Hamilton High School 0-5
Mercy Mounthawk 2-19
KIERAN McCARTHY REPORTS
PADDY Lordan insists Hamilton High School can take a lot of positives from their run to the Corn Uí Mhuirí semi-finals.
Their journey through Munster hit an immovable object when they came up against reigning champions Mercy Mounthawk Tralee in a rain-swept Mallow on Saturday, but there is no shame in losing to this Kerry school.
Mounthawk have ruthlessly brushed aside every team they’ve faced in this Corn Uí Mhuirí campaign, so the Hammies’ mission was always verging on the impossible – and so it proved.
Led by the Kerry U20 quartet of full forward Paddy Lane, centre forward Tomás Kennedy and the powerful midfield partnership of Ben Murphy and Daniel Kirby, the Tralee side bossed this game from the start. They led 0-7 to 0-1 before the Hammies got on the scoreboard – a 17th-minute free from Oisin McCarthy, their only score of the first half – and led 1-13 to 0-1 at the break. This game was over already, such was Mounthawk’s utter dominance.
Hammies' midfielder Oisin Gillain in action.
‘They are a quality team with brilliant players all over the field – their midfield is outstanding, their centre forward and full forward are brilliant as well. They’ll be central figures for the Kerry U20s this year so we knew the challenge we were faced with but we were confident that we could be competitive,’ Lordan said.
‘Even at half time, even though we were down a lot, we picked the lads up and went again but unfortunately it wasn’t to be.’
The Hammies, unbeaten in Munster before this clash, had chances in the first half to make the contest a bit more competitive, but both were spurned. In the 12th minute Sean Murphy’s close-range shot was saved by Mounthawk goalkeeper Ruairí Kennedy. Later in the half, the Tralee shot-stopper blocked Kevin Hannon’s effort, and the Bandon teen saw his rebound whizz wide. Missed scores that could have halted Mounthawk’s momentum somewhat.
‘We never got a break – there were those two goal chances in the first half and if we had got one, it might have kept us in the game. There is a lot we can look back on but you have to appreciate the quality of the opposition as well,’ Lordan admitted.
Hamilton High School's Charlie Twomey gets this pass away under pressure.
The second half was a continuation of the first, as Mounthawk were led by the superb Paddy Lane who has scored 7-38 in this campaign alone. For context, the Hammies racked up 7-49 over their five games in Munster. Mounthawk had eased 1-16 to 0-1 ahead in the second half before two Hammies points in a minute, from Jack Cullinane (the Bandon school’s first score from play after 36 minutes) and Kevin Hannon, brought a cheer from the Bandon school’s support.
There was never going to be a famous comeback here, but the Hammies added further scores from Oisin Gillain and another Oisin McCarthy free. Still, Lane hit back with a penalty for Mounthawk who had 20 points to spare in the end, despite not scoring in the final 14 minutes; the damage was already done. The Tralee side had set themselves a target at half time of keeping the Hammies to six points or less – mission accomplished.
Hamilton High School's Richard Tarrant under pressure from Mercy Mounthawk's Aaron Harty.
The odds were always stacked against the Hammies here, given the quality in the Mounthawk ranks, and manager Paddy Lordan points to the bigger picture – it’s the second time in three years that the Bandon school has reached the semi-finals of Corn Uí Mhuirí, they defeated two Kerry schools on the way (Pobalscoil Inbhear Scéine, who lost the other semi-final to the Sem, and serial winners Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne) and exposure to this level will improve Hammies’ players.
‘It’s been a good run,’ Lordan agreed, ‘and to beat two Kerry schools will give the lads belief that they can go toe-to-toe with them and beat them. They know when they go back to their clubs or are in with development squads that there is no fear of playing against these teams.
‘This is about the development of players too, and we are working with the clubs to develop these players. We have 26 lads who played in this campaign so that is a big positive. We have players from Bandon, Valleys, Newcestown, Clonakilty, Castlehaven, Argideen Rangers, Dohenys, Kilbrittain, so for all the clubs involved, it’s good to get them exposed to playing at this level.’
The Hammies will now turn their attention to the Simcox Cup and an upcoming semi-final against Coláiste Choilm Ballincollig, and Lordan is confident that his group will recover from last weekend.
‘They are a fantastic group of lads, they have a great attitude and to reach this stage of competition says a lot about their character, work-rate and determination, as well as their attitude towards training,’ the Hammies boss said.
Scorers
Hamilton High School: Oisin McCarthy 0-2 (2f); Jack Cullinane, Kevin Hannon, Oisin Gillain 0-1 each.
Mercy Mounthawk: Paddy Lane 1-11 (1-0 pen, 6f); Tomás Kennedy 1-1; Daniel Kirby 0-3; Ben Murphy 0-2; Gavin Casey, Cormac Bastible 0-1 each.
Hamilton High School: Billy Curtin (Valley Rovers); Ben Coffey (Clonakilty), Niall Daly (Valley Rovers), James O’Driscoll (Bandon); Richard Tarrant (Bandon), Jack Cullinane (Bandon), Luke Casey (Valley Rovers); Oisin Gillain (Kilbrittain), Sean Coffey (Clonakilty); Charlie Twomey (Argideen Rangers), Oisin McCarthy (Valley Rovers), Daniel Coughlan (Bandon); Humphrey Canty (Newcestown), Kevin Hannon (Bandon), Sean Murphy (Dohenys).
Subs: Hugh Flanagan (Newcestown) for C Twomey (26), Eoin Maguire (Castlehaven) for H Canty (32, inj), Donagh Flynn (Argideen Rangers) for S Murphy (36), Adam Griffin (Kilbrittain) for D Coughlan (41), Sam Browne (Valley Rovers) for O Gillain (44), Dara Walsh (Argideen Rangers) for L Casey (48).
Mercy Mounthawk: R Kennedy; B Meehan, B Sharp, J Fisher; P O’Halloran, D Sargeant, G Casey; D Kirby, B Murphy; B Doyle, T Kennedy, S Corkery; C Bastible, P Lane, A Harty.
Subs: A Tuohy for B Kirby (38, temp), J Hoare for Harty (40), D Kirby for Bastible ( 40), O Kerins for Doyle (44), C McGibney for Kirby (50); K O’Donoghue for Sargent (52).
Referee: T McGlinchey (Tipperary).
