Patrick Horgan hits 2-9 as Glen Rovers beat Castlelyons to Senior A final spot

Glen Rovers 3-16 Castlelyons 1-16 

It certainly wasn’t as comfortable as expected – but Glen Rovers got the job done against Castlelyons in SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday evening, and are headed for the Senior A Hurling Championship final.

It was far from convincing and tainted by Rovers’ 18 wides, but the return of Patrick Horgan was a welcome one – with the Cork star hitting 2-9 in his first post All-Ireland appearance since injury.

Despite impressing in the first half and retaining their cushioned advantage for much of the second – the northsiders fell behind as the final quarter began.

Anthony Spillane split the posts from close in but should have kept his shot down, and his frustration, despite cutting the gap to two points, told all.

Scores from Alan Fenton and Colm McCarthy drew parity in the 49th minute, before Spillane nudged Castlelyons in front with nine minutes to go.

It was a stunning but short lived turnaround – with Rovers hitting back for goal as Liam Coughlan and Dean Brosnan combined for the former to send Eoin O’Leary through, who struck it across goal and into the far corner, 3-12 to 1-16.

Though Fenton had a glaring goal chance go wide in additional time, it wouldn’t have made a difference – as the Glen hit four on the trot after O’Leary’s goal.

Now, Glen Rovers are a win away from a return to Premier Senior after last year’s obituaries.

Though they fell short – Castlelyons did put in a performance, with decision making in front of goal ultimately what cost them as heavy underdogs.

As expected, Glen Rovers took the lead early on – with Horgan opening the scoring from a free. The teams twice traded before Castlelyons hit for goal, when Anthony Spillane pounced on a failed Glen Rovers clearance.

The full-forward let it fly into the net – and last year’s Premier Intermediate winners were 1-2 to 0-3 in front after nine minutes.

Their delighted was short lived, with Hoggy twice on target from frees either side of a goal on his first game back since the All-Ireland SHC final.

An excellent Crossfield ball from David Dooling found Horgan, and he ran around the rushing Jack Barry before firing into the open net.

Castlelyons’ skipper Colm Spillane scored an excellent point from midfield, but his hard work was undone a mere minute later when he brought down Eoin O’Leary for a penalty – and Horgan stepped up to take his tally to 2-4 after just 17 minutes on the field.

The East Cork side received an even bigger blow shortly after – as Niall O’Leary had to be taken off after a hefty challenge from Rob Downey.

While O’Leary was thankfully able to walk off, having already lost Colm Barry – the Imokilly side’s defensive stability seemed to go with the pair.

But despite their shakiness at times in the final 10 minutes before the break in play, they avoided the concession of a third goal and managed to keep the deficit to four points at the break.

Glen’s lead could have been a solitary point – but Leon Doocey was denied one-on-one with Cathal Hickey who made a superb stretching save to deny him from close in on the eve of half time.

A free from Fenton on the resumption brought the gap down to three, but Castlelyons couldn’t get on top in the third quarter.

When their purple patch did come, Glen’s resilience shone through, and they got the job done.

Scorers for Glen Rovers: P Horgan 2-9 (1-0 pen, 0-8 f, 0-1 65), E O’Leary 1-1, D Brosnan 0-2, S Kennefick, R Dunne, M Dooley, B Moylan 0-1 each.

Castlelyons: A Fenton 0-9 (0-6 f, 0-1 65), A Spillane 1-3, J Kearney, L Doocey, C Spillane, C McCarthy 0-1 each.

GLEN ROVERS: C Hickey; A Lynch, E Varian, L Coughlan; B Moylan, R Downey, D Dooling; E Downey, R Dunne; M Dooley, D Brosnan (c), L Horgan; E O’Leary, P Horgan, S Kennefick.

Subs: D Noonan for Horgan, S Lynam for Dooley (both 40).

CASTLELYONS: J Barry; O Hallihan, C Barry, L Sexton; A O’Sullivan, N O’Leary, C Spillane (c); A Fenton, J Kearney; E Maye, L Doocey, K O’Leary; D Morrison, A Spillane, B Murphy.

Subs: D Spillane for C Barry (12 inj), J O’Leary for N O’Leary (23 inj), C McCarthy for Murphy (36), B Spillane for K O’Leary (57).

Referee: Simon Stokes (Tullylease)