Blarney bow out after battle with O’Neills
Fr O’Neills 1-20 Blarney 1-18
DEFEAT was Blarney’s lot in the county premier intermediate hurling semi-final at Páirc Uí Rinn last Sunday, but they certainly emerged from the fray with their pride intact.
Pitted against a hotly-fancied Fr O’Neills outfit, they appeared to be heading for a drubbing after they finished the first-half 1-13 to 1-3 in arrears, and they fell further behind after Billy Dunne drew first blood for the winners on the resumption.
Displaying admirable resolve and resilience, however, they came storming back, so much so that they would have to be deemed a little unfortunate not to get something out of the game. It was a remarkable recovery, and the manner in which they raised their performance made it difficult to fathom why they had looked a bit of their depth before the break.
In fairness, Blarney allowed three goal-chances to go abegging in the first half, with Shane Barrett and Declan Hannon
– who struck the side-netting – both failing to finish from close range before Pádraig Power brought the best out of Fr O’Neills ‘keeper Colin Sloane in the 22nd minute.
Barrett did find the net earlier, quickly negating a goal scored by Billy Dunne within seconds of the throw-in, but there could be no disputing that Fr O’Neills, notwithstanding their occasional uneasiness at the back, appeared to be playing well within themselves as they built up an intimidating advantage before the interval.
Blarney’s tormentor-in-chief in the first-half was Declan Dalton, who positively oozed class at full-forward, but Fr O’Neills looked by far the more convincing side overall, and it seemed as if the extent of their winning margin was the only issue to be resolved in the second-half.
Despite the lop-sided nature of the first-half proceedings, however, Blarney didn’t believe the game was gone from them at half-time, according to selector Ronan Byrne.
“With the players we had, we knew if we gave it our all, we’d be capable of getting back into it, but this is a heartbreaking defeat considering how well we played in the second half,” he revealed.
“Nobody gave us much of a chance at the start of the championship, but we showed we’re a match for the best today, even if we just came up short against Fr O’Neills, who were slightly the better team over the hour,” the Blarney mentor graciously admitted.
It isn’t difficult to pinpoint one of the main reasons for Blarney’s transformation in the second half.
Subdued at midfield before the break, Blarney’s Cork star Mark Coleman thundered into the picture on the resumption, unveiling his rich array of skills to the full in a sector where Alan McEvoy, switched from wing-back, also exerted a major influence.
It allowed Blarney to gain a pronounced territorial edge, easing the pressure on a defence in which Conor Power, Joe Jordan and Sean Crowley performed much more assuredly in any case.
Meanwhile, such as Declan Hannon, Patrick Crowley, Padraig Power and the roaming Shane Barrett all made their presence felt further out, as Blarney began to nibble away at the deficit, reducing it to three points after Mark Coleman, placed by Patrick Crowley, made it 1-16 to 1-13 in the 50th minute.
After scorching into the danger-zone from the left wing, Coleman was denied an equalising goal by Fr O’Neills custodian Sloane two minutes later, and Blarney’s momentum would have been very hard to curtail had they gained parity at that juncture.
Coleman then pointed a sideline ball before Fr O’Neills lifted the siege to grab a hat-trick of scores shared by Declan Dalton (2) and substitute Jason Hankard.
The notion that the East-Cork men had weathered the storm was soon to be dispelled, as Blarney renewed their heroic resurgence, with Alan McEvoy, fed by Mark Coleman, and Declan Hannon chipping in with good scores from play, and Coleman on target from a free and a ‘65 in a gripping finale.
That fruitful sequence cut the gap to the minimum before substitute Liam O’Driscoll popped over the insurance score for a visibly relieved Fr O’Neills deep in stoppage time.
FR O’NEILLS: C Sloane; G Millerick, M Millerick, Adam Kenneally; J Barry, D Harrington, Adrian Kenneally, P McMahon (0-1), K O’Sullivan (0-2); J Millerick, R Cullinane (0-1), M O’Keeffe (0-1); E Conway (0-1), D Dalton (0-11, 5f, 1 sideline, 1 ‘65), B Dunne (1-1) Subs: L O’Driscoll (0-1) for Conway, 36, J Hankard (0-1) for J Millerick, 36, C Broderick for Adam Kenneally, 46, P Butler for Adrian Kenneally, 53
BLARNEY: P Hallissey; J Jordan, P O’Leary, S Crowley; D McSweeney, C Power, A McEvoy (0-3); P Philpott, M Coleman (0-9, 5f, 1 sideline, 1 ‘65), P Crowley, R Murphy, D Hanlon (0-3); K Costello, P Power (0-2), S Barrett (1-1) Subs: Ddunlea for Costello, ht
REFEREE: M Maher (St Finbarrs)