Matthew Bradley inspires Aghabullogue to one-point IAHC final win over Midleton
Aghabullogue's Shane Tarrant and Jerome Corkery raise the trophy after defeating Midleton in the Co-Op Superstores IAHC final at Pairc Ui Chaoimh. Picture; Eddie O'Hare
AGHABULLOGUE held on to claim the Intermediate A HC title in a nail-biting affair with Midleton in Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday afternoon.
Matthew Bradley put in a man-of-the-match performance, scoring 0-14 overall, while Shane Tarrant and John Corkery also stood out as they shared the goals. With the best efforts of Aidan Ryan and Aaron Mulcahy, Midleton came back from seven points down, and levelled it heading into injury time.
With a free to win it, Bradley never looked like missing despite such an acute angle, as he sent it straight between the posts to win it.
Aghabullogue started strongly and had a goal chance from the off, as James Foley forged a gap in the Magpies defence, but last ditch defending from James Nagle fouled him to stop the move, and Tarrant converted the free.
Two frees from Mulcahy were split by a brilliant point from Bradley, left the teams 0-2 apiece after five minutes.
The Magpies took the lead after 11 minutes when Ryan leapt high to catch the sliotar, before handpassing it off to wing-back Gavin Reddy who popped it over the bar.
Mulcahy’s third free doubled Midleton’s lead, but two excellent scores from Bradley – one from play and one from a free levelled it.
The game opened up in the 23rd minute as Kian Farmer pulled on a loose ball that flew into the back of the Aghabullogue net, but within 40 seconds they got one back, as Tarrant set up John Corkery, who made no mistake when one-on-one with Zach Smith, leaving it 1-5 each.
A Mulcahy free put Midleton ahead, but Aghabullogue closed out the half, with scores from Niall Barry Murphy and Bradley putting them back in front.
Aidan Ryan picked and struck the ball in what was essentially a free from play, and his excellent score levelled the game for the seventh time.
Two frees from Bradley preceeded one from Midleton’s Darragh McCarthy, and though Aghabullogue squandered another quality goal chance, Colm Gillespie managed to get a point out of it, before Bradley split the posts with his seventh score, leaving it 1-11 to 1-8 in favour of the mid-Cork side at the break.
Midleton started the second half well, with two Mulcahy frees bringing the gap down to one, but Aghabullogue kept their composure and were rewarded with a green flag in the 34th minute.
John Corkery forced a good save from Smith, but the rebound fell straight to an unmarked Tarrant, who smashed it into the back of the net.
Things went from bad to worse for Midleton, as Corkery skipped past Alan Power and ran at goal from 35 metres out, before striking it low and into the bottom corner, giving Aghabullogue a seven-point cushion after 38 minutes.
Two points from the ever-threatening Mulcahy brought the gap down, but Aghabullogue still led 3-12 to 2-13. Midleton kept their composure though, and when Ryan lobbed a dangerous ball in near the Aghabullogue net, it was Alex Quirke who got up to bat it into the net, giving Midleton a lifeline.
Mulcahy’s tenth free brought the gap down to the minimum with just over 10 minutes left to play. Aghabullogue responded well, with Brian Dineen’s exceptional solo run allowing him to lay it off to Bradley, who sent it straight between the posts.
Three scores from Bradley increased Aghabullogue’s lead to four, but Midleton were unrelenting, and scored four without reply to draw level. A late free that was superbly converted by Bradley nudged Aghabullogue in front, and Midleton ultimately ran out of time.
M Bradley 0-12 (0-8 f), J Corkery 2-0, S Tarrant 1-2, C Gillespie, P Ring, N Barry Murphy 0-1 each.
A Mulcahy 0-14 (0-11 f 0-1 65), K Farmer 1-1, A Quirke 1-0, D McCarthy 0-2, A Ryan, G Reddy 0-1 each.
F Foley; T Long, C Timmons, Jerome Corkery; T Buckley, P O’Sullivan, M Dennehy; N Barry Murphy, S Furey; John Corkery, P Ring, J Foley; M Bradley, S Tarrant, C Gillespie.
B Dineen for Gillespie (h-t), B Casey for O’Sullivan (44), D Quinlan for Long (50).
Z Smith; C Gunning, C Murphy, D Scanlon; L Hennessy, J Nagle, G Reddy; A Daly, A Quirke; A Mulcahy, A Ryan, D McCarthy; T Roche, K Farmer, C Crowley.
A Power for Gunning (25 inj), P Dowling for Crowley (44), D Cagney for Roche (53), P O’Shea for Reddy (60).
Patrick O’Mahony (Kilbrittain)
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