BISHOPSTOWN               1-12

ILEN ROVERS               0-4

GER McCARTHY REPORTS

ILEN Rovers’ hopes of making an early impression in the Bon Secours Senior A Football Championship suffered a crushing blow following a heavy defeat to Bishopstown in Clonakilty.

Inspired by Brian Clifford’s five points and Kieran McFadden’s first-half goal, the city slickers left West Cork with a fully deserved 11-point victory.

Poor weather conditions were a factor but the simple truth is that Ilen never got going. The Baltimore-Rath club struggled all night in front of goal, accrued a paltry four points and lacked the confidence to mount a comeback against a slicker opponent.

All is not lost with back-to-back local derbies against Dohenys and Newcestown to come. Yet, Ilen Rovers know a massive improvement is needed if they are to avoid a relegation battle following a disappointing performance.

Ilen Rovers' Aaron O'Sullivan gets to grips with Bishopstown's Levent Arslan.

‘We just never got going on the night and that’s the reality,’ Ilen Rovers selector Johnny Holland admitted.

‘Their goal took the air out of our sails but we made some wrong decisions and, look, didn’t play anywhere near as good as we know we can play. That’s the most frustrating thing.

‘Conditions were the same for both teams to be honest. As a team, we had played a lot better in the build-up to tonight’s game. We have time to work on things before the next two games and we just have to put our heads down and get on with it.

‘Bottom line is that we have to take this defeat on the chin and get going again as soon as possible. What’s done is done and we need to move on now.’

Amid incessant rain and a strong wind, both sides struggled throughout a forgettable first half. Ilen’s Peter O’Driscoll opened the scoring only for Brian Clifford to level after three minutes.

A scrappy period full of mistakes and turnovers meant the game’s next score didn’t arrive until the 19th minute. Corner-back Michael Murphy doubled Bishopstown’s total after Paul Honohan had blazed a rare goal opportunity wide. It mattered little as the increasingly influential Clifford kicked his second point and Honohan made it 0-4 to 0-1.

The game’s major turning point arrived on 27 minutes. Bishopstown regained possession and worked the ball to Brian Clifford. The half-forward’s perfectly weighted pass found Kieran McFadden who palmed the ball into the net.Sean O’Donovan scored Rovers’ first point in 28 minutes prior to Ilen changing ends 1-4 to 0-2 behind.

Thankfully, the rain subsided in the second half but, unfortunately, Ilen’s struggles continued in front of goal. It was an increasingly confident Bishopstown who dominated the third quarter with McFadden and Clifford extending their team’s advantage. The city side were able to overcome the loss of McFadden to a black-card offence by making it 1-7 to 0-2, via Liam O’Driscoll, despite being down to 14 players.

Michael Sheehy offered some respite for Ilen’s supporters with a brace of points but they would be the West Cork club’s only scores of the second half. Clifford converted two frees in quick succession to take his total to five points for the evening.

A fractious ending saw Cathal Hynes pull off a marvellous save before his team mate, Conor Dunne, converted two frees for a rampant Bishopstown. Simon Collins wrapped up the scoring and Bishopstown finished worthy 1-12 to 0-4 winners.

As for Ilen Rovers, a massive improvement is needed ahead of two SAFC group C West Cork derbies.

Scorers

Bishopstown: B Clifford 0-5 (2f); K McFadden 1-1; C Dunne 0-2 (2f); M Murphy, P Honohan, L O’Driscoll, S Collins 0-1 each.

Ilen Rovers: M Sheehy 0-2; P O’Driscoll, S O’Donovan 0-1 each.

Bishopstown: C Hynes; M Murphy, M Power, D Quaid; K Murphy, E Byrne, N Gough; D O’Connor, J Murphy; D O’Donovan, M Nunan, L O’Driscoll; K McFadden, P Honohan, B Clifford.

Subs: C Dunne for M Nunan (42), S Collins for L O’Driscoll (48), L Arslan for J Murphy (58).

Ilen Rovers: D O’Sullivan; S O’Shea, S Minihane, J Davis; C O’Driscoll, J Collins, D Collins; Peadar O’Driscoll, Peter O’Driscoll; A O’Driscoll, S O’Donovan, K O’Driscoll; D MacEoin, M Sheehy, C Harrington.

Subs: A O’Sullivan for A O’Driscoll (25), D O’Driscoll for K O’Driscoll (39), A Holland for D MacEoin (44).

Referee: B Sweeney (Shamrocks).