Alan Connolly fires winning points in added time as 14-man Blackrock roar back to beat Glen Rovers

Blackrock 1-22

Glen Rovers 1-20

Blackrock have had bigger wins over Glen Rovers and more exciting victories against their great rivals – Saturday’s triumph at Páirc Uí Rinn was more satisfying than most, however.

The scoreline stood at 0-11 to 0-6 in the Glen’s favour in the 26th minute of the first half when Blackrock lost Fionn Coleman to a red card following an entanglement with Robert Downey in a scrum for a loose ball.

Blackrock’s sense of injustice at the decision was amplified by the fact that Downey had earlier escaped censure for a similar skirmish with Alan Connolly – who finished with 1-10 – but they channelled any frustrations well.

During the 40 minutes or so of hurling where Blackrock had a man less, they outscored their opponents by 1-16 to 1-9 but it was not all one-way traffic, either.

In the wake of the red card, it was Tadgh Deasy – playing his first championship game since a cruciate injury at the same venue a year ago – was central to the revival as two marauding runs drew frees converted by Connolly as they drew to within two.

It was Deasy who broke a Glen puckout to allow Michael O’Halloran to send them in behind by just the minimum and O’Halloran’s third of the match tied the game on the resumption.

Eoin O’Leary put the Glen back in front and he almost followed that with a goal when Alan Connolly cut out a Micheál Mullins ball across that was intended for Patrick Horgan – O’Leary scuffed his ground shot wide but the green flags were in the offing.

First, a loose clearance from Glen goalkeeper Cathal Hickey went straight to Alan Connolly; he eschewed the option of an easy point and instead arrowed a shot that reached the net before Hickey could make it back. The attack’s sixth point of the game put them 1-12 to 0-12 ahead, but parity was restored almost immediately.

This time, it was Glen wing-back Luke Horgan who passed up a point as he passed to Micheál Mullins, who was playing as a wing-forward. He tried a speculative effort from a tight angle that whizzed past Gavin Connolly.

While there was a four-point surge around the three-quarter mark when the Glen moved 1-16 to 1-13 in front, with Mullins influential, they struggled to make the advantage in manpower count.

Blackrock stemmed the flow as subs Kevin O’Keeffe and Ryan Sweeney pointed. Then Sweeney’s dropping delivery wasn’t dealt with an Robbie Cotter tied the game – it was the 52nd minute and his first point but he would finish with three, coming to the fore at just the right time.

However, the win might not have materialised had Gavin Connolly not saved from Rhys Dunne on 52 or a superb piece of defending by Cathal Cormack to deny Horgan following a lovely Mullins pass – even with those interventions, it was a close-run thing. After another from Cotter, the sides exchanged pairs of points and Dean Brosnan, from a Horgan lay-off, had the Glen 1-20 to 1-19 in front as the game moved into injury time.

Niall Cashman capped a powerful display in midfield to level though and after a wide at the other end, Alan Connolly claimed the break from his brother’s puckout to move Blackrock back in front.

Gavin Connolly did have to be alert to save from O’Leary following a Mullins sideline cut but when Blackrock cleared, Cotter did brilliantly to feed Alan Connolly for the clincher.

With the wind in the first, the Glen conceded the first two points but took advantage of Blackrock inefficiency to score ten of the next 12, with all six forwards on target from play while Eoin Downey had two long-rangers. Horgan’s fourth drew gasps from the crowd as a majestic pick-up in the right corner was followed by a lovely shot to make it 0-11 to 0-5, though a good Cotter turnover led to Niall Cashman’s first point just before the red card.

Following that decision, the Glen looked likelier winners but instead they face Kanturk knowing that a win is essential while Blackrock take on Fr O’Neills targeting the early surety of a place in the knockout stages.

Scorers for Blackrock: A Connolly 1-10 (0-5f, 0-1 65), M O’Halloran, R Cotter 0-3 each, N Cashman 0-2, T Deasy, K O’Keeffe, Ciarán Cormack, R Sweeney 0-1 each.

Glen Rovers: P Horgan 0-6 (0-3f), M Mullins 1-2, S Kennefick, E Downey 0-3 each, D Brosnan, E O’Leary, L Quilligan 0-2 each.

BLACKROCK: G Connolly; S Healy, Cathal Cormack, D Cormack; Ciarán Cormack, J Cashman, T Deasy; N Cashman, D O’Farrell; P Linehan, F Coleman, D Meaney; M O’Halloran, A Connolly, R Cotter.

Subs: K O’Keeffe for Linehan (42), S Murphy for O’Farrell (48), R Sweeney for Ciarán Cormack (49), O McAdoo for Deasy (55), J Ryan for D Cormack (60).

GLEN ROVERS: C Hickey; L Coughlan, A Lynch, E Varian; L Horgan, R Downey, E Downey; R Dunne, D Noonan; M Mullins, D Brosnan, L Quilligan; S Kennefick, P Horgan, E O’Leary.

Subs: S Lynam for Noonan (44), A O’Donovan for Lynch (56).

Referee: C McAllister (Aghada).