Cork SHL: Blackrock's win over Charleville gives them a chance to reach the league final

Blackrock 1-21

Charleville 2-13

BLACKROCK hurlers still have an outside chance of reaching in the RedFM SHL Division 1 final after they defeated table-toppers Charleville 1-21 to 2-13 at Old Church Road on Sunday morning.

The Rockies now need to beat Na Piarsaigh in Farranree on June 27th in their final league game, and hope they have a better record than the Glen Rovers, Sarsfields, Douglas, and Charleville when the final games of the season are over.

Blackrock dominated this game from the moment the ball was throw-in and they did not give an inch to their north-Cork rivals.

That involved every player in a yellow and green doing their part. 

Robbie Cotter emerged as top scorer, with 0-7 knocked over, and Tadhg Deasy got the goal for Blackrock at the start of the second half.

This was a much needed win for Jamie Harrington and his management team, as they went into the game just days after a defeat to the Glen, and eight players remained from the group that started in Blackpool.

As for Charleville, this was their first outing since a 4-14 to 1-16 hammering of Na Piarsaigh at the end of May and the team managed by former Clare, Wexford, and Meath coach Seoirse Bulfin struggled to dust off cobwebs after a small break.

Blackrock took control in the first minute, when Cotter put the ball over the bar from open play. 

Kevin O’Keeffe doubled his side’s advantage, and this was followed by David Forde kickstarting Charleville’s day with a free.

Kevin O’Keeffe got another within seconds of the restart and Killian Cagney immediately responded for his club.

Niall Cashman worked with David O’Farrell to put Blackrock ahead 0-5 to 0-3 and Robert Carroll reduced the gap between the two teams to the bare minimum after he sprinted forward from corner-back and squeezed the ball over the bar.

This could have been the start of a tit-for-tat game. Instead, Blackrock powered ahead and went into the break leading 0-12 to 1-6.

Tim Hawe’s goal, which came from a powerful run through midfield, gave Charleville a lifeline as they hit five wides during the opening half.

There was no battle in the second half, Blackrock remained in charge even when an injury forced Kevin O’Keeffe off. 

Cotter stepped up and converted four frees after the restart, and Cashman made the scoreboard read 0-18 to 1-9 by scoring twice from play.

Deasy’s goaled by twisting clear of his marker and curling the ball beyond the reach of Cian Collins, who raised a green flag of his own in the 67th minute by converting a penalty.

That made it 1-22 to 2-11, and there was no big-finish. Blackrock only conceded just two points during the time left to play, and they now go into the final round of fixtures needing a win against Na Piarsaigh fighting to avoid relegation.

Scorers for Blackrock: R Cotter 0-7 (4f); K O’Keeffe 0-5 (1f), T Deasy 1-1, N Cashman 0-3, D O’Farrell 0-2, P Lenihan 0-1, C Cormack 0-1, A O’Callaghan 0-1.

Charleville: K Cagney 0-4 (1f); T Hawe 1-0, C Collins 1-0 (1 Penalty) F Cagney 0-2 (2f), D Forde 0-2, F Coleman 0-1 (1f), R Carroll 0-1, J Buckley 0-1, C Buckley 0-1, A Dennehy 0-1 (1 65).

Blackrock: G Connolly; O McAdoo, J Golden, S Murphy, T Deasy, A O’Callaghan, N Cashman, D O’Farrell, J O’Sullivan, P Lenihan, C Cormack, K O’Keeffe, R Cotter, S O’Keeffe, F Coleman.

Subs: I O’Keeffe for K O’Keeffe (27); R Laide for Murphy (HT), S Healy for O’Sullivan (43), L O’Donovan for O’Farrell (49), D O’Shea for Golden (55).

Charleville: C Collins; D Butler, J Buckley, J Madigan, R Carroll, A Dennehy, F Cagney, K Cagney, D Flynn, T Hawe, C Buckley, S Gleeson, D Forde, G Kelleher, M Kavanagh.

Subs: B O’Connell for Gleeson (HT); J O’Brien for Kavanagh (40), M O’Flynn for D Flynn (56), S Liddy for Kelleher (56).

Referee: Shane Scanlon (Newcestown)