Darragh Fitzgibbon leads Charleville to famous win over champions Sarsfields

Charleville 0-21 Sarsfields 0-19 

A magnificent and fully deserved win for Charleville as they edged out holders Sarsfields in a gripping Co-Op SuperStores Premier SHC clash at Castletownroche on Saturday evening.

This Group 2 Round 1 encounter was a repeat of last year’s quarter-final, which Sarsfields won by four points, and at no stage here did Johnny Crowley’s outfit look comfortable in their own skin.

That was down to Charleville, inspired by Cork captain Darragh Fitzgibbon, who finished with 0-11, some of his point-taking simply sublime.

David Forde’s two sideline cuts arrived at crucial stages, while in defence Dominic Foley’s charges were fantastic, with Jack Meade leading by example at full-back.

The celebrations after the game said it all. This is a great result for Charleville, one that had been simmering in the background for a while.

For Sarsfields, they will have very few complaints. The reigning champions never really got to the pitch of the game and were outfought for the majority. They played in spurts, and the pressure is now on with Newtownshandrum and Douglas to come.

Charleville burst out of the traps, showing more urgency. A pair of Conor Buckley efforts and a trademark Fitzgibbon point settled them early.

After two wides, Sarsfields got on the scoreboard after eight minutes through a Daniel Hogan free, quickly followed by a Luke Hackett effort. Another Hogan placed ball drew parity.

A pair of Fitzgibbon frees deservedly gave Charleville a 0-5 to 0-3 lead after 15 minutes.

But Sarsfields showed their quality with five of the next seven white flags, Shane O’Regan hitting over two nice points to make it 0-8 to 0-7 with 11 minutes to the break.

In a scrappy closing phase of the first half, with some poor shooting from both teams, the sides exchanged points until Tim Hawe drew Charleville level. It was all square at half-time, 0-9 apiece.

A pair of Hogan efforts, one from a free, was the perfect start to the new half for Sarsfields. Barry O’Flynn extended the gap to three points after 33 minutes.

Fitzgibbon reduced the margin to two with a great effort from a difficult angle, 0-12 to 0-10, followed by a beauty of a sideline cut from Forde.

It spurred the Avondhu outfit on. Three unanswered points, including a boomer from a Fitzgibbon free, gave Charleville a 0-14 to 0-12 advantage with 20 minutes remaining.

The sides swapped white flags before Conor O’Sullivan left one in it. Another Forde sideline was magical as Charleville continued to dictate matters.

Three quick-fire points pushed Charleville 0-19 to 0-14 ahead after 50 minutes, with Darren Butler and Alan Dennehy outstanding in defence.

Jack O’Connor, quiet by his standards, pointed to leave Sarsfields four adrift, but time was against them. A Hogan free and a Conor O’Sullivan effort left two points in it with four minutes remaining.

The sides swapped points as Charleville led 0-20 to 0-18 going into added time. Another O’Sullivan point left the bare minimum in it.

Charleville weren’t to be denied. Fittingly, Fitzgibbon had the final say with a sweet free as they recorded a famous win.

Scorers for Charleville: D Fitzgibbon 0-11 (0-8 f), D Forde 0-4 (0-2 sl), C Buckley 0-3, D Butler, T Hawe, Z Biggane 0-1 each.

Sarsfields: D Hogan 0-8 (0-6 f), C O’Sullivan 0-3, S O’Regan, B O’Flynn 0-2 each, J O’Connor, L Hackett, C Darcy, C McCarthy 0-1 each.

CHARLEVILLE: C Reynolds; D Butler, J Meade, F Cagney; J Buckley, A Dennehy, J O’Callaghan; C O’Carroll, S Bresnan; R Carroll, D Forde, D Fitzgibbon; G Gleeson, T Hawe, C Buckley.

Subs: Z Biggane for R Carroll (37), D Casey for D Forde (41-43, temp), D Casey for C Buckley (48), G Kelleher for T Hawe, J Madigan for S Bresnan (both 55).

SARSFIELDS: B Graham; C O’Sullivan, E Murphy, D English; B Murphy, C Roche, C Leahy; D Hogan, K Murphy; J O’Connor, L Hackett, C Darcy; B O’Flynn, S O’Regan, C McCarthy.

Subs: P Leopold for B Murphy (20, inj), D Kearney for K Murphy (38), L Elliott for L Hackett (47), B Nodwell for S O’Regan (61-FT, temp).

Referee: Niall Fahy (Brian Dillons).