Cremin strike seals the deal for Blarney

TRAILING by two points midway through the second half, Blarney produced a storming last quarter to run out convincing winners over Watergrasshill in a disappointing PIHC Round 1 tie at Pairc Ui Rinn last Sunday.

In the process, they avenged their defeat at the hands of the East-Cork side at the same stage last year, and, needless to say, it won’t bother them in the slightest that the contest provided little to suggest they are serious contenders for the title.

That their victory was achieved in the absence of injured Cork senior Mark Coleman will give them some sort of encouragement going forward, but they certainly won’t be getting carried away with this performance, notwithstanding the fact that there was much to admire about the way they finished out the game.

Overall, however, the quality of the hurling left quite a bit to be desired, not least in terms of accurate shooting, as the combatants shared 26 wides during the hour.

The first half was particularly low-key, with the commanding displays from Blarney’s Joe Jordan and Watergrasshill’s Sean O’Callaghan in the respective centre-back berths doing most to illuminate the proceedings before the break.

Paul O’Leary, detailed to keep tabs on Watergrasshill’s ace corner-forward John Halbert, also acquitted himself admirably, as the Blarney rearguard generally held control, with David Walsh and Paul O’Connor regularly catching the eye as well at the back.

It was a similar story at the other end, however, where Sean O’Callaghan was ably assisted by such as Paddy O’Regan, Pa Cronin and Aaron Ricken in a dominant Watergrasshill defence.

Denied an early goal when both Shane Mulcahy and Ray Murphy failed to do the needful from closerange, Blarney, with Mulcahy and David Cremin on target, went two points up inside five minutes.

Blarney ‘keeper Conor Murphy did well to foil a goal-attempt by Aidan Foley a minute later before Eoin Barry and Shane O’Regan, from a free, brought Watergrasshill back on terms by the eight-minute.

The teams were still tied at 0-4 apiece after Ray Murphy pointed a free for Blarney in the 28th minute, but Shane O’Regan gathered the resultant puck-out to complete the first half scoring for Watergrasshill.

Switched from the ‘40 to midfield, O’Regan made a significant impact as Watergrasshill stretched the gap to three points on the resumption, which, given that scores were at a premium, looked a healthy advantage.

Indeed, Blarney, 0-8 to 0-6 in arrears, could have been in serious trouble had not Conor Murphy made another smart save to prevent Dylan McCarthy from grabbing a goal for Watergrasshill in the 47th minute.

As things transpired, the games only goal didn’t arrive until the 55th minute, and it came from Blarney’s David Cremin, whose superb strike made it 1-10 to 0-9 at that juncture.

In the interim, Blarney were very much on top, with the seasoned Mark Cremin giving their attack – in which David Cremin and Shane Mulcahy achieved most overall – a bit more impetus after being sprung from the bench.

Joe Jordan, unquestionably the man-of-the-match, and Paul O’Connor went from strength-tostrength in the half back line, while Peter Philpott thundered into the picture at midfield, and he had the satisfaction of putting the finishing touch to Blarney’s late flourish with an excellent point.