Kilshannig are convincing winners over Deel Rovers as Ballyclough edge past Charleville
Kilshannig 1-14 Deel Rovers 0-5
KILSHANNIG made it a winning start to the Cavanagh’s Fermoy Division 1 FL when a good second performance saw them account for Deel Rovers at Glantane on Sunday. Scores were at a premium during the opening 20 minutes with both sets of defences certainly holding the upperhand.
Deel Rovers opened the scoring when Jamie O’Connor pointed a free and they moved two clear at the end of the first quarter when a fine solo run by Brian Villiers set up Anthony Watson for a point.
Kilshannig improved greatly from here with Shane Murphy and Killian O’Connell thundering into the game at midfield while David Guiney, Sean O’Connell and Colm Geary also made their presence felt. In the 21st minute Killian O’Connell had their opening score when he sent over from distance. Sean O’Connell had the sides deadlocked at 0-2 apiece when he pointed a free.
The momentum was now with the home side at this juncture as they finished the half in a positive manner. Rapid points by Bill O’Riordan and Shane Murphy were followed by the only goal of the game when Brian O’Connor, David Guiney and Michael Twomey linked up well to release Sean O’Connell for a well taken goal in the 28th minute that made it 1-5 to 0-2 at the interval.
On the changeover Kilshannig dominated the early exchanges with Michael Twomey (2) Sean O’Connell, Evan O’Sullivan and Eoin Healy tagging on points as they moved 1-10 to 0-3 clear by the midway stage. Deel Rovers battled away with Anthony Watson setting up Kevin O’Leary who pointed from long range.
Watson added a point before the end but there was no denying Kilshannig their comfortable victory with Sean O’Connell, Tony Brennan, Evan O’Sullivan and Bill O’Riordan adding late points as they emerged victors by 12-points. KILSHANNIG: D Kearney, P Walsh, C Murphy, D Clogan, B O’Connor, D Guiney, A Jenks, S Murphy 0-1, K O’Connell 0-1, E Healy 0-1, S O’Connell 1-4 (0-3f), M Twomey 0-2, B O’Riordan 0-2, C Geary, E O’Sullivan 0-2. Subs: A Sheehan for A Jenks (inj), T Brennan 0-1 for B O’Riordan, C Ring for B O’Connor, A O’Flynn for S O’Connell, V Kiely for C Geary,
DEEL ROVERS: H O’Gorman, S O’Flynn, P Watson, P O’Flynn, R Villiers, M O’Flynn, J O’Flynn, B Villiers, D Hannigan, E O’Gorman, A Watson 0-2, K O’Leary 0-1, K O’Flynn, J O’Connor 0-2f, G O’Mahony. Sub: N Brosnan for K O’Flynn (inj).
Ballyclough 1-12 Charleville 0-12
BALLYCLOUGH with a good blend of youth and experience claimed the points at stake when they defeated Charleville in a keenly contested Cavanagh’s Fermoy Division 1 FL encounter at Ballyclough on Sunday.
As the scoreline suggests Damian Buckley’s goal in the opening minute proved the difference in the end as Ballyclough held out for a close but deserved victory. In a lively contest the home side set the early running. Damian
Buckley struck for the only goal in the opening minute.
Over the next couple of minutes some sweeping movements resulted in Sean O’Leary, Jack Moynihan and Timmy Hennessy kicking some well executed scores that moved them 1-3 to no score in front by the ninth minute.
Charleville, with limited possession, quickly got to grips. In the 10th minute Robert Carroll set up Darren Butler for a point. Mark Kavanagh (2) and Shane O’Sullivan followed with points before they missed the first of their three goal scoring chances over the hour when Jack Meade set up Shane Dillon whose effort at goal from a tight angle went narrowly over the crossbar for a point 1-4 to 0-5.
At the other end Ballyclough lifted the siege when the impressive Jack Moynihan pointed a free. From the resultant kickout Ballyclough won possession at midfield through Paul O’Flynn and after combining well with Shane Buckley they set up Damian Buckley for a point. In the run up to the break Jack Moynihan and Mark Kavanagh traded a free before Ballyclough completed the first half scoring when a sweeping movement involving at least six players saw Jack Moynihan kick over as it helped the home side hold a 1-7 to 0-6 interval lead.
The second half was closely contested with the issue in the balance right to the end. Conor and Damian Buckley swapped an early point by the 34th minute.
Mark Kavanagh reduced the deficit to three points with a free with Ballyclough responding moments later when a Charleville clearance was intercepted by Paul O’Flynn who soloed through to score a fine point 1-9 to 0-8. In the 43rd minute the lead was stretched to five when good work by Sean O’Leary along the flank resulted in Jack Moynihan kicking over 1-10 to 0-8.
