Blackrock beat Glen Rovers but know championship rematch this summer is all that matters

Job done for Blackrock camp with a 1-26 to 2-15 win over Glen Rovers in the Red FM Division 1 Hurling on a beautiful Good Friday evening at Church Road.

After an evenly matched first half, the Rockies took over from there, much to the relief of joint-manager Conor Hurley.

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“There was some very good combination play over the hour and we are happy with how the lads played without getting carried away as its very early days,” said Hurley. “We have done a lot on our fitness but have very little hurling done so we would now be hoping we will improve as the league matures.

“We were playing against a strong wind in the first half and we played a shorter hurling game aiming to get into better scoring positions and we finished with some impressive points.” 

Like many other clubs Blackrock have struggled on the injury front but are slowly getting a full complement of players back.

“Take Fionn Coleman, he got injured last season in our semi-final last year and tonight was his first game back."

He scored two classy points in 15 minutes of action.

The performance of Robbie Cotter also came in for special mention from his manager with the former Cork hurling panelist finishing with 0-9.

“You can see Robbie is playing like somebody that has a point to prove and he has been our best player to date showing leadership and quality on the pitch.” 

Blackrock opened with a loss to St Finbarr’s before seeing off Fr O’Neill’s.

“It is 120 days to the start of the championship where our opening game will be actually be against the Glen before we finish the group with games against Fr O’Neill’s and Kanturk.

“This game against the Glen will be long forgotten come championship time but look I am sure we will be a better side in that game also which makes it a mouth-watering clash.” 

The other joint-manager Jamie Harrington was missing for this league game.

“There was a family bereavement so Jamie naturally couldn’t make it and we send our condolences to all concerned.” 

Blackrock are now upping the ante at training as the evenings stretch.

I think all clubs are at it four or five nights a week between the gym and on the pitch and the schedule is on par with inter-county teams.” 

Blackrock hope they can be a force in this year’s championship having gone so close last season.

“The bottom line is that there are four or five teams in Cork with very little between them on any given day.

LEARNING CURVE

“When you look at last season, we lost out to Midleton in a game where we could have easily won but it wasn’t to be and in the end its all about hands to the pump now and learn from that experience.

“We have a good young team and I firmly believe you need a bit of luck where a free going one way or another can decide games involving the top teams.

“The league and the championship in Cork is second to none as you get your calendar and all clubs are aware what’s ahead of them.”