Castletownbere crashed out of the Cork PIFC following a second round defeat to Kanturk at a rain-lashed Ballyvourney.
Kanturk 1-13
Castletownbere 0-5
GER McCARTHY REPORTS
CASTLETOWNBERE crashed out of the Cork PIFC following a second round defeat to Kanturk at a rain-lashed Ballyvourney.
The Beara side were blown away by their opponents in the opening half, behind 0-10 to 0-1 at the break and eventually going down by 11 points.
Cork stalwarts Aidan Walsh and Lorcán McLoughlin played their part in Kanturk’s victory on an evening awful weather conditions didn’t deter the winners from producing an impressive display.
A strong wind was certainly a factor but Castletownbere weren’t making any excuses in the immediate aftermath. Their performance simply wasn’t good enough with a paltry total of five points (three from open play) in 60 minutes meaning there was only going to ever be one outcome.
‘I think we were probably as nervous as we ever were coming into a championship match,’ said Castletownbere manager Noel Harrington.
‘It was knockout on the night and we hadn’t played championship since April 14th. They (county board) were messing around with the fixture, it (the game) was fixed, then it was re-fixed and that was a bit of a disruption. That’s not an excuse because Kanturk mastered the conditions and were more physical in their approach.’
Castletownbere got off to a slow start and found themselves 0-4 to 0-0 behind after 16 minutes following Aidan Walsh (two), Cian Clernon and Ian Walsh scores.
Owen Power got the Beara side off the mark after 17 minutes but that would be their only score of a forgettable first half display.
With Lorcán McLoughlin in imperious form at half-back plus Aidan and Ryan Walsh dominating midfield, Kanturk stretched their lead to nine just before the interval.
Belying the deteriorating weather conditions, Kyle Holland (two, one free), Ryan Walsh, Ian Walsh, Lorcan O’Neill and Cian Clernon raised white flags to make it 0-10 to 0-1 at half time.
Castletownbere staged a mini-revival on the resumption with Reece Dillane (free), Trevor Collins and David Murphy efforts helping to reduce the deficit. Kanturk lost Joe Carver to a black card but quickly recovered to cement their victory with a James Fitzpatrick goal after 42 minutes.
That strike took the wind out of Castletownbere’s sails and although James Harrington converted a late free, Ian Walsh (free), John McLoughlin and Liam Murphy points completed a 1-13 to 0-5 Kanturk victory.
‘They got the scores for the work that they did out on the pitch in the first half,’ concluded Castletownbere’s Noel Harrington.
‘We found that gap too hard to bridge and began taking chances in the second half. Unfortunately, their goal was a sucker punch just when we trying to inch our way back into the game. I was proud of the lads though and especially their response in the second half.’
Scorers
Kanturk: Ian Walsh 0-3 (1f), James Fitzpatrick 1-0, Kyle Holland (1f), Aidan Walsh, Cian Clernon 0-2 each, Lorcan O’Neill, Ryan Walsh, John McLoughlin, Liam Murphy 0-1 each.
Castletownbere: Owen Power, Reece Dillane (1f), Trevor Collins, James Harrington (1f), David Murphy 0-1 each.
Kanturk: Jordan Fullerton; Lorcan O’Neill, Darren Browne, Joe Carver; Lorcán McLoughlin, John Browne, John McLoughlin; Ryan Walsh, Aidan Walsh (captain); Mark Healy, Paul Walsh, James Fitzpatrick; Ian Walsh, Cian Clernon, Kyle Holland.
Subs: Eoin Geaney for J Carver (40, bc), Sean Kerrigan for K Holland (60), Liam Murphy for C Clernon (60), Christopher Mullane for L McLoughlin (62).
Castletownbere: Christopher O’Donoghue; Kieran O’Sullivan, Lorcan Harrington, Gerard Healy (captain); Oliver Byrne, Trevor Collins, Conall Keane; Andrew O’Sullivan, Shane McCarthy; James Harrington, Declan Dunne, Mark Harrington; Richard Murphy, David Murphy, Owen Power.
Subs: R Dillane for M Harrington (35, inj), Dave Fenton for J Harrington (51).
Referee: John Ryan (Macroom).
