of attack had shaped up well with limited possession in the opening period.

Liam Walsh, who earned the bulk of the frees that yielded the scores from Russell and Dorgan, posed the main problems for an unconvincing Mallow full back line before the interval, but Ultan Duggan and Colm O'Neill also looked threatening in the corners.

Ina bid to tighten up their defence, Mallow introduced Liam Sheehan and Barry Hootan for the second half, and it did have the desired effect, but not before Grenagh had made a crucial breakthrough in the 39th minute.

It came in the form of a goal from Ultan Duggan, who worked hard to win possession following a probing delivery by influential midfielder Tom Kenny. Preceded by another Gerry Russell point from a free, it propelled Grenagh into a 17 to 1-4 lead, and they never really looked back from there.

Not that Mallow gave up the fight, but their limitations in attack meant they rarely looked likely to unhinge the well-drilled Grenagh rearguard for the goal they needed to salvage the match. Mallow were four points behind, 1-9 to 1-5, when, in a last throw of the dice, they moved James Loughrey, who had been detailed to keep tabs on Grenagh's ace forward DD Dorgan which restricted his input as an attacking wingback, to midfield.

Almost immediately, Loughrey pushed forward to place Cian O'Riordan at the edge of the square in the 52nd minute. O'Riordan's goal attempt went over the bar, however, and his departure with a leg injury shortly afterwards obviously militated against Mallow's slim hopes of pulling the game out of the fire.

They were still within striking range after substitute Kevin Sheehan negated a Conor Fitzgerald point for Grenagh in stoppage time, but DD Dorgan had the final say for the winners with an excellent point from play. Scorers GRENAGH: DD Dorgan 0-5, 0-4 frees, G Russell 0-4 frees, U Duggan 1-0, C O'Neill and C Fitzgerald 0-1 each MALLOW: C O'Riordan 1-4, 1-0 penalty, 0-1 free, R Harkin 0-2 frees, K Sheehan 0-1 GRENAGH: M Barry, M Lehane, D O'Connor, D Buckley, K O'Neill, G Russell, S Dorgan, T Kenny, J Russell, T Walsh, C Fitzgerald, DD Dorgan, U Duggan, L Walsh, C O'Neill Sub: E Ryan for T Walsh MALLOW: C Quilligan, M Taylor, L Dockery, M Murphy, C Stanton, J McGuinness, J Loughrey, K O'Connor, E Stanton, E Murphy, C O'Riordan, R Harkin, A Sheehan, D Relihan, P Herlihy Subs: L Sheehan for Dockery, B Hootan for M Murphy K Sheehan for Relihan, C Stokes for O'Riordan (injured) REFEREE: J Bermingham (Bride Rovers)