Imokilly's defensive vigour will demand the very best from Sars 

After decimating both Avondhu and Muskerry in the Divisions/Colleges Section of the Cork Premier Senior Hurling Championship, Imokilly advanced to the quarter-final, but questions over their quality to win a title remained.

They hadn’t faced a stern test, and Fr O’Neill’s provided the perfect opportunity.

Against the Ballymacoda/Ladysbridge outfit, Imokilly got by in cruise control once again, and the feeling that they were yet to face a real challenge lingered. Fr O’Neill’s could and should have done better on the day.

After once again recording a convincing win over a senior hurling outfit, this time Blackrock – there’s no doubt anymore.

Imokilly have the goods, and now have a final to look forward to in two weeks.

“We’re absolutely delighted,” manager Denis Ring began. “The last two years were very difficult for us. We lost on penalties two years ago against the Rockies and it was very painful, and last year by a point [in the semi-final against Sarsfields].

“It’s one step further from our point of view, and the lads deserved that. To be honest with you, very few people know the sacrifices that these guys make,” he said. “They’re at it every single day of the week virtually.

“You saw three from St Ita’s finishing the game, and that doesn’t happen at this level and it’s fantastic to see.

“You look at the likes of Seámus Harnedy, John Cronin and Barry Lawton – who had damaged his ribs and was unavailable today, those lads keep coming back. All the young fellas, the new fellas, they’re doing it for them. They’re not doing it for themselves.

There’s great unity there and I couldn’t be happier with the lads, they’re a pleasure to be with.

While they still have one more game to win – Imokilly have an opportunity to win their first county title since 2019, and judging by their performance against Blackrock, particularly in the second half when the level was raised by their opponents – they have a chance at doing just that.

“In a way, the goal before half-time was realistic. to be fair, the score probably wasn’t realistic, they hit an uncharacteristic number of wides in the first half, and it wasn’t that they didn’t have possession or didn’t create the chances, they just had an off day shooting,” Ring explained. “A couple of things went wrong for them possession wise in that first half.

“That final ball that could have led to a goal didn’t happen for them, from our point of view our defending was very good, our attitude was very good.

Our lads were clinical, any chance they got, they took.

“The gap got to three and it got a bit hairy there. Every time they went down and got a score we seemed to get a point, and they were good scores, quality scores.

“Our wides tally was pretty low, looking at it compared to the Rockies. The Rockies are the Rockies, they’re never going to go away, they keep coming back at you.

“From our point of view going into a final, you’re probably better off that you did have to respond to that kind of situation, and it was tough out there.” Defensively though – that’s where Imokilly shone, despite putting in a performance where they managed 12 different scorers.

DEFENSIVE PROWESS

A goal from the penalty spot proved to be Blackrock’s only green flag of the contest, and given that the city side managed 12 in the previous four games, it showed just how solid the candystripes were at the back.

“We spent a lot of time working on that,” Ring admitted. “In the first half, Blackrock got one point from play, which is a major tribute to our defence.

“Fair enough, maybe it’s a little artificial in some ways because they had some bad wides, but for our defence, we were excellent. We were conscious of their goalscoring threat.

“They [Blackrock] are a very experienced bunch and they’ve belief. They’re typical Rockies in that it’s not over until it’s over. Maybe we were a little bit lucky at times, but then again, you make your own luck.

“Some of the defending was absolutely exceptional. I thought Kevin O’Neill was very good when he came in, and Mike Kelly actually played very well when he came on.”