SAHC: How Carrigtwohill’s group fortunes swung in one dramatic game

Carrigtwohill’s experience on Saturday evening summed up how fortunes can swing wildly in the final round of Cork county championship fixtures.

The Co-op SuperStores SAHC Group 3 permutations were many ahead of their clash with Ballinhassig at Páirc Uí Rinn, many of them dependent on the outcome of the other game between Courcey Rovers and Inniscarra.

When Carrig led by seven points following Matthew Barrett’s second-half goal, they were on track to top the group but then, following a stirring comeback that put their opponents in front, last year’s semi-finalists were facing elimination.

Thankfully for them, a draw was enough to edge out Courceys – who beat Inniscarra – on head-to-head record.

“We were on the end of an eight-point swing and our whole championship was disappearing in front of our eyes,” said manager Denis Walsh.

“We were obviously keeping track of the other match as best as we could, so we knew Courceys were in front and we knew that in those circumstances a draw would be enough for us to drive on, but, like, you can't be playing for a draw and we weren't playing for a draw. “We were trying to win, because the prize for a win in those circumstances was to win the group.”

The fact that the bigger picture remained bright did not distract from the frustrations at not winning the game from such a strong position, however.

“We didn't build on the goal at all,” Walsh said.

“I think straight away they got two points back and then we got one but I’d say we got one point in about 10 or 12 minutes or more maybe.

“I think we only scored three points after the goal. It should have been a real platform for us to go on.

“We felt we should have been more than two points up at half-time, we thought we'd done enough hurling to be more than two points up a half-time but we were delighted with the start of the second half.

“We got three points in about a minute or a minute and a half and then Matty got a brilliant goal and we just didn't build on it.

“We know Ballinhassig are a serious team. They won a great county last year and we watched all their matches over the last couple of months.

“They’re a serious outfit so we knew what was coming but we had a chance to build on the goal, as I said, and we just didn't.”

Next up for the east Cork side is a quarter-final against Na Piarsaigh next Friday week, while trying to deal with a growing list of casualties.

“The injuries are killing us,” Walsh said.

“Obviously, Justin Oke was a huge loss today and Sean's obviously out for the season. Cillian Barry's been a huge loss for us for the last two months since the St Finbarr’s league match.

“He’s an outstanding player but he’s just been unlucky with injuries and we’ve another couple now that we’ve picked up.

“Look, we have a great panel, we have a great squad and we're going to need all of those fellas the next day to step up. But that’s the nature of the championship.”