Alan Cadogan stars for Douglas in hurling league opener against Blackrock
MY BALL: Cillian O'Donovan, Douglas, in action in the Red FM Senior Hurling League against Blackrock at Church Road on Saturday. Picture: Larry Cummins
DOUGLAS had a two-point victory over city rivals Blackrock in this RedFM Hurling League Division 1 contest at Church Road on Saturday.
Former Cork hurler Martin Coleman has come on board with the Douglas hurlers for 2024 and he will be pleased with a number of aspects of this opening outing of the season.
Blackrock went toe to toe with their opponents for large spells, but at the end of the hour of action, it was Douglas that shaded a tense and enthralling early-season duel.
Blackrock were awarded a penalty in the eighth minute, which was subsequently converted confidently by Kevin O’Keeffe.
One minute later Blackrock got a second goal through a cracker of a John O’Sullivan strike which was blasted high into the net.
Douglas then responded through points by former Cork star Alan Cadogan, who proved to be a potent scoring weapon for his side as the game developed.
Ciaran Cormack got a well-taken Blackrock point from distance, While Kevin O’Keeffe had a very productive opening half for Blackrock, proving to be a reliable scoring option from frees.
Douglas man Kevin McSweeney was given his marching orders on 27 minutes, with pointed scores coming from his side in the latter stages of the first half through Stephen Moylan and Joseph Harte.
At the end of a captivating opening half of action, it was Blackrock that held the advantage at 2-9 to 1-9.
Douglas came out quickly out of the traps early in the second half, with further points coming from Cadogan.
Indeed Douglas got seven of the opening eight scores in the second half during what was a very profitable period for the side.
Blackrock did their best to muster a response, as Fionn Coleman slotted a point over the bar to leave the score at 2-10 to the 1-14 of Douglas with 42 minutes played on the clock.
Douglas though kept on charging the longer that the second half progressed. That man Cadogan once again got another well-taken point for his side, which was subsequently added to by a Brian Hartnett score. Blackrock looked to make a rally late on in the closing stages with points coming from John O’Sullivan and Kevin O’Keeffe.
The home side had a late goal chance which just narrowly missed the target as the game entered into second-half stoppage time.
Douglas though managed to see the game out to a successful conclusion. But as the coming weeks and months progress and the Cork County championship action edges ever closer, this is a duel that should benefit both the Douglas and Blackrock setups for the heat of battle.
Both these sides will be in Red FM Hurling League Division 1 action again in the coming weeks.
On March 23, Douglas host Carrigtwohill, the following day, Blackrock will be on the road to take on Fr O’Neill’s.
K O’Keeffe 1-10 (1-0 pen, 0-10 f), J O’Sullivan 1-1, Ciaran Cormack, F Coleman 0-1 each.
A Cadogan 1-9 (0-3 f), C O’Donovan 0-3, C Baldwin 0-2, J Harte, S Moylan, B Hartnett, D Harte 0-1 each.
G Connolly; R Laide, G Norberg, J Ryan; S Healy, Cathal Cormack, L O’Sullivan; K O’Keeffe, N Cashman; J O’Sullivan, Ciaran Cormack, E O’Keeffe; E O’Farrell, L O’Donovan, F Coleman.
D Meaney for Cashman, A O’Callaghan for O’Donovan, S O’Keeffe for Ryan (all h-t), T Grainger for O’Farrell (50), E Coughlan for O’Keeffe (58).
D Maher; E O’Flynn, D Murphy, K McSweeney; D Harte, M Howell, Cillian O’Donovan; C Baldwin, C Kingston; J Harte, S Moylan, C Lucas; A Cadogan, B Hartnett, Conor O’Donovan.
S Donegan for Murphy (h-t), N Hartnett for Kingston (51), S O’Leary for Baldwin (55), C Lucey for O’Donovan (58).
Shane Scanlon (Newcestown).
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