Four-goal Rockies retain crown

By Therese O'Callaghan

Tuesday, October 02, 2012- This report appeared in the Printed version of the Irish Examiner

Blackrock 4-18 Mallow 0-15
A superb Blackrock outfit claimed back-to-back honours in the Rebel Óg Premier 1 minor hurling county final at Páirc Uí Rinn last night.

It was an inspired city team that turned in an emphatic second 30 minutes producing four wonderful goals that simply Mallow had no answer to.

To be fair to the North Cork side, they were not a lesser team by five goals but a devastating 10-minute spell around the three-quarter mark that yielded three goals was the defining period.

Mallow, wind assisted, led at the break 0-12 to 0-10 with Aaron Sheehan and Pa Herlihy in particular in rich form. However, once man-of-the-match Joe Logue got a grip and fired home his first goal on 47 minutes, Blackrock stepped up the intensity. Midfielder Stephen Murphy was provider for the second goal which was finished by sub Alan Nolan.

Logue struck again a few minutes later and suddenly Blackrock had raced 3-13 to 0-13 clear.

Deep in added time now and with a firm grip on the Kevin McGrath Cup, Nolan added another stunning goal.

Meanwhile, Mallow, who had shown much promise early on, couldn't get any momentum going, and were restricted to three second-half points.

Scorers for Blackrock: A Nolan 2-2, J Logue 2-0, S Murphy 0-5 (0-3 frees, 0-1 65m), R Dineen and C Crowe 0-3 each, I O'Keeffe and D King (frees) 0-2 each, A O'Callaghan 0-1.

Scorers for Mallow: A Sheehan 0-6 (0-4 frees), P Herlihy 0-4, S Hayes 0-3 (0-1 free), R Harkin 0-2.

BLACKROCK: G Connolly; P Redmond, A Murphy, E McCarthy; J Ryan, A O'Callaghan, N Cashman; S Murphy, D Meaney; R Dineen, I O'Keeffe, C Cormack; C Crowe, J Logue, D King.

Subs: A Nolan for D King (40), F De Faoite for I O'Keeffe (51).

MALLOW: Pádraig Buckley; A Luttrell, D Sheehan, J O'Hanlon; P Healy, K O'Connor, R Mills; J Murphy, Podge Buckley; A Sheehan, R Harkin, P Herlihy; D Sheehan, S Hayes, S Walmsley.

Subs: M O'Rourke for D Sheehan (52), J Cosgrave for R Mills (54 inj).

Referee: G O'Connell (Lisgoold).

Ballincollig 1-12 Fr O'Neill's 0-08

Ballincollig made history at Páirc Uí Rinn last night when they captured the Rebel Óg Premier 2 minor hurling championship title for the first time.

A powerful second-half performance saw them overturn a two point half-time deficit to eventually dethrone holders Fr O'Neill's.

O'Neill's, backed by the wind, had the better of the early exchanges with Joe Millerick and Paudie McMahon helping them into a 0-7 to 0-5 interval lead. However, Ballincollig resumed in determined mood and were on equal terms by the three-quarter mark. Man of the match Cian Dorgan, Stephen Bunyan and Diarmuid McDonnell pushed them 0-10 to 0-8 as the game petered out.

However, they finished off in style. Solid defending ensured a clean sheet for Adam Buckley. Then, with the momentum with the mid-Cork side, they pressed for home with Dorgan expertly converting a pair of frees.

To polish off a wonderful display, Bunyan rattled the roof of the net two minutes into stoppage time. A proud Mark Prendergast collected the silverware amid wild celebrations.

Scorers for Ballincollig: C Dorgan 0-7 (0-6 frees), S Bunyan 1-1, D McDonnell 0-2, S Coughlan and C O'Donovan (free) 0-1 each.

Scorers for Fr O'Neill's: P McMahon 0-4 (frees), K Hegarty (frees) and J Millerick (0-1 free) 0-2 each.

BALLINCOLLIG: A Buckley; P O'Neill, K O'Sullivan, D Burns; D McDonnell, B O'Halloran, M Prendergast; C Dorgan, S Murphy; S Coughlan, M O'Leary, A O'Donovan; C O'Donovan, E O'Donoghue, S Bunyan.

Subs: W Greene for A O'Donovan (63).

FR O'NEILL'S: E O'Neill; T Millerick, A Kenneally, M Motherway; W Lane, M O'Keeffe, K Hegarty; A McAvoy, J Millerick; K O'Sullivan, D Sexton, P McMahon; D O'Driscoll, D Dalton, B Dunne.

Subs: S Lee for K O'Sullivan (46).

Referee: S Collins (Carrigaline).