SAHC: Denis Walsh pleased with Carrigtwohill's mature display in comfortable win over Na Piarsaigh

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SAHC: 14-man Carrigtwohill prove too strong for disappointing Na Piarsaigh

After ending up in the Co-Op SuperStores SAHC relegation play-off last season, Carrigtwohill have made great strides since.

Survival in the Division 1 league was a significant step forward this year and with a game to spare in Group 1, the Imokilly side have one foot in the knockout stages of the second-grade hurling championship on Leeside.

After defeating Fermoy first day out two weeks ago, Denis Walsh’s side were too strong for Na Piarsaigh on Sunday evening at Páirc Uí Rinn on a scoreline of 1-22 to 2-14.

Carrigtwohill had to play the final 16 minutes plus five minutes of added time with 14 players after a Pat O’Sullivan second yellow card. It didn’t matter. They were too slick for their opposition.

“We are delighted with the performance,” Walsh said post-match.

“Some of the hurling was just brilliant. Obviously, we had a lot of wides. I'm not sure what the total was, 16 I think, and we probably had a couple of shots that dropped short.

“We spoke about it after the last game against Fermoy, we didn't get enough shots away. So we got plenty of shots away today, which is good.

“I thought at times the lads just hurled out of their skins. They were really good. It’s a big win, we had never beaten Na Piarsaigh in the championship prior to today. We've had four or five really tight matches with them and just came out on the wrong side every time.” 

Carrigtwohill came of age with a mature performance against an experienced Na Piarsaigh side. It was a comfortable five-point victory.

“Look, it's a young group,” the Carrigtwohill boss says.

“We have four or five very experienced fellas and they're massive leaders for us. There's a lot of guys in their early 20s and even younger. It's great for them to get a big win like this up here in Páirc Uí Rinn.

“Johnny Dwyer our coach has been absolutely incredible. He has been fantastic. We were thrilled to get him. The players are mad about him. He's got a fantastic response from everyone. There's just a fantastic atmosphere around the place. That counts for an awful lot.” 

Carrigtowhill are top with two wins from two games. They aren’t through to the knockout stages yet. A positive result is required in their final group game to make fully sure, which is against Imokilly rivals Killeagh.

“Nobody could qualify from this group this weekend given the way the results went. It's still all up in the air. Scoring difference is probably on our side, but we still have a lot of work to do against Killeagh. We are used to playing Killeagh going back many years.

“We're lucky we have three weeks to prepare for that. It will be a tough match. We want to win every game. We saw what happened on Friday, Killeagh losing to Fermoy. They will want to respond.” Walsh concluded.