St Mary’s 4-10
Castlehaven 1-10
MATTHEW HURLEY REPORTS
NIALL Kelleher was in goal-scoring form as St Mary’s saw off the challenge of Castlehaven, winning their third game in a row to top Group 2.
It was the willingness to go for goals which saw Mary’s over the line in this Carbery JAFC round-robin clash.
The Haven’s second team opened the scoring with points from Shane Nolan and Jack O’Neill. St Mary’s responded through Chris Daly. The Haven could’ve gone four clear inside eight minutes but Jamie O’Driscoll’s goal opportunity flashed wide.
The Ballineen/Enniskeane club nearly hit a goal of their own when Darren O’Donovan’s effort was saved by Kian O’Sullivan. O’Donovan did at least get something out of the attack with a point from the rebound.
Olan Corcoran and Niall Kelleher (2) points put Mary’s into a three-point lead but Shane Hurley and David McCarthy of the Haven reduced the gap to one.
The first of four goals on the night for Marys came from Micheal O’Driscoll, who found the bottom corner with deadly accuracy.
Brian Everard tagged on a point and Kelleher then got his first goal of the night with a neat finish which made it 2-6 to 0-4 after 20 minutes.
That was Marys’ last score of the half however, as McCarthy, Jamie Walsh and a Nolan free meant the margin was down to five at the break.
Castlehaven did carry on that scoring run into the second spell as Oisín Daly and O’Neill reduced the gap to three, but less than a minute later, Haven’s hard work was undone.
A quick counter attack filled with intricate passing led to Marys' sharpshooter Darren O’Donovan sliding the ball under the goalkeeper.
Olan Corcoran then hit over a free beyond the 45m line before Kelleher got his second goal of the evening after being brilliantly assisted by Jack Hurley.
Hurley went on a mazy run past the Haven rear-guard before having the awareness to spot Kelleher in a goal scoring position (4-7 to 0-9).
To be fair to the Haven, they did ignite the contest again with 1-1 without reply. Sean Browne hit a point and substitute Fiachra Collins finally found the Marys’ net. Collins was only on the pitch for less than a minute.
That mini revival was put to a halt though as forward Jamie O’Driscoll saw a black card for a trip off the ball.
St Mary’s seized that advantage to power home as O’Donovan hit two more scores while substitute Jason Collins also got in on the act.
A job well done for the West Cork finalists for 2021, who now take on Kilmacabea in a huge quarter-final on Sunday, August 28th.
Scorers - St Mary’s: Niall Kelleher 2-2; Darren O’Donovan 1-3; Micheal O’Driscoll 1-0; Olan Corcaran 0-2 (1f); Chris Daly, Brian Everard, Jason Collins 0-1 each. Castlehaven: Fiachra Collins 1-0; Shane Nolan (1f), Jack O’Neill, David McCarthy 0-2 each; Shane Hurley, Jamie Walsh, Oisín Daly, Sean Browne 0-1 each.
St Mary’s: Paul Gleeson; Finghin O’Driscoll, Peter Daly, David Curtin; Ryan Scannell, Chris Daly, Mark O’Driscoll; Rory O’Connor, Brian Everard; Olan Corcoran, Dylan Scannell, Micheal O’Driscoll; Jack Hurley, Darren O’Donovan, Niall Kelleher. Subs: Cillian McGillicuddy for C Daly (28, inj), Billy O’Brien for P Daly (ht), Rory Baggot for R Scannell (43), Jason Collins for M O’Driscoll (50), Stephen Keohane for D Curtin (58).
Castlehaven: Kian O’Sullivan; Joseph Bohane, Tom O’Leary, Oisín Daly; Jamie Walsh, David Whelton, Sean Bohane; Darragh Cahalane, David McCarthy; Shane Hurley, Jack O’Neill, Sean Browne; Jamie O’Driscoll, Shane Nolan, Alex Minihane. Subs: Liam McCarthy for T O’Leary (ht), Ciaran O’Sullivan for J Bohane (ht), Michael Owen O’Mahony for S Hurley (45), Fiachra Collins for A Minihane (45), Liam O’Mahony for S Browne (49).
Referee: Connie Murphy (Kilbree).
