Buttevant showed their character against Ilen: 'We answered a lot of questions people have asked of us'

A Trojan second-half performance proved the catalyst for Buttevant to book their spot in the McCarthy Insurance Group Cork IAFC quarter-final following a 1-17 to 0-15 win over Ilen Rovers.

At half-time things, did not look so rosy in the garden for the Avondhu side, who trailed 0-8 to 0-3 at the conclusion of the opening 30 minutes of play.

But Buttevant rallied impressively in the second half, kicking a number of lovely two-pointers and getting an exquisitely taken goal from Mark Lenahan, to keep their championship dreams well and truly alive. The performance and fightback, especially after the break, typified a lot about the character and footballing ability of this Buttevant side.

Buttevant now face a tasty Cork IAFC quarter-final meeting against Mitchelstown. Buttevant manager Joey Hanlon cut a very satisfied figure when he chatted to The Echo in Carrigadrohid.

After losing in their previous group stage game to Kilmurry, Buttevant ultimately came up with the right response.

“These guys have some character, I'll tell you that now. Outstanding performance in the second half. Very calm, cool and calculated.

“Our character was questioned big time after the Kilmurry game, that we hadn’t the bottle coming down the stretch.

We showed today that we have resolve. That we are willing to dig deep and go to the limits.

“I think we answered a lot of questions that people asked of us today.” 

Hanlon added: “This is loads more to come from us. Even at half-time we mentioned it, it was inevitable that we were going to be sluggish in the first 15-20 minutes.

“It showed that we hadn’t a game in four weeks. The opposition are football only and that is a big advantage.

“So absolutely we should be better for having this game behind us.” 

On a roll

Heading deep in September and with championship knockout stage football on the horizon is exactly where Buttevant want to be.

They are well-versed in that regard in recent years. Buttevant ended a 99-year drought for county glory last year when they defeated St Nicks to win the Premier JFC decider. Now a grade higher up, Buttevant can still dream of securing championship silverware at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh also in 2026.

On this particular Saturday evening, Hanlon for now is pleased to see his Buttevant side still standing, after passing a stern examination from Ilen Rovers.

“This game was knockout. When you look through all of the grades, very few teams were guaranteed to go through.

“The knockout stages is where anyone wants to be.”