RedFM Hurling League: Blackrock well on top as they see off Killeagh
Referee Cathal McAllister looks on as Blackrock's Michael O'Halloran Killeagh's Seán Long battle for possession during Thursday's RedFM Hurling League Division 1 game at Páirc Uí Chinnéide in Killeagh. Picture: David Keane
Blackrock stayed in with an outside chance of reaching the RedFM Division 1 Hurling League final – and eased any lingering relegation worries – with what was ultimately a routine win away to Killeagh on Thursday night.
The table after this result at Páirc Uí Chinnéide shows the Rockies in sixth place in the ten-team division but they are now five points clear of Killeagh, who are tied with Fr O’Neill’s on two points at the bottom. In contrast, the city side are now just a point behind the four teams tied on eight points in second, though Douglas and Sarsfields do have a game in hand.
In breezy and cool conditions, they led for almost all of the game but the concession of two first-half goals meant that Killeagh stayed in contention. The first of those, when Ryan McCarthy reacted brilliantly after Evan Lane’s delivery broke, put the hosts 1-0 to 0-2 in front. Then, after Blackrock had responded well to lead by 0-7 to 1-2 by the ninth minute, Shane Smiddy showed lovely skill to force a turnover and point for Killeagh; he followed that by turning over the puckout, allowing Eoghan Keniry to finish smartly.
After Michael O’Halloran became Blackrock’s eighth different scorer – they had ten in all – with the game’s first pointed free, Ryan McCarthy set up Ciarán Leahy to make it 2-4 to 0-8 for Killeagh. However, by the time they scored again, Blackrock would have added an unanswered 1-8.
The goal arrived in the 23rd minute, with O’Halloran netting following a lovely overhead handpass from Ryan Sweeney following a Ciarán Cormack interception on a ball out of the Killeagh defence, while the Blackrock half-back line of Alan O’Callaghan, Niall Cashman and Mark O’Keeffe had assumed a supremacy that gave them a strong platform.
By half-time, they led by 1-18 to 2-6 – the pick of the points a flowing move involving Daniel Meaney, Jamie Ryan and Cashman, finished by Dave O’Farrell – and O’Callaghan and Fionn Coleman were on target as they began the second half well.
Dylan McCarthy did reply for Killeagh following great defending by Seán Long but the third goal that was necessary for them to get back into the game never looked like materialising – instead, Killeagh needed a superb Jamie Fogarty goal-line block to deny Peter Linehan.
Linehan picked up two points as Blackrock continued to rack up scores as they rotated their squad, while Coleman finished with six and was unlucky to put a goal chance wide before drawing a super save from Fionn Murphy.
At the other end, Dylan McCarthy had some nice scores for Killeagh and sub Seán Walsh was also on target in the closing moments.
D McCarthy 0-6 (0-4 f), E Keniry 1-3, R McCarthy 1-1, S Smiddy 0-2, J Ogbebor, S Walsh, C Leahy 0-1 each.
M O’Halloran 1-5 (0-2 f, 0-1 65), F Coleman 0-6, R Sweeney 0-4, A O’Callaghan 0-3, N Cashman, P Linehan, D O’Farrell, D Meaney 0-2 each, Ciarán Cormack, M O’Keeffe, L O’Sullivan, E Coughlan (0-1 65) 0-1 each.
F Murphy; K Kelly Budds, J Fogarty, S Long; R Sinclair, B Walsh, G Walsh Wallace; E Lane, C Fitzgibbon; C Leahy, D McCarthy, J Ogbebor; E Keniry, R McCarthy, S Smiddy.
S Walsh for Walsh Wallace (36), A Leahy for Sinclair (48), D Buckley for C Leahy (60).
G Connolly; Jamie Ryan, Cathal Cormack, D Cormack; A O’Callaghan, N Cashman, M O’Keeffe; D O’Farrell, S Healy; F Coleman, R Sweeney, D Meaney; P Linehan, Ciarán Cormack, M O’Halloran.
F O’Keeffe for O’Farrell (48), G Norberg for D Cormack, R O’Riordan for M O’Keeffe, I O’Keeffe for Meaney (all 50), E Coughlan for O’Halloran, James Ryan for Jamie Ryan (both 53), L O’Sullivan for O’Callaghan, A Geary for Sweeney (both 55).
C McAllister (Killeagh).
App?
