Inniscarra want to drive on after Carrigtwohill victory puts them in strong position to qualify

Inniscarra manager Sean Holland insists his side were 'probably outsiders' going into their opening-round Co-op SuperStores SAHC meeting with Carrigtwohill on Saturday.

What played out was a gripping evening in Blarney that finished with the Muskerry side winning 0-22 to 0-18, with a late scoring drive the difference between the two clubs.

Ardal O’Connell started that run and white flags from Daniel Murphy and Joseph Enright kept it going. Joseph Enright then hit a brace to put Inniscarra further in front at 0-21 to 0-17 as the clock turned red and signalled three minutes of added time.

The night finished with a Padraig Holland free after Matthew Barrett nailed a 65 for Carrigtwohill. There was no time for a restart. The final whistle followed immediately after the restart, confirming Inniscarra's four-point victory in a group where Courcey Rovers and Ballinhassig drew their opener.

‘It was a great win and we’re feeling very good,” Holland said. “We had lots of chances but the conversion rate wasn’t as high as we wanted it to be. But I thought we were good value for the game.

“Coming into the game, we were probably outsiders. But obviously, Seán Walsh was a massive loss to Carrigtwohill. Look, they are a very good team and they will be back. But we're just delighted to get the win.” 

Bench press

What turned things in Inniscarra’s favour was substitutions, with three brought on between the 45th and 50th minute. While Ardal O’Connell was the only one to score, Frankie Horgan and Liam Ryan helped create space during a sustained drive during a period when the game was very much in the balance.

Holland spent a lot of time deliberating his team in the lead-up to the Carrigtwohill game, and the way the substitutions worked out further validated his decisions.

“You know what… it was probably 50-50 whether we would have started some of the subs,” he explained.

“But we thought with 20 minutes to go, if we're in with a chance, we wanted to be able to bring those subs in and they were able to add energy and they were able to bring something to it. So, for us, it couldn’t have worked out better.” 

Scarra now sit top of their group following the draw between Hassig and Courceys, giving them a good shot of returning to the SAHC quarter-final.

That would be a huge sign of progress for a club into their fourth year at this grade, after consolidating their place following promotion from the Premier Intermediate grade in 2022. There were hard lessons along the way, from surviving a relegation play-off with Mallow in 2023 to an eight-point defeat to Bride Rovers in last year’s quarter-final.

Inniscarra have treated this as one long process, while minors came of age and started taking their first steps to senior hurling. Holland has been there along the way, and he knows the club can get stronger.

“We've a very young team and very good age profile on the team,” he said.

“Like, Sean Sheehan. We were missing Sean Sheehan and Sean Murphy. Sean Sheehan's one of our main players. So, we feel we can get better. The draw in the other game was a great result for us.

“So, look, we'll drive on. We're not in it yet, but we will build on this.”

 One of the constants throughout that progress has been Sean O'Donoghue, whose return from inter-county duty has provided another lift.

“I mean, since Sean's came back, he's been a huge boost to us,” he said. “I mean, we thought after the way the Cork thing went, it was a thing to make him captain, to give him a boost. 

But he's a massive leader for us, and everybody in the club looks up to him.

“But we have a good spread, and I'd say, I don't know what the scorers were, but we had a good spread of scorers as well. Everybody contributed, and honestly, like I say, we're delighted.”