SAHC: Blarney breeze past Bride Rovers to make the final
Blarney's Conor Power breaks from Bride Rovers' Ronan O'Connell during the Co-op SuperStores SAHC semi final at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Picture: Eddie O'Hare
A dominant second-half from Blarney at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday evening assured them of a place in the final of the Co-op SuperStores SAHC for the second successive year.
While the first half of this semi-final – a repeat of last year’s encounter at the same stage, initially won by Rovers on penalties before a replay was ordered, won by Blarney – was evenly contested, Blarney were well on top after half-time.
They outscored their opponents by 2-10 to 1-1 in the second half, the Rovers goal at the death. By that stage, Blarney were easing to victory and a clash with Glen Rovers in the final on Sunday week.
Trailing by a point at half-time, Blarney were level within a minute of the restart as Cathal Hegarty won Mark Coleman’s sideline cut and fed Pádraig Power, who scored his second point of the game.
Then, a good diagonal delivery from centre-back Patrick Crowley allowed Cathal McCarthy to put last year’s beaten finalists in front and they had a two-point lead for the first time when McCarthy was fouled and Shane Barrett put over the resultant free.
Though Adam Walsh’s 65 had Bride Rovers back to within a point, the next score, in the 42nd minute, was the decisive one. Power was the creator as he latched on to a loose ball close to the Rovers goal and, while he could have gone for a shot from an acute angle, he picked out McCarthy, who flashed an effort high and beyond Cian Hogan.
A long-range free from Coleman – influential throughout from the half-back line – made it 1-13 to 0-11 and Barrett’s fifth point of the evening left six in it with 12 minutes left. From there, they were in cruise control, Power bringing his tally to four while Shane Mulcahy was the provider for Cian Barrett to get the second goal. The lead had swelled to 14 points before Josh Ahern set up Patrick O’Flynn for the Rovers goal as the clock pushed 60.
There was little between the sides in the first half, the end of which saw Bride Rovers hold a 0-10 to 0-9 lead.
Twice they had forged two-point leads, 0-6 to 0-4 and 0-9 to 0-7, with O’Flynn and Ronan O’Connell prominent on the scoring front, but there was never a suggestion that they would pull away from Blarney in this period.
The Mid-Cork side only led once in the opening half, a three-point surge making it 0-7 to 0-6, with the latter two of those scored by Shane Barrett after being set up by Coleman. Goal chances were at a premium, with Cathal McCarthy testing Hogan early on but otherwise the suggestion at the break was that there would be little to separate the sides across the remainder.
That was the case in the opening stages of the second half but then Blarney found another gear.
S Barrett 0-7 (0-4f), C McCarthy 1-2, P Power 0-4, C Barrett 1-1, E Kirby, M Coleman (0-1f) 0-2 each, P Crowley 0-1.
P O’Flynn 1-3 (0-1f), A Walsh 0-3 (0-1f, 0-1 65), R O’Connell 0-2, B Roche, C Ryan, C Hogan (0-1f) 0-1 each.
P Hallissey; A McEvoy, C Power, S Crowley; D Hanlon, P Crowley, M Coleman; O Hegarty, C Hegarty; D McSweeney, E Kirby, S Barrett; C McCarthy, P Power, C Barrett.
S Mulcahy for Kirby (51), S Mullane for S Crowley (56), M O’Leary for McCarthy (57, injured), J O’Keeffe for McSweeney, P O’Leary for Hanlon (both 59).
C Hogan; D Cashman, E Roche, J Peters; C Hazelwood, B Roche, S O’Connor; C O’Sullivan, D Barry; C Ryan, C Tobin, P O’Flynn; J Mannix, A Walsh, R O’Connell.
K Kearney for Barry, J Ahern for Mannix (both 42), L Roche for O’Connell (56).
M Maher (St Finbarr’s).
App?
