PIFC: Castletownbere hold off Rockchapel

Castletownbere 1-11 Rockchapel 2-6 

DESPITE Rockchapel ensuring a grandstand finish, Castletownbere came out on top following this gripping Bon Secours PIFC tie at Clondrohid.

After this victory, Castletownbere top the table, while Rockchapel (two points) and Bandon (two points) still have hopes of progression.

After an early pair of well-taken Castletownbere points in the opening minutes, James Harrington clinically converted to the back of the top corner of the net after some good buildup play from Lee Kelly, as his side had the most perfect of starts.

Midway through the first half Castletownbere were awarded a penalty. Gary Murphy saw his effort saved brilliantly by Rockchapel keeper Conor Casey, but the ball was diverted over the crossbar.

Rockchapel opened their scoring account on 18 minutes from a Jack Curtin free, but Tomás Murphy responded for Castletownbere, who were continuing to assert control over the contest.

A score by Jonathan Rosales for Castletownbere on the stroke of halftime had his side in a commanding position, holding a 1-6 to 0-1 advantage at the interval.

Cormac Curtin pointed almost instantly from the throw-in for Rockchapel in the second half. But Castletownbere responded through a point by Gary Murphy.

Jack Curtin kept the scoreboard ticking over for Rockchapel, who found the back of the net through a close-range finish by Ciaran Curtin on 58 minutes.

One minute late Rockchapel were awarded a penalty, with the Castletownbere shot stopper Dave Fenton getting a black card in the process for his foul.

Liam Collins blasted the ball to the back of the net from the spot to leave just two points between the teams going into second-half stoppage time.

But the Rockchapel fightback came too late, as Castletownbere held on to secure a crucial victory in their hopes of making the knockout stages.

Scorers for Castletownbere: J Harrington 1-1, G Murphy (0-1 f), T Murphy (0-3 f) 0-4 each, L Kelly, J Rosales 0-1 each.

Rockchapel: J Curtin 0-5 (0-3 f), L Collins, Ciaran Curtin 1-0 each, Cormac Curtin 0-1.

CASTLETOWNBERE: D Fenton; J Rosales, L Harrington, D Hanley: S McCarthy, T Collins, O Murphy: A O’Sullivan, O Byrne: B Murphy, J Harrington, K O’Sullivan; G Murphy, L Kelly, T Murphy.

Subs: F Fenner for O’Sullivan (39), D Dunne for T Murphy (43), M Orpen for Harrington, J Hanley for O Murphy (both 55), D Hegarty for Kelly (59).

ROCKCHAPEL: C Casey; P Curtin, E O’Callaghan, B Carroll; E Murphy, M O’Keeffe, W Murphy; S Hickey, Ciaran Curtin; J O’Callaghan, Cormac Curtin, S Curtin; M McAuliffe, J Curtin, J McAuliffe.

Subs: K Collins for J O’Callaghan, D O’Callaghan for Murphy (both 39), L Collins for Cormac Curtin (50).

Referee: Pat O’Leary (Kilmurry).