Castlehaven delighted to have Brian Hurley back and Jack Cahalane firing

AFTER drawing with Carbery Rangers in their opening game in Group A of the Bons Secours Cork PSFC, there was quite a bit of jeopardy when James McCarthy’s Castlehaven took on Valley Rovers in Clonakilty last Saturday. 

They negotiated the hurdle assuredly, however, and McCarthy was more than happy for his side to be masters of their own fate going into the final round of fixtures.

“We were comfortable all through the game, but we never got out of sight until the end, really. If you leave any team in it, you know, a goal could have come. They didn’t really have any clear cut chance, but these things happen. 

"Someone switches off, they could get a goal to bring it back to a couple of points. If we had got the penalty that time we could have tapped on a few more points, but we didn’t. We’re very happy with the win, because we’re controlling our own destiny now.” 

 Jack Cahalane was central to everything that was good about the Haven on the day and McCarthy is thrilled to have his significant talent at his disposal, as he is to have Brian Hurley back from injury. However, injuries to Cathal and Rory Maguire did cast a shadow over the result.

CLASS

“He’s class. He got a year’s football into him this year with us. He played all of the league games which will bring him on. He’s a man for the future, well he’s a man for us now at the moment! 

"But he’s a man for Cork in the future. We’re delighted with him in his general play, his cuteness on the ball is second to none.

“It’s great to see Brian back in. He hasn’t played a game with a long time so to give him 30 minutes there was great. 

He’s delighted with himself, and it’s great to see him back on the pitch again. He put in a great effort just to be on the pitch again with us.

“It’s looking serious for the lads [Cathal and Rory] alright, but we’ll assess them during the week. The timescale is short now, and it’s looking doubtful for the Clon game for both of them." 

That game against Clonakilty will now define the Haven’s season. It’s a game that everyone will relish, and McCarthy is no different.

“If we had lost here, we’d be under pressure, but it’s in our own hands now. We’re looking forward to it again in three weeks’ time. This is what we’ve trained for. Local derbies are brilliant. 

"We saw Clon against Valleys in the first game, they were awesome. They put Valleys away way easier than what we did tonight. We’ll go and have a crack and see where it takes us.”