IAHC: Sean Walsh strikes late as Mitchelstown pip Dromtarriffe
Mitchelstown's Cormac Hyland trying to get past Dromtarriffe's Daniel O'Keeffe in the Bon Secours Cork IAFC at Kanturk. Picture: Denis Minihane.
Mitchelstown 1-9 Dromtarriffe 0-11
TWO late Sean Walsh points gave Mitchelstown victory against a gallant Dromtarriffe in the Bon Secours Hospital Cork IAFC quarter-final at Kanturk on Saturday evening.
The Avondhu side are one of the fancied sides for outright honours but they will have to improve on this showing. Mitchelstown will hope it’s third time lucky this season, after losing the last two county finals to Rockchapel and Iveleary.
Dromtarriffe will feel they should have seen it out, they led throughout the game until injury-time, with wayward shooting proving costly.
Dromtarriffe, ranked outsiders prior to throw-in, settled in straight away. Their opposition couldn’t match their intensity or hunger, they kicked five consecutive white flags without reply inside 17 minutes.
Conor O’Callaghan, who covered every blade of grass with four and a Killian O’Sullivan effort. Dromtarriffe could have been further infront if it wasn’t for stray passes at the crucial moment and they also were denied a goal. Mitchelstown goalkeeper Luke Hanna made a great save to deny Daniel O’Keeffe.
The Town did finally register a score five minutes to the break, through championship top scorer, Cathail O’Mahony from a free. The imposing Dromtarriffe midfielder Michael Healy landed a great point, but O’Mahony sent over a point on the stroke of half-time to keep his side in touch, 0-6 to 0-2 at half-time.
The sides traded points on the resumption, until the winners against the run of play, raised a green flag. Good work by Walsh set up Shane Beston, and the latter made no mistake to place the ball into the corner of the net. The sides once again exchanged points, as Dromtarriffe led 0-8 to 1-4 after the third quarter.
Dromtarriffe pushed three points clear, as they tacked on two white flags with nine minutes remaining. The winners, who were playing second fiddle in truth, sent over three points on the trot to level matters entering injury time. O’Callaghan, who is also a brilliant hurler, was Dromtarriffe’s main man, he fisted over an effort, it looked like the winner.
But the town, led by Walsh, sent over two points in the third and fifth minute of injury time to snatch the win.
Mitchelstown will know their semi-final opponents once the final two quarter-final games are completed on Sunday evening. Dromtarriffe suffer a second consecutive quarter-final defeat, after losing to Aghabullogue last year.
C O’Mahony 0-5 (0-4 f), S Beston 1-0, S Walsh 0-2, M Keane 0-1, D Reidy-Price 0-1.
C O’Callaghan 0-5 (0-1 f), K O’Sullivan 0-1, B O’Keeffe 0-1, E Murphy 0-1 (0-1f), M Healy 0-1, T Howard 0-1, D O’Connor 0-1.
L Hanna; L Finn, F Herlihy, K Roche; J O’Sullivan, J Mullins, C Hyland; P Magee, M Keane; D Dineen, S Beston, S Walsh; J Sheehan, A O’Brien, C O’Mahony.
S O’Sullivan for J O’Sullivan (22, inj), S Cahill for A O’Brien (45), D Reidy-Price for J Sheehan (50), S Kenneally for p Magee (52).
D Mann; R Daly, M O’Brien, S Howard; A Daly, J Murphy, T Howard; A Buckley, M Healy; J Kelleher, E Murphy, B O’Keeffe; K O’Sullivan, D O’Keeffe, C O’Callaghan.
D O’Connor for A Daly (h-t), M Dennehy for J Kelleher (48), S O’Sullivan for R Daly (50), S Coyne for M Healy (58).
Cathal Nolan (Bishopstown).
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