Newcestown snatch victory over Blarney in SAHC opener

Newcestown 2-18 Blarney 0-21 

IT took a virtuoso performance from Newcestown’s Eddie Kenneally to put Blarney to the sword in Saturday’s Senior A HC opener at Ovens. 

The West Cork men had to dig deep to secure the win, coming from five points back in a hectic second period to turn what seemed like Blarney’s game on its head.

There’s still no sign of a Mark Coleman return to Blarney colours but his inter-county colleague Shane Barrett was the tip of Blarney’s spear as he contributed 11 points over the hour.

It was actually Newcestown who had the boost of an early goal, Richard O’Sullivan finding himself one-on-one with Blarney’s Conor Murphy and finessed it past the keeper to give his side an early advantage. However, instead of providing the launchpad for Newcestown to drive on, the goal lit a fire under Blarney as they reeled off an impressive eight points to put themselves firmly in the driving seat.

Barrett scored six of the points and Padraig Power was on target too as they reached the halftime whistle with a five-point lead. Thirteen scores to six in that first period offered an accurate barometer of the balance of play, and at that stage, it looked a steep uphill climb for Newcestown.

Things could have got worse five minutes after the break when a goal for Blarney from Power was ruled up, apparently for a pickup off the ground. That would have been curtains for Newcestown, but they used the break to get to work on whittling down the arrears. Kenneally was front and centre of the fightback, showing his colleagues the way with a series of long-range scores as Blarney’s lead began to look vulnerable.

This moment of luck seemed to signify a change in fortunes for Newcestown and they powered on with a plethora of fantastic long-range scores to bring themselves back into the fight.

By the 48th minute, there were only two points between the sides, Blarney still leading 0-18 to 1-13 and then the game’s critical turning point with six minutes of regulation left. Keneally was first to a ball played out wide by David Buckley and he slipped past his man and, from a tight angle, buried it into the roof of the net.

That put Newcestown 2-14 to 0-19 ahead but Blarney weren’t done, and the sides were level once more in the 57th minute as Barrett equalised from a placed ball.

Buckley nudged Newcestown in front again and this time they would not be denied, Kennelly sealing the deal with a brace of injury time points.

Scorers for Newcestown: E Kenneally 1-10 (0-4 f), R O’Sullivan 1-4, C Dineen, J Meade, P Collins, D Buckley 0-1 each.

Blarney: S Barrett 0-11 (0-7 f), D McSweeney, P Power, C Barrett 0-2 each, O Hegarty, C Power, S Mulcahy 0-1 each.

NEWCESTOWN: C Wilson; M McSweeney, G O’Donovan, J Kelleher; M Courtney, C O’Donovan, E Collins; T Twomey, L Meade; S O’Donovan, E Keneally, P Collins; C Dineen, R O’Sullivan, J Meade.

Subs: N Kelly for M Courtney (27), C O’Donovan for P Collins (42), D Buckley for C Dineen (48).

BLARNEY: C Murphy; S Crowley, P O’Leary, D Murphy; P Philpott, P Crowley, A McEvoy; S Barrett, O Hegarty; D McSweeney, C Power, C Hegarty; S Mulcahy, P Power, C Barrett.

Subs: K Costello for S Mulcahy (30), C Dunlea for C Power (51).

Referee: Niall O’Neill (Midleton).