PIHC: Valley Rovers defeat rivals Carrigaline to progress
David Lynch, Valley Rovers, with posession against Carrigaline in the PIHC clash at Ballygarvan. Picture: Larry Cummins
A much-improved second-half display from Valley Rovers ensured they saw off Carrigaline in a highly competitive Co-Op Superstores PIHC clash at sun-drenched Ballygarvan.
Many heroes for the winners but 1-3 from the Valleys stalwart Kevin Canty proved crucial for the winners when the game hung in the balance. Sharpshooter Colm Butler was also deadly accurate all through.
As a consequence, they're through to the quarter-finals where they'll meet Kilworth and Castlemartyr if they progress to the last four.
On the very first possession, Butler executed a point following a needless free but David Drake responded immediately with a stunning point from play.
The play was open for both sides in the opening six minutes with a second Drake point tying the game at three points each.
Both sides were guilty of allowing too much space as players were shooting points unchallenged but the one forward that stood out was Drake whose fourth point in the 15th minute edged his side into 0-7 to 0-5 lead.
Carrigaline looked to be gaining control and when Kelleher added his third point a minute later it increased their advantage to three points.
Valley Rovers exposed Carrigaline for a 10-minute period but their failure to add scores became a problem despite a Darragh Murphy point bringing the teams on parity with four minutes remaining to the interval.
On the next possession, a fabulous run by Charlie Lyons left the Carrigaline defence in his trail but just as he was about to pull the trigger he was hooked by full-back Steven Williamson.
In the closing minutes, Carrigaline scored two opportunist points courtesy of Robert O’Shea and Murphy ensured they went in at the break commanding a 0-11 to 0-9 lead.
On the restart, both teams continued to trade points and the game was still there for the taking when the Kevin Canty show kicked in midway through the half.
Canty hadn’t seen much possession come his way in the first half but when he caught a high ball in the 45th minute he found the space to drill a low shot to the corner of the net.
Three points followed from Canty in a five-minute period and a Charlie Lyons goal finally killed off the brave Carrigaline challenge.
C Butler 0-11 (0-2 f), K Canty 1-3, C Lyons 1-1, A Kenneally 0-2, D Murphy 0-2, W Hurley 0-2, E Guinane 0-2.
B Kelleher 0-8 (0-5 f), D Drake 0-6, R O’Shea 0-5, D Griffin 0-2, K O’Reilly 0-1.
J Lynch; J O’Driscoll, C Desmond, E Delaney; D Murphy, T O’Brien, W Hurley; E Guinane, R O’Sullivan; C Butler, A Kenneally, S O’Leary; K Canty, M Savic, C Lyons.
J Cottrell for M Savic (42), J Kenneally for S O’Leary (53).
R Foster; C Vaughan, S Williamson, K Kavanagh; D Griffin, R McCarthy, R O’Shea; J Mc McCarthy, F O’Connell; K Kavanagh, D Drake, D Greene; B Kelleher, K O’Reilly, N Coleman.
P Mellett for N Coleman (h-t), R Kelleher for F O’Connell (inj 36), N O’Keeffe for D Greene (50), J Maher for R Kelleher (52).
Brian Sweeney (Erin's Own).
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