The Rathluirc side missed a second goal scoring opportunity four minutes later when a great pass by Mark O’Flynn picked out the well placed Jack Meade whose effort in front of the Ballyclough goal went narrowly over the crossbar for a point.
In the 53rd minute Jack Meade and Mark Kavanagh linked up well to set up Darren Butler and his effort in front of a crowded Ballyclough goal line also went over the crossbar at the expense of a point 1-11 to 0-10. Nevertheless the lead was down to three points when Brian O’Connell pointed from a difficult angle as the final whistle quickly approached.
In the closing moments Damian Buckley and Darren Butler traded a late point but it was Ballyclough who had some fine displays by Colin Moynihan, Adam Finnegan, Paul O’Flynn, Shane Buckley, Timmy Hennessy, Sean O’Leary, Jack Moynihan and Damian Buckley that held on for a close but deserved victory. BALLYCLOUGH: E Finnegan, C Moynihan, D Finnegan, M O’Callaghan, M Buckley, Adam Finnegan, T Hennessy 0-1, P O’Flynn 0-1, S Buckley, S O’Leary 0-1, T O’Neill, J O’Shea, D Buckley 1-3, Aaron Finnegan, J Moynihan 0-6 (2f). Subs :S Walsh for M O’Callaghan, T Healy for Aaron Finnegan, D Ludgate for T O’Neill.
CHARLEVILLE: C Kenny, O O’Callaghan, B O’Connell 0-1, S Gleeson, R Carroll, M O’Flynn, D.J Collins, J Meade 0-1, S O’Sullivan 0-1, J O’Brien, C Buckley, M Kavanagh 0-4 (3f), R Dillon, D Butler 0-3 (1f), S Dillon. Subs: J Walsh for S Dillon, D O’Flynn for S Gleeson, Z Biggane for R Dillon.
St Kevin’s 3-15 St Mark’s 2-13
THIS was a very keenly contested Rebel Og North Under-16 Division 1 league game at Milford on Sunday where over the hour the winners did very well with Cian Lawlee outstanding.
The sides were level 0-1 and 0-4 each after 12 minutes. The Ballyclough-Milford side had a goal by Michael Donegan that helped them hold a slight lead for the rest of the game. They were impressive in midfield and by half time they were 1- 9 to 0-6 clear.
St Mark’s had a goal early in the second half by Billy Mulcahy. By the 50th minute they had the lead down to a point 1-13 to 1-12. St. Kevin’s then sealed victory with goals by Cian Lawlee and Michael Donegan as they moved 3-13 to 1-12 ahead. Jack Brennan pointed a free for the Freemount-Meelin side and followed with a goal. In the end St Kevin’s held out for a five point win.
Best for St Kevin’s were Setanta Daly, Darragh Hogan, Sean Higgins, Cian Lawlee, Evan Savage and Rua Daly. For St Mark’s, Ben Ryan, Darragh Weathers, Dylan Weathers, Michael McAuliffe, Liam Heffernan and Jack Brennan did well.
ST. KEVIN’S: R Donegan, P Hannigan, R Collins, L Hodnett, F O’Shea, S Daly, C O’Brien, D Hogan, S Higgins, C Lawlee 1-10 (0-5f), E Savage 0-3, M Fitzgerald, R Hayes, R Daly 0-2, M Donegan 2-0. Sub E Broderick for R Hayes.
ST. MARK’S: S O’Riordan, S Curtin, J McBride, B Ryan, E O’Sullivan, J Carroll, Darragh Weathers 0-1, Dylan Weathers, C Collins, L Heffernan 0-4, J Brennan 1-6 (0-4f, 0-1 ‘65’), M McAuliffe, T O’Mahony E Collins 0-2, B Mulcahy 1-0. Subs: F Geary for E O’Sullivan, S Vaughan for S Curtin.
