Round Up: Glanworth stun Ballinora in the IAFC while Urhan impress in the Premier JFC

There was plenty of action in the lower grades of the McCarthy Insurance Group Football Championships over the course of the first weekend in the Intermediate A grade and the Premier Junior grade.

Starting with the IAFC, it would be a stretch to say it was the biggest shock of the weekend but Glanworth’s 1-7 to 0-6 win over a fancied Ballinora side certainly raised eyebrows.

The North Cork side travelled to Mayfield having lost all nine games in the Division 4 football league while Ballinora, with a young team coached by former Cork goalkeeper Ken O’Halloran, won the Division 6 football league title.

Ballinora would have been favourites to prevail in this Group 2 clash but it was Glanworth who picked up a deserved victory in the end. Led on by David Pyne, who hit 1-4, Cork U20 footballer Darragh O’Brien and experienced campaigner Mikie Sheehan, Glanworth dug in and were level at the break before pushing on. They were two points clear with 10 minutes remaining before a Pyne goal from the penalty spot minutes from the end put the icing on the cake. 

The Muskerry outfit did reduce the gap down to four points and missed a penalty when Shane Kingston's effort was saved by Glanworth goalkeeper Shane O’Riordan. The North Cork side had done enough. It just showed again that the league and championship are two different animals.

The importance of that game was huge given the difficulty of the other two opponents in the group. Two sides who would have designs of reaching the knockout stages locked horns in Rathcormac and it was Mitchelstown, last year's beaten finalists, who came out victorious against St Vincent’s, winning in the end 1-15 to 1-8. Cork footballer Cathail O’Mahony kicked 0-5, two from play for the Town, while Seán Walsh impressed as he finished up with 0-4. Darragh Flynn raised the green flag for the winners.

3-2 from Ben O’Sullivan proved important for Adrigole as they were pushed to the pin of their collar by Dromtarriffe in Group 1. The Beara side eked out a 3-10 to 0-16 victory. In the other encounter in the group, Gabriel Rangers had four points to spare over Kildorrery. Killian O'Brien hit 2-1 for the West Cork side. 

In Group 3, Boherbue couldn’t have asked for a better start as they easily took care of Na Piarsaigh on a scoreline of 1-22 to 0-6. David O’Connor was the star of the show for Boherbue with 1-11, two coming from frees and one mark. Gerry O’Sullivan also shone as he got 0-6. After suffering relegation from the PIFC last year, it could well be another season of struggle for Na Piarsaigh.

Despite Michael Shields scoring 0-7 (0-5 f, 0-1 mark), it wasn’t enough for St Finbarr’s second team to get the win. The Barrs conceded three goals against Glanmire as the sides drew 3-6 to 1-12 in the other Group 3 contest.

Moving down to the McCarthy Insurance Group Premier JFC, and the biggest result from this competition was Urhan’s gritty victory over Millstreet in Group 3.

Despite being down several players, Urhan, managed by former Cork footballer Ciarán O’Sullivan, took down Millstreet by a point, 0-11 to 1-7. It was funnily enough, O’Sullivan’s son, also called Ciáran, who got the winner in injury time. Cork footballer Darragh Cashman netted Millstreet’s goal after 10 minutes but then had to go off injured after 40 minutes which was a blow for them. 

The other match in the group went the way many people expected as Buttevant defeated St Nick’s 4-18 to 1-6. Conor Hanlon hit 2-7 (0-1 f) while Mark Lenahan scored 2-3 for Buttevant. Those two players in particular stood out.

In Group 1, one of the fancied sides in the competition Canovee, were too strong for a gallant St James’ side. The Muskerry side won last year's County JAFC crown but there were seven changes to the line-up from that final win over Mayfield. Canovee were 1-14 to 0-11 winners with Daire McMahon the main man and it was fitting that his performance was capped off late on with a goal. He ended up with 1-2.

Kilmurry just about got over the line against Cobh in the other group outing in what was a very entertaining battle. Joe O' Mullane was the hero with a late point to win the match for his team, 1-8 to 1-7. Urhan played well and did deserve the victory on the balance of play.

The match report from Kinsale’s dramatic one point win over Ballydesmond in Group 2 is on the EchoLive website. Finally, Cullen got the better of Glenville on a scoreline of 0-14 to 1-10. The Duhallow side could be a surprise package in this campaign. They reached the quarter-finals last season and in Luke Murphy, they have one of the best players in this grade. Murphy landed 0-8, five coming from play. A great start to Group 2 for Cullen.