Na Piarsaigh hurlers defeat Ballincollig in huge Division 1 relegation battle

Na Piarsaigh 3-19 Ballincollig 1-15 

NA Piarsaigh gave themselves a chance of avoiding relegation from the RedFM Division 1 Hurling League with this comfortable win over Ballincollig.

Two from Na Piarsaigh, who face Blackrock in their last game, Ballincollig and Kanturk, will drop down and the northsiders might now survive by virtue of this solid display where Ross O'Sullivan, with 0-7 from play, and Kevin Moynihan, showed their quality.

The scoreline may suggest the hosts dominated but the Ballincollig management team they must be wondering how their team finished with a tally of 18 wides, 14 in the first half against the wind.

The opening exchanges saw both teams get plenty of scoring opportunities with Kevin Moynihan striking over consecutive points to edge the home side ahead. Ballincollig somehow took them until 14th minute to open their account courtesy of a Brian Keating white flag, having registered six wides up to then.

They then hit on the bounce to level in the 19th minute but were caught napping a minute later. A high ball 30 yards from goal was grabbed by Shane Forde and his pace caught the Ballincollig defence off guard before he rattled the net.

It got worse for Ballincollig three minutes later when some more inept defending allowed Owen Galvin guide the ball to the empty net. Despite having a glut of chances Ballincollig went in at the break trailing 2-6 to 1-7 but were turning around to hurl with the strong breeze.

Credit to Na Piarsaigh coaching staff they recognised they had problems and their team responded with a polished performance, as they shut down the space and showed more resilience all over the pitch.

Cork U20 Ross O’Sullivan, grabbed a classy point on the restart, followed by a Shane Forde score. Na Piarsaigh looked a different side, winning the majority of dirty ball, and the introduction of stalwart Patrick Rourke gave them more mettle in the full-forward line.

Rourke is physically strong and five minutes from the end scored a clinical goal.

A high ball was caught outside the square by Rourke and with sheer power he glided past the Ballincollig defence to strike the ball to the corner of the net. Pearse Morris did fire a fine goal for Ballincollig but it was in vain.

Many heroes for Na Piarsaigh none more than Gordon Joyce who produced four monstrous blocks in the first half as Ballincollig were left to rue a careless display.

Scorers for Na Piarsaigh: R O’Sullivan 0-7, K Moynihan 0-6 (0-2 f, 0-1 sl), S Forde 1-1, O Galvin 1-0, P Rourke 1-0, D Lee 0-2, C Hogan 0-2, P Guest 0-1.

Ballincollig: P Morris 1-7 (0-3 f, 0-1 65), C O’Driscoll 0-2, B Keating, B O’Brien, J Dwyer, C Moore, S Willis, T O’Connell 0-1 each.

NA PIARSAIGH: L Donovan; P Murphy, G Joyce, C Flynn; K Buckley, C Buckley, K Moynihan; K Forde, C Hogan; L Sheehan, D Lee, O Galvin; S Forde, R O’Sullivan, P Guest.

Subs: C Hannifin for O Galvin (h-t), P Rourke for L Sheehan (h-t), O Galvin for C Hannifin (inj 41).

BALLINCOLLIG: J Lenihan: R O’Donovan, C O’Sullivan, C Moore; C Sexton, F Denney, P Kelly; J Dwyer, B Coleman; S Wills, B Keating, B O’Brien; T O’Connell; C O’Driscoll, P Morris, T O’Connell.

Subs: S Murphy for P Kelly (35), S O’Neill for B O’Brien (40), S Murphy (jnr) for J Dwyer (48).

Referee: Mark Maher (St Finbarr’s).