FIXTURES
THURSDAY MARCH 7
Ducon Cup
Knocknagree v Newmarket, Knocknagree 8pm
SATURDAY, MARCH 9
Twohigs Supervalu JAHL
Dromtarriffe v Castlemagner, Rathcoole 3pm
SUNDAY, MARCH 10
Red FM County SHL Division 1
Kanturk v Sarsfield, Kanturk 11.30am Twohigs Supervalu JAHL
Freemount v Millstreet, Freemount 12noon Newmarket v Kilbrin, Newmarket 2pm
TUESDAY, MARCH 12
Ducon Cup
Newmarket v Lyre, Banteer 8pm
Nevin Cup
Freemount v Ballydesmond, Ballydesmond 8pm
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13
Nevin Cup
Castlemagner v Knocknagree, Knocknagree 8pm
SUNDAY, MARCH 17
Ducon Cup
Kilbrin v Cullen, Cullen 12noon
Nevin Cup
St. John’s v Millstreet, Station Road 12noon
MONDAY, MARCH 18
Nevin Cup
Dromtarriffe v Rockchapel, Rathcoole 3pm Ducon Cup
Boherbue v Lismire, Lismire 3pm TUESDAY, MARCH 19
Ducon Cup
Knocknagree v Kiskeam, Kiskeam 7.45pm
Mayo 0-9 Cork 0-7
ANOTHER reversal for Cork on a loss to Mayo in the Lidl Ladies NFL Division 1 clash on the 4G pitch at SuperValu Páirc Ui Chaoimh. Results elsewhere see Cork prop up the table, though level on three points with Waterford and Galway, the Rebels hold an inferior scoring aggregate with two tough encounters ahead on away tussles against Dublin and Meath.
Having disappointed against Waterford, this was a much better performance, Cork gave it their best shot, a creditable showing from a young side acknowledged by team manager Shane Ronayne,
“We had a lot of work to do after the Waterford game, very poor that day and we tried a new system which I thought worked very well. The girls showed great pride in the Cork jersey, they didn’t get the result they wanted, but I think it’s a small step in the right direction,” he said.
Cork showed seven changes in personnel to the starting team against Waterford, competing well from the off, Mayo points by Lisa Cafferky and Sinead Walsh cancelled out by Daire Kiely and Abigail Ring.
The contest remained competitive, Maire Cannon and Sinéad Cafferky points gave Mayo a slight advantage only for Cork to respond, Libby Coppinger close to a goal. Gladly for Cork, they availed of encouragement from a pair of Daire Kiely points to force parity at 0-5 apiece at the interval.
Mayo took the running on the restart, Sinéad Cafferky pointing, a let off for Cork saw Lisa Cafferky drive wide from the penalty spot. However Mayo added to their tally from a Aoife Geragthy point.
At times, Cork were sloppy in their play, their opening point in the second half from substitute Ellie Jack surfaced in the 50th minute Mayo answered on points from Geraghty and Cannon leaving Cork to require a goal to save the day.
To their credit, Cork searched for a green flag but their only reward fell to a consolation point from Melissa Duggan.
Arguably one of Cork’s better performances but coming away empty handed, nothing short of a major upset against Dublin or Meath will suffice if they are to retain any aspirations of Division 1 status for 2025.
CORK: C Richmond (Glanmire); M Duggan (Dohenys), S Leahy (Aghada), E Twomey (Glanmire); K O’Driscoll (Clonakilty), A Healy (Cloyne), L O’Mahony (O’Donovan Rossa); M O’Callaghan (Mourneabbey), A McDonagh (Naomh Abán); K Redmond (Kinsale), D Kiely (Valley Rovers), E Cleary (Éire Óg); L Coppinger (St. Colums), L McDonagh (Naomh Abán), A Ring (Cloyne). Subs: R Corkery (Naomh Abán) for K Redmond, E Jack (Mourneabbey) for R Corkery, S O’Leary (Kinsale) for L McDonagh, H Looney (Aghada) for A Ring, E Hurley (O’Donovan Rossa) for D Kiely, A Ryan (Mourneabbey) for A McDonagh.
MAYO:
L Brennan; A Fitzpatrick, N
O’Malley, S Lally; K Sullivan, D Caldwell, J Mortimer; A Geraghty, H Reape; F McLaughlin, L Cafferky, M Cannon; T Needham, F McHale, S Walsh. Subs :C Doherty for T Needham, C Durkin for K Sullivan, E Needham for L Cafferky.
REFEREE:
P Smith (Waterford)
LGFA NFL DIVISION 1
P W L D +/- Pts 5 5 0 0 26 15 5 3 1 1 17 10 5 3 2 0 -3 9 5 3 2 0 2 9 5 2 2 1 -10 7 5 1 4 0 0 3 5 1 4 0 -10 3 5 1 4 0 -22 3
Armagh Kerry Meath Dublin Mayo Galway Waterford Cork
Saturday, March 16 Dublin v Cork at 5pm Sunday, March 17
Mayo v Armagh at 1pm Galway v Waterford at 2pm Meath v Kerry at 3pm
Offaly v Cork
Sunday, March 10 O’Connor Park, Tullamore 1.15pm
ANYBODY blithely assuming this is going to be a slam-dunk two points for the Rebels probably needs to think again.
While it’s not quite time yet to say Offaly are back – they still, after all, are operating in the Joe McDonagh Cup for championship – they do seem to be trending in that direction if the last month or so is anything to go by.
