Fr O'Neill's still have a shot at avoiding relegation but championship remains priority
Jamie Burns, St Finbarr's, and Jason Hankard, Fr O'Neill's, in action on Sunday. Picture: Jim Coughlan.
All involved with Fr O’Neill’s were relieved following their impressive 2-21 to 0-17 win over St Finbarr’s in the RedFM Division 1 Hurling League at Togher on Sunday.
After five consecutive defeats, Fr O’Neill’s needed a win before going into their final three games of the campaign in a bid to stave off relegation and selector Podge Butler was delighted with the teams battling display.
“The win was crucial, but I think it showed getting players back like Eoin Motherway who hasn’t played since last season when he picked up an injury in the Erin’s Own game,” said Butler.
Fr O’Neill’s also welcomed back their Cork duo of Declan Dalton and goalkeeper Paudie O’Sullivan, though Ger Millerick wasn't cleared to line out as he is likely to feature against Clare next weekend. With Paudie McMahon also returning after a few games on the sideline, they were in a stronger position than they had been in recent matches.
The Ballymacoda outfit have three players involved with Cork that has hampered their league campaign and with a few injuries to deal with it hasn’t been an easy ride for them.
“Look you can only play what’s available to you but you saw today we had a decent team out there and that’s no disrespect to the lads from our second and third teams who have had to line out at Senior level this season.”
Building momentum will be Fr O’Neill’s aim, along with trying to avoid relegation, but it’s the Premier Senior hurling championship that will be their total focus in the coming weeks.
“We open up against Kanturk that are sticky opponents at any time of the year and then we face the might of Glen Rovers and Blackrock but with a fully fit squad we don’t fear any side.”
The performance of Declan Dalton on the day that saw the Cork panelist finish with 12 points brought praise from Butler.
“Some of the points Declan scored out there today were simply awesome and we will be delighted when he is back with us after his involvement with Cork just like Ger Millerick and Paudie O’Sullivan.”
Fr O’Neill’s league campaign concludes with games against Charleville, Glen Rovers and Sarsfield’s, three tricky clashes for the East Cork outfit. Killeagh looked destined to go down but O'Neill's could yet overtake Carrigtwohill, who are a win ahead of them.
“We have a tough finish, and we will need to have a decent squad available for all three games but look at this time of the year you just don’t know but we will battle to the end.
“The attitude is always a positive one in our club and we will continue to work hard on bringing players through as I think having strength in depth is crucial.”
The Barrs were without a host of familiar names including the Cahalanes, William Buckley, Ben Cunningham and Billy Hennessy but are still in a solid position in the league as they've already won four matches.
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