Superb Aghada get their PIFC campaign back on track with win over Na Piarsaigh

Aghada 4-13

Na Piarsaigh 0-5

AGHADA got their Bon Secours PIFC campaign back on track after a comprehensive win over Na Piarsaigh at Carrigtwohill on Sunday afternoon.

Having lost the first day to Banty the winners knew they had to get the better of the northside club and it now becomes a straight shoot-out between themselves and Castletownbere in the final game of the round-robin series.

For Na Piarsaigh they face a difficult tie against Bantry in their last game and they need to win that one to ensure they don’t get embroiled in the relegation play-offs again this year.

Aghada can approach that final game in confident form as they dominated this encounter from start to finish and once they took the lead they never looked like losing. Bar a short spell at the start of the second-half when Piarsaigh came out fighting they never looked in trouble.

Their only concern will be knocks picked up by Aidan O’Connell and Danny Creedon, adding to the missing former Cork star Pearse O’Neill, but with three weeks before they play again all should be ok.

The East Cork side started much the brighter of the two sides and it took just 30 seconds for them to take the lead, with Fintan Cody raising the first white flag of the afternoon.

Two frees from Danny Creedon extended their lead, before Kelvin Forde was black carded for Na Piarsaigh, with seven minutes gone.

Aghada started to turn the screw as being a man down in the warm weather didn’t help their opponents.

Timmy Hartnett extended their lead, with Cody raising another white flag and another from Creedon made it 0-6 to no score with 14 minutes played.

With 16 minutes gone Na Piarsaigh raised their first white flag when Padraig Guest split the posts with Cody replying at the other end. Jamie O’Hanlon pointed for Aghada and with 24 minutes gone they got their game’s opening goal.

A mistake in the Piarsaigh defence saw Cody in on goal and he made no mistake as he made it 1-8 to 0-1.

Kelvin Forde got the last point of the half as his side trailed by 0-2 to 1-8 and they had it all to do in the second-half.

Cian O’Mahony pulled a point back for Piarsaigh at the start of the second-half and he added a second and with 45 minutes gone it was 1-9 to 0-5. A minute later and any chance of a comeback were dashed when Cody got Aghada’s second goal and within two minutes they had their third, this time Aaron Berry raising a green flag.

Late on Cian Fleming got their fourth to round off the scoring to see them run out comprehensive winners as they now face Castletownbere in a winners takes all game.

Scorers for Aghada: F Cody 2-3 (2f), C Fleming 1-1, A Berry 1-0, D Creedon 0-5 (5f), T Hartnett, J O’Hanlon, D Byrne, K O’Shea 0-1 each.

Na Piarsaigh: C O’Mahony 0-2 (1f), P Guest, K Forde, P Rourke 0-1 each.

AGHADA: C O’Shea; E Leahy, R Power, J Colbert; J Tynan, J O’Donoghue, K O’Shea; M Russell, A O’Connell; T Hartnett, D Creedon, S Bennett; F Cody, D Byrne, J O’Hanlon.

Subs: A Berry for A O’Connell (26 bs), C Fleming for J O’Hanlon, D Collins for E Leahy (both 48), D Leahy for D Creedon (50), C Terry for J Tynan (55), J Norris for J Colbert (60).

NA PIARSAIGH: K Waters; P Murphy, E Gunning, J Morrissey; K Forde, P Rourke, C Bowen; E Sheehan, S Forde; K Buckley, A Hogan, P Guest; C Hogan, C O’Mahony, A Keating.

Subs: G Joyce for K Forde (ht), K Moynihan for C Bowen (42), S Downey for K Buckley (35), E Fitzgerald for E Gunning, P Lynch for P Rourke (both 52).

Referee: Alan O’Connor, Ballygarvan.