COURCEY ROVERS 2-13
NEWCESTOWN 2-6
MATTHEW HURLEY REPORTS
A BIG last-quarter display was crucial in seeing Courcey Rovers over the line in this SE Systems Cork Senior Camogie Championship clash in Riverstick.
Thanks to a goal from the outstanding Saoirse McCarthy on 56 minutes the Ballinspittle side eventually pulled away from Newcestown for a vital Group C win. With both teams having lost their opening game, they needed a victory to get back on track – and it’s Courceys who got the result they needed.
‘It was backs to the walls because we needed the win. We played to our potential tonight so we’re very happy with that and we showed what we can do,’ Courceys manager Sara Hayes said.
Newcestown's Sarah Burrows cuts inside Courcey Rovers' Lucy Crowley.
With three teams to advance from the group, Courceys are already guaranteed, at worst, a preliminary quarter-final, while Newcestown have to beat Killeagh this Friday to keep their knock-out hopes alive.
All-Ireland winning Cork star McCarthy opened the scoring for Courceys after a minute before it was quickly followed by a well-taken Fiona Keating score.
Newcestown bit back though and took the lead on seven minutes. Claire Kingston played a long ball into the Courceys’ goalmouth. Meabh O’Donovan tried to strike the ball to the net before Maeve Lynch provided assistance by forcing it over the line.
Keating levelled proceedings instantly but Newcestown went back in front through a fantastic Ciara O’Sullivan score from the wing.
Courceys then hit 1-4 without reply. Orlagh O’Mahony and Edel Moloney scores put them up by one before they rustled the net. Anne Marie Collins, who showed superb workrate all evening, played in a pin-point pass to Moloney. The latter played it into the onrushing Keating who finished expertly. 1-5 to 1-1 after 23 minutes.
Town had another great chance to goal two minutes later as an O’Sullivan shot off the post led to Sarah Burrows having a strike but the Courceys’ backs did a superb job to deny her. Collins and Keating wrapped up Rovers’ purple patch to give them a six-point advantage.
Keating was in top form in the opening half, hitting 1-3 from play from four shots.
‘She’s a superb player. You have to make the most of the likes of her,’ Courceys’ manager Hayes said.
‘She got some super scores from out the field. Overall, a super performance.’
Burrows and O’Sullivan pointed late on in the half for Town to make it 1-7 to 1-3 at the break.
Newcestown got the first couple of second half scores through O’Sullivan to reduce the margin to two before McCarthy and Collins quickly cancelled them out. O’Sullivan and McCarthy traded frees but then the game sparked into life.
A bad puckout from Courceys allowed Town to pounce on the error leading to Maria Kenneally to goal. Suddenly, there were two between them.
‘It was disappointing to give away that goal,’ Sara Hayes admitted.
‘I think we dug deep, we hammered on. We put in the tackles and we drove forward.’
Dug deep is what the Ballinspittle outfit did, hitting the next 1-3 to kill off the Town challenge. McCarthy continued her top free taking form with two in a row before the decisive moment came.
After a battle in the middle of the park, Courceys came out with the sliotar and it ended up with McCarthy. She struck a shot from beyond the 45 that dropped all the way into the Newcestown goal. Fortuitous as it was, McCarthy deserved her goal after an awesome display.
Courcey Rovers' Ellen Maguire battling with Maria Kenneally of Newcestown during the county senior camogie championship round two in Riverstick on Friday evening.
‘She was outstanding tonight. The hooks, the blocks and the balls she put in. She carried an awful lot of ball,’ her manager said.
‘She was absolutely wrecked and that’s what you want. I think we made the most of her, that’s what you have to do with inter-county players.’
Collins pointed a free late on to wrap up the victory before O’Sullivan put over a consolation score for Newcestown.
A massive win for Courceys who face county champions Sarsfields next, with the latter beating Killeagh 2-13 to 2-10 last weekend.
‘We have nothing to fear. Sars have two wins under their belt. We want another win under our belt. We want a confidence boost and we want to play to our potential, performance all the way. We’ll just dig deep and come out again,’ Hayes said.
For Newcestown, it’s two losses in a row, and they now play Killeagh on Friday knowing they need a win to stay alive. Given it’s the head to head record if teams finish level on points, Newcestown can’t finish above Courceys, but they can leapfrog Killeagh with a win.
Scorers
Courcey Rovers: Saoirse McCarthy 1-5 (5f); Fiona Keating 1-3; Anne Marie Collins 0-3 (1f); Orlagh O’Mahony, Edel Moloney 0-1 each.
Newcestown: Ciara O’Sullivan 0-5 (4f); Maeve Lynch, Maria Kenneally 1-0 each; Sarah Burrows 0-1.
Courcey Rovers: Christine O’Neill; Lucy Crowley, Alanna Corcoran, Roisin Gallagher; Aisling O’Reilly, Ashling Moloney, Saoirse McCarthy; Grace O’Reilly, Fiona Keating; Edel Moloney, Orlagh O’Mahony, Ellen Maguire; Rebecca Crowley, Aoife Hynes, Anne Marie Collins.
Sub: Lisa Nield for E Moloney (66, inj).
Newcestown: Orla Dineen; Alice Buckley, Aoife O’Sullivan, Siobhan Kelleher; Aoibhinn Wilson, Aisling O’Donovan, Rachel Hallahan; Claire Kingston, Emma Tarrant; Ciara O’Sullivan, Maria Kenneally, Maeve Lynch; Meabh O’Donovan, Ciara Aherne, Sarah Burrows.
Subs: Aoibhe Sheehan for M Lynch (45), Lauren Whelan for S Kelleher (50), Aoife O’Sullivan for C Aherne (54).
Referee: John Horgan (Gleann na Laoi).
