Premier SFC: Majestic Castlehaven far too strong for St Michael's
Castlehaven's Brian Hurley is tackled by Daniel Meaney of St Michael's. Picture: Denis Boyle
Champions Castlehaven are in pole position to take one of the two qualification spots in Group 2 of the McCarthy Insurance Group Premier SFC after impressively dispatching St Michael’s at Clonakilty on Friday evening.
This second group game pitted two teams who recorded wins on the opening day, but it was the Haven who have carried on from where they left off three weeks ago with another eye-catching performance.
The West Cork side did the groundwork for this win in the first half where they played some scintillating football despite playing against the wind. They squeezed up on St Michael’s to such good effect with brilliant displays from the likes of Brian Hurley, Jack Cahalane and Cathal Maguire. Damien Cahalane, Johnny O’Regan and Rory Maguire played key roles in defence and also played a part in scores.
St Michael’s, who sit on two points, will have everything to play for heading into the final group outing, and they will no doubt be extremely disappointed with how they played in this one.
In front of a sizeable crowd, St Michael’s, despite being helped by a slight wind in the opening 30 minutes, never got going in truth, as Castlehaven hit the first score after three minutes. Patient build up play resulted in Brian Hurley popping up a long range point. Castlehaven were clinical, as they landed points from Brian Hurley (free) and a nice Seán Browne effort following a clever pass by Michael Hurley.
St Michael’s first venture into their opposition's half resulted in their first score when Luke O’Herlihy pointed after eight minutes. It was all Haven, as their ability to win St Michael’s kick outs gave them a platform to kick on. They landed four unanswered points with the last of those scores coming from Jack Cahalane, which could have easily been a goal, but his shot was always rising, 0-7 to 0-1 after 14 minutes.
Front-foot football from the holders resulted in points from Jack O’Neill, Brian Hurley (free) and Andrew Whelton, before O’Herlihy kicked a fine point for St Michael’s with five minutes to the break. The sides exchanged white flags before half-time, as Castlehaven had a comfortable 0-11 to 0-3 advantage going into the dressing rooms.
The wind did die down some bit for the second half but whatever wind was there, Castlehaven were aided by it, and carried on from where they left off with a point inside the first three minutes from Jack Cahalane. The game was as good as over after 35 minutes when Micheál Maguire, younger brother of Cathal and Rory, raised a green flag. An easy finish after Robbie Minihane’s shot came back off the post which fell nicely for the substitute, 1-12 to 0-3.
The one-way traffic continued, Micheál Maguire could have had a second goal after 43 minutes but St Michael’s netminder Mikey O’Connell saved well. Seanie Cahalane’s charges hit five successive points to lead 1-17 to 0-3 with 10 minutes left. St Michael’s got their first score of the new half after 51 minutes when Daniel Meaney pointed.
A second Haven goal arrived with three minutes to play when the excellent Jack Cahalane unleashed an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net. The teams exchanged points late on as the reigning champs lay down a marker.
The Haven will face Carbery Rangers in the final group match while St Michael’s meet Clonakilty.
B Hurley 0-5 (0-3 f), J Cahalane 1-2, M Maguire 1-0, S Browne, R Minihane, C Maguire 0-2 each, J Walsh, J O’Neill, A Whelton, C Nolan, C O’Driscoll 0-1 each.
L O’Herlihy 0-2, A O’Callaghan, E Buckley, D Meaney 0-1 each.
Darragh Cahalane; J O’Regan, Damien Cahalane, J Walsh; J O’Neill, R Maguire, M Collins (c); A Whelton, R Minihane; J O’Driscoll, B Hurley, S Browne; C Maguire, J Cahalane, M Hurley.
M Maguire for M Hurley (23), inj), C Nolan for M Collins, T O’Mahony for J O’Neill (both 45), C O’Driscoll for B Hurley (47).
M O’Connell; F Leahy, A O’Callaghan, J Golden; E Sheehan, D Meaney, R Kavanagh; E Hickey, R O’Shaughnessy; K Hegarty, A Murphy (c), T Grainger; B Cain, E O’Donovan, L O’Herlihy.
A Hennessy for B Cain (h-t), S Murphy for E O’Donovan (38), E Buckley for E Hickey (45), L O’Sullivan for E Sheehan (49).
Robert Whelan (Gleann na Laoi).
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