Frank Down and Luke Fahy shine as Ballincollig move on with derby win over Éire Óg
Ballincollig's Frank Down and Éiré Óg's Dermot Herlihy chase the ball during the McCarthy Insurance Group PSFC clash in Kilmurry. Picture: David Creedon
Ballincollig 2-8 Éire Óg 0-7
Ballincollig progressed to the Premier Senior Football Championship quarter-final following a deserved win over Éire Óg in Kilmurry.
Next up for the Village is a clash with St Finbarr’s while Éire Óg must beat Carbery Rangers to avoid relegation.
Podsie O'Mahony's side, who were able to introduce Aussie Rules player Liam O’Connell at half-time, were value for their win, with Frank Down, who assisted both goals, and Luke Fahy making a series of incisive runs from deep and Cian Dorgan top-scoring.
Éire Óg didn't have the same scoring threat though Fahy made a crucial clearance to prevent a certain Colm O'Callaghan goal.
Ballincollig began brightly and scores by Dorgan got them up and running in the opening minutes, with Cork keeper Chris Kelly converting an Éire Óg free. Another score by Dorgan saw Ballincollig lead 0-3 to 0-1 after 15 minutes before Éire Óg responded through Dylan Foley inside the D.
Ballincollig had momentum and Down got a lovely point before the interval, along with a score by Sean Dore: 0-5 to 0-3 but the game still in the melting pot.
In the early stages of the second half, Ballincollig landed another score after a classy burst from Fahy, who was then on hand to clear off the line from O'Callaghan soon after.
O’Callaghan got a much-needed point for Éire Óg, before Dorgan split the posts but only after Down had roared through the covering defenders and smashed the ball off the crossbar.
After 45 minutes we finally had a goal and the Collig found the back of the net after a flowing move which saw Down and Darragh O'Mahony combine to tee up Sean Kiely for a close-range finish. Up 1-7 to 0-4, they looked in control but Éire Óg forced frees which Daniel Goulding converted to cut the gap to a goal.
Ballincollig continued to surge forward on breaks and sub Brian Keating raced through to push the margin out to four points.
Then came a penalty and a black card after another Down's surge led by Sean O’Neill being taken down. Up stepped Dorgan and he duly planted the ball to the back of the net, with a lovely strike to the top corner of the net.
Colm Clifford got a late point for Éire Óg, but it proved only to be a consolation in the end. Despite being reduced to 14 men late on, Ballincollig completed their mission successfully.
The business end of the championship now awaits for Ballincollig and they will work hard to be primed and ready over the coming weeks for the challenge of the Barrs.
C Dorgan 1-4 (1-0 pen, 0-2 f), S Kiely 1-0, F Down, L Fahy, S Dore, B Keating, 0-1 each.
D Goulding 0-2 f, C Kelly (f), C Clifford, C O’Callaghan, D Kelly, D Foley 0-1 each.
J Gibbons; S Murphy, L Jennings, C Moore; F Down, L Fahy, JP Murphy; C Dalton, S Dore; S O’Neill, D Dorgan, P O’Neill; S Kiely, D O’Mahony, C Dorgan.
L O’Connell for Dalton (h-t), B Keating for D Dorgan (39), E Cooke for Kiely (56), T O’Connell for O’Neill, B Dore for Murphy (both 58).
C Kelly; D Herlihy, M Corkery, C Clifford; M Griffin, C McGoldrick, R O’Toole; D Kelly, C O’Callaghan; J Murphy, R O’Flynn, D McCarthy; J Cooper, D Foley, D Goulding.
D Dineen for O'Toole, A McCarthy for Murphy (both 39), D Healy for Foley (48), H Murphy for Kelly (48).
Cormac Dineen (Douglas).
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