Midleton survive scare and avenge PSHC defeat to Sars in East Cork U21 A HC final
Avril Gearyl Chairperson East Cork GAA presents the Ben Purcell Memorial Cup to Midleton captain Paul Connaughton after the Mulcahy Steel East Cork U-21 AHC Final between Midleton and Sars.
WITH five minutes to go and Midleton ahead by six, you’d be forgiven for writing Sarsfields off – but the county champions ensured it would go down to the wire.
Score by score, they chipped away at the Magpies lead, though it wasn’t to be this time.
Midleton got their revenge – becoming East Cork U21 A Hurling Championship winners after a gripping contest in Aghavine on Sunday afternoon.
While only a fraction of the compensation needed to repair the damage from this year’s PSHC county final - the Magpies got one over their rivals.
But it wasn’t without a fight.
For a moment it looked as though we were headed for extra time. Barry Hogan’s point in the 54th minute brought the gap down to five, and another from Ben Nodwell reduced it once more.
Sars only pointed six scores from play, but four of those were in the final six minutes. As Sam McNamara and Daniel Hogan both split the posts from play, the gap was now two points, with additional time still to come.
The Magpies’ resilience that seemed to disappear in the county final – returned for one last dance, and they held out. Hogan’s tenth and final free left only the minimum between the sides, but that was all that Midleton needed to ensure the title.
The Magpies had started well, with Tadhg O’Leary Hayes pointing after just 13 seconds, before Mikey Finn added his first free to put them two up with only a minute elapsed.
50 seconds later, they found the back of the net in what proved to be a vital goal.
Alex Quirke, who had an outstanding game throughout, set up Dave Cremin, who struck it sweetly from close range, through the legs of Sars keeper Jack Austin.
Though playing against a significantly strong wind, Sars remained undeterred. Two frees from Hogan were a testament to that – and after seven minutes only the goal was the difference.
Knowing they needed to make the most of the wind advantage – Mikey Finn did just that, scoring a superb free from range with nine minutes gone.
The Magpies kept the pressure on their opponents, and Evan McCarthy played an excellent ball into corner-forward Dara Scanlon, but Austin ran out from his line to claim it. He got there ahead of Scanlon, but a rare slip-up from the Sars minor goalkeeper saw him spill it.
Sars managed to recover, but they were struggling against the severe wind.
Sars did well to break through the channels and find space to shoot, but anything they struck from play was either blown wide or stopped short, falling straight into the composed hand of Brion Saunderson.
The Magpies did find their shooting groove after 18 minutes and punished Sars.
Cremin kick started a 0-5 to 0-1 scoring run for the remainder of the half with a point from play, before the deadly accurate Finn added an additional four white flags.
A sole Sars point from a Hogan free left it 1-9 to 0-5 but given how influential the wind had been in the first half – Midleton were far from safe with a seven-point lead at the break.
Sarsfields had hit four wides and dropped four attempts short in the opening period, almost exclusively due to the strong wind.
Colm McCarthy started the second half with a point for Sars, and just when they were on the verge of a second consecutive score, Alex Quirke produced an excellent hook – and a big lift for the Magpies.
They battled on, and three frees from Finn gave Midleton their biggest lead of nine points after 41 minutes.
Though he had been excellent in the first half, Evan McGrath’s second half performance on Cathal McCarthy was arguably what won it for Midleton.
Man-marking the man who had tormented Midleton in the county final – McGrath frustrated McCarthy again early in the second period, allowing Midleton to keep up the offensive pressure despite the wind disadvantage.
Ultimately, when Sars did finally get to grips, there wasn’t enough time. The Riverstown outfit went scoreless from McCarthy’s point in the 34th minute until Hogan’s in the 43rd, and it cost them in the end.
M Finn 0-11 (0-10 f), D Cremin 1-1, T O’Leary Hayes 0-1.
D Hogan 0-11 (0-9 f), B O’Flynn, B Nodwell, Colm McCarthy, S McNamara 0-1 each.
B Saunderson; A Coughlan, A Fay, A Moloney; T O’Leary Hayes, C Smyth, D Codd; M Finn, E McCarthy; D McCarthy, A Quirke, D Scanlon; P Connaughton, E McGrath, D Cremin.
N Fitzgerald for Coughlan (36), T Roche for Moloney (41), C Beausang for Scanlon (59).
J Austin; Z O’Sullivan, L Elliott, J Huggins; L Casey, Cathal McCarthy, S McNamara; D Long, Colm McCarthy; D Lynch, Cillian McCarthy, S King; B O’Flynn, D Hogan, B Nodwell.
C Austin for Lynch (47).
Paudie Kearney (Killeagh)
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