So near and yet so far for Mallow after high-scoring draw with Bandon

Bandon 1-22 Mallow 1-22

SO near and yet so far.

That sums up Mallow’s bid to qualify for the knock-out stages of the county senior A hurling championship which came to an end when they were forced to share the spoils with Bandon at Coachford last Saturday.

Had they prevailed by the bare minimum, it would have been enough to get them through in view of Fermoy’s heavy defeat at the hands of Charleville in the other group B3 fixture. As it transpires, the second qualifying place goes to Bandon, who were also heavily defeated by Charleville before getting back to winning ways against Fermoy.

It’s indicative of how frustrating Mallow’s campaign has been that they were the only team to provide Charleville with a stern test, running them to three points, while they went under by just two points in their first outing against Fermoy.

Plenty reasons for the luckless North-Cork men to ponder on what might have been, therefore, not least in this door-die encounter with Bandon, which saw them make the early running, forging 1-4 to 0-1 ahead inside ten minutes.

Hauled back to equality before the break, they went toe-to-toe with the Carbery side in a gripping second-half battle, moving to within sight of victory after prolific marksman Aaron Sheehan nudged them ahead from a free in the 59th minute.

Bandon responded with a brace of points from Ronan Crowley before Mallow came agonisingly close to snatching a dramatic victory when substitute Charlie Carroll’s goal-attempt went narrowly over the bar.

Mallow’s bright start owed much to the input from Sean Hayes, who goaled within seconds of the throw-in and tacked on a point as well before Bandon switched their talismanic attacker Michael Cahalane to centre-back.

Not only did Cahalane put the shackles on Hayes, he proceeded to produce a power-packed display in the pivotal position, with the result that the Bandon rearguard tightened up considerably. Once Hayes faded from the picture, Mallow were forced to rely primarily on Aaron Sheehan for penetration.

Sheehan chipped in with two points from play as well, but it’s a measure of Mallow’s limitations up front that, besides Sean Hayes and the impressive Sheehan, Cormac Murphy, with a first-half point, was their only other starting forward to get on the scoresheet.

Midfielders Paul Lyons and Niall O’Riordan both paid their way, posting four points and two points respectively, while Kevin Sheehan emerged as Mallow’s top performer overall at centre-back, receiving most support from Darragh Moynihan, Jack O’Hanlon and John Healy.

For all that, Bandon began to look increasingly menacing in attack as the first-half progressed thanks mainly to the input from Adam Murphy and Mark Sugrue. Sugrue bagged a goal in the 15th minute, allowing Bandon to cut the gap to two points, 1–5 to 1-3, and he also had the satisfaction of completing the first-half scoring with a point that left the teams tied at 1-10 apiece.

Ronan Crowley pushed Bandon ahead for the first-time with a converted free on the resumption, but their advantage was short-lived as Mallow went two up six minutes later, courtesy of a fine score by Niall O’Riordan which made it 1-13 to 1-11.

A four-point flurry for Bandon followed, leaving Mallow facing a significant test of character as the last quarter dawned. They weren’t found wanting as they arrested their slide to get back on terms, 1-18 to 1-18, thanks to consecutive points from wing-back Darragh Moynihan and Niall O’Riordan in the 53rd minute.

That set the scene for a nail-biting finale, with Mallow’s prospects beginning to take on a rosy hue after Paul Lyons landed an equalising score and Darragh Moynihan gathered the resultant puck-out to earn a free which the unerring Aaron Sheehan pointed.

With their hopes of survival hanging by a thread, up stepped Ronan Crowley, who only made his presence felt in the last quarter, to haul Bandon back from the brink.

Crowley bagged two points, the second a mighty effort from a long-range free, to severely dent the ambitions of the North-Cork men, whose fate was sealed when Charlie Carroll was out of luck with his last-gasp effort to find the net.

BANDON: P Prendergast; A O’Connell, P Murphy, J O’Donovan; D Lucey 0-1, J Hickey 0-1, T Twohig; C Dullea, C Calnan 0-1; D Crowley 0-1(f), M Cahalane 0-5 (4f), A Murphy 0-3; R Crowley 0-7 (5f), M Sugrue 1-3, C O’Mahony R Long for D Crowley, 49, M O’Regan for O’Mahony, 54. P Barry for Dullea, 59

MALLOW: P Buckley; J O’Hanlon, J Healy, F O’Neill; P Healy, K Sheehan, D Moynihan 0-1; N O’Riordan 0-2, P Lyons 0-4; G Sweeney, S Hayes 1-1, C Murphy 0-1; P Herlihy, J Hayes, A Sheehan 0-12 (10f) Subs: T Doyle for Sweeney, ht, C Carroll 0-1 for J Hayes, 45, P Hennessy for Doyle, 50

REFEREE: B Murphy (Carrigtwohill)