Premier JFC: Inniscarra dig deep to book quarter‑final spot following victory over Glenville

Inniscarra: 3-11 (3-0-11) 

Glenville: 1-10 (1-2-6) 

Inniscarra are through to the business end of the McCarthy Insurance Group Premier JFC after recovering from a slow start to defeat Glenville at Ovens on Friday night.

This final game in Group 2 was winner-takes-all to decide who would qualify, and it was the Muskerry men who had enough to prevail in what was a tense battle — understandably so given the stakes.

Inniscarra trailed by four points during a sluggish opening, but goals proved crucial as they turned the game around and led by five at the short whistle.

They then had to play almost the entire second half with 14 men after a Dan O’Connell second yellow card, but driven on by Stephen Dornan, Seán McCarthy and Liam O’Connor, Scarra showed their quality and composure late on to prevail.

The introduction of Cork hurler Seán O’Donoghue also made an important impact as they pushed on to secure a quarter-final meeting with Millstreet.

Glenville started with real intent, with Ciarán O’Leary kicking a point and then an orange flag from a free, while Colin O’Keeffe went close to a goal when his effort hit the side netting. 

Seán McCarthy clipped over Inniscarra’s first point, but another two-pointer for Glenville — this time from Adam Murphy — pushed them 0-5 to 0-1 ahead after six minutes.

After a laboured start, Inniscarra were sparked into life by a fortuitous goal 12 minutes in when Liam O’Connor’s long delivery wasn’t dealt with and sneaked its way into the net. It rocked the Imokilly outfit, and Daniel Murphy billowed the net again a minute later to make it 2-1 to 0-5 after 14 minutes.

The sides traded points before the experienced O’Connell pushed the lead out to four with two neat efforts. 

There would be just one more score before half-time, Seán McCarthy — a handful on the edge of the square — bisecting the posts to leave Inniscarra 2-5 to 0-6 ahead at the break.

On the resumption, Inniscarra were reduced to 14 players after 34 minutes when O’Connell picked up a second yellow. It gave Glenville a lift, and Callum O’Mahony pointed almost immediately. Murphy added another before Shayne Curtin levelled matters with a close-range goal, making it 1-8 to 2-5 after 41 minutes.

An O’Leary free nudged Glenville ahead, but a fantastic curling effort from O’Connor arrived at the perfect time for Inniscarra to restore parity. 

The sides swapped points to leave it 1-10 to 2-7 with seven minutes remaining.

Adam Murphy had a goal chance for Glenville that drifted wide, before Daniel Murphy had an even better opportunity for Inniscarra — but Glenville goalkeeper Dave Quirke produced a brilliant save.

Inniscarra responded with three unanswered points as they finished with a flourish, two from McCarthy and one from Dornan, as the game moved into added time. 

Glenville then suffered a huge blow when Adam Murphy was shown a straight red for an off-the-ball incident in the dying moments.

The game had slipped away from the Imokilly men, and a point from a free followed by a clever goal — both from O’Connor — sealed a deserved victory for Inniscarra.

Scorers for Inniscarra: L O’Connor 2-2 (0-1 f), S McCarthy 0-5, D Murphy 1-0, S Dornan, D O’Connell 0-2 each.

Glenville: C O’Leary (1 2pt f), A Murphy (1 2pt) 0-4 each, S Curtin 1-0, C Linehan, Callum O’Mahony 0-1 each.

INNISCARRA: D Kelleher; J O’Sullivan, L Ryan, T Lyons; F Horgan, C Dineen, J O’Dwyer; D Coughlan, S Dornan; S Dineen, D Murphy, D O’Keeffe; D O’Connell, S McCarthy, L O’Connor.

Subs: S O’Donoghue for S Dineen (39), J O’Callaghan for D Coughlan (53), J Hayes for D O’Keeffe (58).

GLENVILLE: D Quirke; D Sheehan, C O'Regan, Callum O’Mahony; B Ryan, D McCarthy, C Cronin; C Fitzgerald, D Ó Bric; C Linehan, C O’Leary, A Murphy; S Curtin, E Fitzgerald, C O’Keeffe.

Subs: S O’Leary for D McCarthy (26), Conor O’Mahony for C Fitzgerald (h-t), L Foley for E Fitzgerald (38), E Fitzgerald for Callum O’Mahony (58), D McCarthy for C O’Keeffe (61).

Referee: Brendan Barrett (Shamrocks).