The most obvious manifestation of the Faithful’s revival came with their draw on the road to Wexford in the second round. The fact it was a game Johnny Kelly’s men really ought to have won, allowing a thirteen-man Wexford earn a late draw, makes it all the more impressive.
Okay, maybe, the fact Wexford were down a couple of players at the finish takes some of the sheen off the result, but they were respectable enough against Kilkenny last day out, shooting a very solid 1-19 to the Cats’ 1-26, to lend credence to the notion they’re not to be trifled with.
Of course, that doesn’t make them favourites for this contest and doesn’t rule out the possibility that Pat Ryan’s Cork side could yet win this one pulling up, but we do think it means the Rebels need to be properly tuned in here or else they could live to regret it.
There’s been a nice since of progression for the Faithful over the last little while on and off the pitch. The way they bounced back from relegation in 2022 to go straight back up a year later a sign that they’ve gained a more solid footing in the last couple of years as they’ve integrated more of their underage talent into the senior squad.
The Faithful do seem to be producing some really nice hurlers, hurlers who seem to be managing to bridge that gap between divisions 2A and 1A as well as if not better than most others who have tried.
Ben Conneely is probably the outstanding talent on that Offaly starting fifteen, with the Sampson brothers, Jason and Killian, not too far behind. And forwards David Nally, Charlie Mitchell (in particular) and Brian Duignan (son of chairperson Michael) pack a punch.
With a head of steam up they can play a really nice brand of hurling too. That the realignment of the league for next season removes the trap door of relegation from underneath them, stopping them from yo-yoing again, has got to be considered a major plus too for their continuing development.
Not that Cork will probably want to be joining them in the new Division 1B – Offaly’s most likely berth this time next year – and the best way for the Rebels to ensure they don’t is to put back-toback wins together.
They are favourites to do so… and, yet, they’ve got a maddening inconsistency about them, more so within games than from game-to-game. Take even their last game against Waterford as an example.
The Rebels won it, much to the relief of their fans, but having been in a comfortable position midway through the second they were almost hanging on at the finish was the Déise rallied late on.
If it was a one-off type situation, easing off with the game won, you’d not worry too much about it, but against both Kilkenny and Clare the Rebels were similarly patchy over the course of the seventy minutes.
Switch off against Offaly and, while they might not punish you the same way a Kilkenny might, they will rack up the scores. Something Ryan and co need to be wary of.
Despite a somewhat stop-start, faltering beginning to the season for the Rebels, there’s a reason why they’re still ranked so highly amongst the contenders for Limerick’s Liam MacCarthy Cup crown.
Ryan has a squad of rare talent and breath of talent at his disposal as he continues to bring through those underage stars to senior level. Bearing that in mind maybe a little inconsistency is to be expected.
To have Jack O’Connor back in flying form, as he was against the Déise with 1-3 from play, is a big boost. That said the absence through injury again of Mark Coleman is a real blow.
Still there’s so much talent in that Cork squad that one imagines it must only be a matter of time before they get it all hooked up and once they do, they’ll be right up there with the very best.
Brion Saunderson impressed on his debut against the Déise. Ciarán Joyce looks ever more settled on the half-back line. Guys like Ethan Twomey, Tommy O’Connell and Shane Barrett are making their mark too.
While old reliables like Seamus Harnedy and Patrick Horgan – still chasing that elusive Celtic cross in his sixteenth season in the blood and bandages – provide that big game experience to the set-up.
As mentioned that depth in this Cork side is formidable. Rob and Eoin Downey, Brian Roche, Shane Kingston, Alan Connolly and Luke Meade all came off the bench last time out. All could easily start this weekend.
While we don’t think this is a gimme for the Rebels by any stretch of the imagination, it is a game Ryan’s charges probably ought to be winning if they are to challenge for a place in the semi-finals (thereby avoiding the new Division 1B next season).
That’s carrot enough, but somehow we think their motivation will be more fundamental than that. This Cork side is one with genuine ambitions of challenging for the biggest titles, they’re young men in a hurry.
There’s a suggestion out there that a league title might not be too high up Cork’s agenda, and if it’s not we think that’s maybe a mistake. The county has not won an All Ireland title in almost twenty years, has not won a National League title in closer to thirty years.
A national title would do this Cork side’s development no harm whatsoever. It’s time for the Rebels to get back winning things. This league would be as good a trophy for them to win as any other.
Just as the 1998 National League title was a stepping stone to All Ireland glory twelve months later, Cork should be aiming to use this campaign as a spring board to bigger and better things.
A professional victory over a tricky enough Offaly side in Tullamore, thereby hopefully qualifying for the knock-out phrase and giving it a rattle from there on out seems a sensible course of action to us at least.
Verdict: Cork