Cork Hurling: Blackrock led way with lowest concession rate from play in Premier Senior
Tadhg Deasy, Blackrock, breaks away from Ethan Twomey and Damien Cahalane, St. Finbarrs during their Cork Premier Senior Hurling Championship group game at Pairc Ui Rinn. Picture: Jim Coughlan.
We’ve already gone through the Cork Premier Senior Hurling Championship and examined how each of the 12 clubs fared in terms of their overall concession rates. But what if you strip it back – ignore frees, 65s, and penalties – and look purely at what teams conceded from play?
It’s a revealing metric. It highlights not only which defences were the tightest over the season, but also which teams proved most susceptible to scores from placed balls.
When you remove frees, penalties and 65s from the equation, the order at the shuffles slightly – but not dramatically.
Once again, Blackrock set the standard. Over four games and extra time in their semi-final defeat, the Rockies shipped just 1-42 from play. That equates to only 10.4 points conceded per game (PCPG), the stingiest record in the grade.
Midleton aren’t far behind. The Magpies posted 11.8 PCPG from play – just 1.4 worse off than the Rockies – showing just how difficult they were to break down across their six outings plus semi-final extra time.
The top three remains the same as the overall concession table, though the order flips slightly. Charleville drop from second to third when isolating from-play returns, their 13.5 PCPG very impressive for a side that featured in the relegation playoff last year.
Champions Sarsfields sit fourth on 14.0 PCPG, followed by St Finbarr’s and Newcestown, who share fifth spot on 16.0 PCPG. Both were efficient in limiting goals, while the West Cork side’s defensive numbers are solid for only their second season back in the top flight.
Glen Rovers follow in seventh (16.3 PCPG), Kanturk eighth (16.6 PCPG), and then come Fr O’Neill’s and Newtownshandrum, level on 18.0 PCPG. Those two are the final sides to have averaged under 20 points conceded from play per game.
From there, the drop-off is stark. Douglas, who conceded very little from placed balls, nonetheless leaked heavily from open play – 22.3 PCPG, a full 4.3 points worse than Newtown. Erin’s Own fared little better, their defence repeatedly torn open, conceding an average of two goals from play per outing to finish bottom of the table on 23.0 PCPG.
Midleton conceded more from placed balls than anyone with 1-51, but also spent more minutes on the field than any other team.
Of teams eliminated in the group stage, and so only playing a total of 180 minutes, Fr O’Neill’s conceded the most from placed balls with 2-19.
– Blackrock
10.4 PCPG from play
Conceded: 2-72
Conceded from placed balls: 1-30
GP: 4.33
– Midleton
11.8 PCPG from play
Conceded: 6-111
Conceded from placed balls: 1-51
GP 6.33
– Charleville
13.5 PCPG from play
Conceded: 1-78
Conceded from placed balls: 0-27
GP 4
– Sarsfields
14.0 PCPG from play
Conceded: 10-95
Conceded from placed balls: 2-35
GP 6
– St Finbarr’s
16.0 PCPG from play
Conceded: 5-95
Conceded from placed balls: 0-30
GP 5
– Newcestown
16.0 PCPG from play
Conceded: 4-58
Conceded from placed balls: 0-22
GP 3
– Glen Rovers
16.3 PCPG from play
Conceded: 5-76
Conceded from placed balls: 0-26
GP 4
– Kanturk
16.6 PCPG from play
Conceded: 1-66
Conceded from placed balls: 0-19
GP 3
– Fr O’Neill’s
18.0 PCPG from play
Conceded: 6-61
Conceded from placed balls: 2-19
GP 3
– Newtownshandrum
18.0 PCPG from play
Conceded: 9-97
Conceded from placed balls: 3-25
GP 5
– Douglas
22.3 PCPG from play
Conceded: 3-73
Conceded from placed balls: 0-15
GP 3
– Erin’s Own
23.0 PCPG from play
Conceded: 11-111
Conceded from placed balls: 1-26 GP 5
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