Mallow 3-15
Muskerry 2-11
NOEL HORGAN REPORTS
HAVING recovered from an uncertain start, Muskerry looked favourably positioned at half time in the premier county senior football championship quarter-final encounter with Mallow at Kanturk on Sunday.
They were on level terms, 0-9 to 1-6, at the interval, and were due to resume with a strong wind advantage in the second half.
As in the first half, however, Muskerry were slow to get out of the blocks on the turnover, with the result that Mallow had built up an intimidating nine-point lead at the three-quarter mark.
Manager Conor Hurley from Macroom agreed Muskerry’s failure to settle quickly in both halves cost them dearly.
‘The third quarter certainly did not go well for whatever reason, but maybe Mallow came out with a bit more bite than us, and you’d have to say they were the better team overall, so they deserved to win,’ Hurley said.
‘I couldn’t fault any of our players in terms of commitment, a lot of them played two matches a week this year, and, as this is a very young group, hopefully they’ll come back and improve.
‘Considering we came from nowhere last year to qualify for a quarter-final, progress has been made, which might give next year’s management something to build on.’
The early indications were that Muskerry might be overwhelmed before half time, as they struggled to cope with a Mallow attack in which wing-forwards Jack Dillon and Sean McDonnell were particularly impressive.
Aided by a goal from full-forward Kevin Sheehan, they led by 1-5 to 0-3 midway through the first half, but the complexion of the contest changed significantly after Muskerry got their act together.
With Liam Wall and Conor Dodd working hard to give them an edge at midfield, Mark Corrigan also to the fore at centre-back, and Chris Óg Jones moving menacingly when in possession up front, Mid Cork outscored Mallow by six points to one in the second quarter.
Eoin O’Leary, Liam Wall and Ian Jones shared three points from play, Liam O’Connor posted a brace from frees, both resulting from fouls on Óg Jones, who also converted a mark during Muskerry’s dominant spell.
Remarkably, Muskerry had to wait until the 48th minute to break their second-half duck, courtesy of a goal from Óg Jones.
In the interim, Mallow, with their sweet-moving attack wreaking havoc and rampaging wing-back Matty Taylor chipping in with a point, had clocked up 1-6, Kevin Sheehan the goalscorer again.
Hopes of another Muskerry rally had been effectively dashed when Óg Jones was out of luck with three goal chances after they trailed by 2-9 to 0-8 with 39 minutes gone. Mallow goalkeeper Kevin Doyle did well to foil the first, the upright thwarted the second, while the third went inches wide of the target.
Along with Chris Óg Jones, Liam O’Connor caught the eye most often up front for Muskerry, but the threat from the Mallow attack was far more widespread, with McDonnell, Sheehan, Dillon and Mark Tobin all making a major impact.
The latter bagged the winners’ third three-pointer in the 59th minute before Chris Óg Jones had a rasping shot deflected on to the crossbar by Kevin Doyle, who was powerless to prevent substitute Mark McLoughlin from fisting home a consolation goal for Muskerry in stoppage time.
Scorers
Mallow: S McDonnell 0-6 (3f); K Sheehan 2-1; M Tobin 1-3; M Kelleher, J Dillon (1 45) 0-2 each; M Taylor 0-1.
Muskerry: C Óg Jones 1-2 (1m); L O’Connor 0-5 (3f); M McLoughlin 1-0; J Creedon (f), E O’Leary, L Wall, I Jones 0-1 each.
Mallow: K Doyle: B Myers, P Lyons, E Barry; P Hennessy, S Copps, M Taylor; S Merritt, S O’Callaghan; J Dillon, R Harkin, S McDonnell; M Tobin, K Sheehan, M Kelleher.
Subs: S Hayes for Kelleher (43), E Stanton for Harkin (49), E Kelleher for Sheehan (50), D O’Sullivan for Tobin (59).
Muskerry: J Creedon (Uibh Laoire); J Murphy (Macroom), W Rohan (Kilmurry), D O’Donovan (Uibh Laoire); K Manning (do.), M Corrigan (Macroom), K O’Connell (Donoughmore); L Wall (Kilmurry), C Dodd (Canovee); S O’Riordan (Uibh Laoire), C Óg Jones (do.), A Quinn (Macroom); L O’Connor (Inniscarra), I Jones (Uibh Laoire), E O’Leary (Macroom).
Subs: L Aisling (Kilmurry) for O’Leary (43), J O’Mullane (Kilmurry) for O’Donovan (44), D Morrissey (Donoughmore) for O’Riordan (47), M McLoughlin (Inniscarra) for Dodd (48), D Kelly (Naomh Abán) for O’Connor (58).
Referee: A Long (Argideen Rangers).
