Imokilly overcome Muskerry to reach Cork PSHC quarter-finals

Imokilly 1-23 

Muskerry 0-15 

It wasn’t a procession. Muskerry made sure of that. But Imokilly were nowhere near the level they had touched in dismantling Avondhu, nor the cut they showed when these two met in last year’s Divisions/Colleges final.

The drizzle didn’t help. Páirc Uí Rinn was a damp, grey theatre for a game that never caught fire on Sunday evening. Imokilly got out with the Denis O’Riordan Cup and a place in the Cork PSHC quarter-finals, but only after 40 minutes of sloppiness.

With their opponents having only scored eight first-half points, the expectation would have been that Imokilly would have posted at least double that tally by the interval, on course to follow the ritual with another thumping.

Instead, they were only three ahead, 0-11 to 0-8. Muskerry deserve their part in it. They harried Imokilly’s forwards, Paul Ring and Fenton Denny standing out in defence.

But Imokilly were all out of sorts. Misplaced passes. Sloppy wides. Seven wides and one dropped short before the interval. They looked like a team expecting to stretch the legs and cruise it. Muskerry wouldn’t allow it, at least not until after Seán O’Neill had clipped a neat score on 41 minutes to leave four in it, 0-15 to 0-11.

Then came the inevitable Imokilly spell of control. Jack Leahy – exceptional again – spearheaded a five-in-a-row burst, with goalkeeper Eoin Davis even jogging up to nail a free.

When Muskerry did find an answer, their first score in 12 minutes, Imokilly simply responded with a goal. Joe Stack won possession. He passed to Leahy who seized on it, popped to the net, and closed the book, 1-20 to 0-12.

Muskerry had got the scoring underway through Johnny Galvin, and Imokilly were level within the minute, with an unusual visit from the Gentleman of Aspen Rugby Football Club, Colorado there to watch it all unfold. But unlike against Avondhu, it took Imokilly nine minutes to notch three points.

When Muskerry hit their second, Imokilly answered with three more. After a quarter of an hour, it was 0-6 to 0-2.

Any minute now, the candystripes would spark into life.

But by the 30th minute, Imokilly’s lead had been cut down to three. And they were very, very fortunate the Muskerry men weren’t the ones in command of that three-point lead.

In the 20th minute, Matt Brady picked out Galvin, and though his shot was short, a rare slip from Eoin Davis almost saw the St Catherine’s ‘keeper drop the ball into his own net, but he got away with the concession of a 65, which Matthew Bradley converted.

Bradley again popped up with another while Mark O’Connell left one point in it after 23 minutes. Imokilly had restored the uncomfortable cushion to some extent, by responding with three, but on the eve of the half – Muskerry came within inches of the jackpot.

Mark Lucey was denied a close-range effort by Davis, but it trickled into the path of Seán O’Neill. He tried to get it into the gaping net, a kick would suffice, but Ciarán Joyce got back brilliantly to deny him.

Three ahead at the break, Imokilly closed it out in the final quarter. The scoreline stretched, but Muskerry had dragged far more out of Imokilly than they wanted to give.

Scorers for Imokilly: J Leahy 1-8 (0-4 f), D Healy 0-4, M Kelly, B Lawton 0-3 each, C Cahill 0-2, L Duggan Murray, E Davis (f), W Leahy 0-1 each.

Scorers for Muskerry: M Bradley 0-6 (0-1 f), J Galvin, S O’Neill, J Lane 0-2 each, K Murphy, M O’Connell, P Ring 0-1 each.

IMOKILLY: E Davis (St Catherine’s); T Wilk (Cobh), C O’Brien (St Ita’s), J McCarthy (Dungourney); J Griffin (Dungourney), C Joyce (Castlemartyr), J Cronin (Lisgoold); M Kelly (Castlemartyr), B Cooper (Youghal); C Cahill (Cloyne), D Healy (Lisgoold), B Lawton (Castlemartyr) (c); W Leahy (Aghada), J Stack (Castlemartyr), J Leahy (Dungourney).

Subs: M Hegarty (Lisgoold) for Leahy (46), O Fitzgerald (St Catherine’s) for Kelly (54), A Sherlock (Cloyne) for O’Brien, D Joyce (Castlemartyr) for Cronin (both 56), L Duggan Murray (Russell Rovers) for Lawton (58). 

MUSKERRY: J Walsh (Grenagh); B O’Sullivan (Aghabullogue), F Denny (Ballincollig), R Honohan (Donoughmore); P Ring (Aghabullogue), M Brady (Éire Óg), C Dalton (Ballincollig); M O’Connell (Dripsey), J Galvin (Éire Óg); M Lucey (Donoughmore), J Foley (Aghabullogue), C O’Callaghan (Éire Óg); M Bradley (Aghabullogue), J Lane (Aghabullogue), S O’Neill (Ballincollig).

Subs: K Murphy (Ballinora) for Lucey (44), R Coleman (Grenagh) for Foley (48), O O’Shea (Éire Óg) for O’Connell (57). 

Referee: P O’Mahony (Kilbrittain)