Corn Ui Mhuiri: The Abbey defeat Hamilton HS Bandon after dominant first half
Hamilton High School's Eoghan Mangan being challenged by Darragh O'Hora of Abbey CBS in the Corn Uí Mhuirí at Banteer.
THE ABBEY made the most of the wind amidst the rain as they held out against Hamilton HS Bandon in Banteer on Wednesday, securing a spot in the Corn Uí Mhuírí quarter finals.
A first half blitz saw the Tipperary oufit hit seven without reply, including four frees from goalkeeper Robbie McGrath, which had them 0-10 to 0-5 in front at half time.
They made the most of their wind advantage in the first half, looping high balls in on top of a disjointed Hammies full-back line.
The west Cork outfit struggled to break out of their own half of the field, only managing two scores from play the entire game.
Despite clawing their way back in the second period with the gusts on their side, Bandon’s final third decision making was poor.
Wayward shooting and overly ambitious passing only played into They Abbey’s hands, who opted for a risk-free game in the second half against the wind – and it worked.
Lethal as he was against Clonakilty, Tipperary minor Shane Quigley pointed four from play, while Galtee Rovers’ goalkeeper McGrath managed five frees, with one excellent kick against the wind.
Bandon started well, and beautiful play between Paul Kelly, Sean Mac an tSaoi and Humphry Canty saw the latter point their second to put them 0-2 to 0-1 ahead.
A brilliant curling effort from Stephen Carey kick started the Abbey’s run, as Hammies went 19 minutes scoreless and conceded a total of seven.
McGrath managed three frees in a row during this period, and Carey pounced on a defensive error to give The Abbey a 0-6 to 0-2 advantage after only nine minutes.
A big miss in the 15th minute from Shane Barry proved costly for Hammies, as he hit it low and wide from point blank range.
Hamilton High School were, as expected, better in the second half with the wind, but their opponents were hard to break down.
Bandon started with two frees in the second half, bringing the gap down to three, but another big miss for Hammies came back to haunt them, this time as Michael Maguire missed in the 48th minute after receiving an excellent pass from Jack Cullinane.
They edged their way back into contention with the wind certainly a factor, but ultimately Bandon weren’t clinical enough and were far too reliant on frees – and they paid the price for it.
R McGrath 0-5 f, S Quigley 0-4, J O’Dwyer 0-3 (0-2 f), S Carey 0-2.
S Mac an tSaoi 0-7 f, O McCarthy 0-3 f, H Canty, M Maguire 0-1 each.
J Woods (Valley Rovers); E Mangan (Ahan Gaels), S Aherne (Bandon), D Crowley (Bandon); K Dart O’Flynn (Valley Rovers), J Cullinane (Bandon), D Flanagan (Newcestown); H O’Sullivan (Valley Rovers), O McCarthy (Valley Rovers); S Barry (Sam Maguires), S Mac an tSaoi (Valley Rovers), P Kelly (Newcestown); H Canty (Newcestown), M Maguire (Castlehaven), H O’Mahony (Bandon).
K Hannon (Bandon) for O’Sullivan (39), E Maguire (Castlehaven) for Flanagan (60+1).
R McGrath (Galtee Rovers); D Ryan (Arravale Rovers), S Lewis (Arravale Rovers), E Bonner (Galtee Rovers); D McGrath (Oola), L Finnane (Galtee Rovers), S O’Grady (Oola); B Quirke (Galtee Rovers), M Gleeson (Knockavilla Kickhams); D O’Hora (Solohead), S Carey (Aherlow), A Ryan (Arravale Rovers); M Bowes (Arravale Rovers), J O’Dwyer (Knockavilla Kickhams), S Quigley (Arravale Rovers).
S O’Mahony (Arravale Rovers) for McGrath (37), C Kelly (Arravale Rovers) for O’Hora (45), J Garrett (Arravale Rovers) for Gleeson (54), P Chapman (Aherlow) for Carey (60+4).
Eddie Walsh (Rathmore)
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