Determined Cloyne fire three goals to defeat fancied Carrigaline

Cloyne 3-16 Carrigaline 1-19 

A Co-Op Superstores Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship shock with last year’s finalists Carrigaline going down to Cloyne at sun-drenched Cobh.

Carrigaline were wasteful in the first half but take nothing away from Cloyne, they battled as if their lives depended on it and were worthy winners.

Cloyne’s Ashley Walsh under pressure from Carrigaline’s Jack McCarthy in the Co-Op Superstores PIHC match on Sunday. Picture: David Creedon

Carrigaline looked a side on a mission in the opening exchanges with four unanswered points in the space of five minutes. They’d six wides to go with the scores and Cloyne kept plugging away. 

Once the energetic James O’Brien split the posts in the eighth minute, they settled. A superb Brian Kelleher point gave Carrigaline a four-point lead but Cloyne were a team possessed, winning the majority of dirty ball coming up to the break.

In this period, Carrigaline failed to score and in the 25th minute, Cloyne were awarded a penalty when Ashley Walsh’s perfect assist to Brian Walsh saw him hauled down by goalkeeper Cian McCarthy.

Brian Walsh stepped and finished the penalty with sheer ferocity to the roof of the net. The impressive Ashley Walsh landed a stunning point and Cloyne went in at the break up 1-10 to 0-9.

Carrigaline made three changes at the break and their management couldn’t have been happy with their 10 wides. Points from Kelleher and Eanna Desmond were just the start Carrigaline needed.

However, Cloyne continued to win the crucial dirty ball. Diarmuid Byrne hit 0-4 from play across the hour when Steve Beausang found the back of the net midway through the half, Carrigaline looked in trouble. 

Brian Walsh was on hand to drill a third goal in the 59th minute. A late Rhys McCarthy goal gave Carrigaline a ray of hope, but time wasn’t on their side.

Credit to the Cloyne coach Killian Cronin, he had his team well prepared for their first game since relegation from Senior A.

Scorers for Cloyne: B O’Shea 1-5 (1-0 pen, 0-3 f), B Walsh 1-1, D Byrne 0-4, S Beausang 1-0, J O’Brien, C Cahill 0-2 each, P O’Sullivan, A Walsh 0-1 each.

Carrigaline: B Kelleher 0-10 (0-6 f, 0-1 65), R McCarthy 1-3, E Desmond 0-4, K Kavanagh, D Drake 0-1 each.

CLOYNE: D Cronin; J Sherlock, J Hallahan, A Sherlock; E Motherway, P O’Sullivan, C Mullins; D Byrne, A Walsh; C Cahill, B O’Shea, J O’Brien; M Cahill, S Beausang, B Walsh.

Sub: B Minihane for A Walsh (53).

CARRIGALINE: C McCarthy; D Stack, S Williamson, D King; H Andrews, K Kavanagh, C Vaughan; R Kelleher, J McCarthy; R O’Shea, P Mellet, R McCarthy; B Kelleher, E Desmond, F O’Connell.

Subs: D Drake for R O’Shea (h-t), B O’Driscoll for P Mellet (h-t), D Greene for H Andrews (h-t), C Kearney for J McCarthy (35), C O’Farrell for F O’Connell (41).

Referee: Pat Lyons (Bishopstown).