Coláiste Choilm off to flying start in Frewen Cup against Clonakilty Community College
Evan Stack steadies himself to clip a point for Coláiste Choilm against Clonakilty CC in the Frewen Cup clash. Picture: Larry Cummins
Coláiste Choilm laid down an early marker in the Frewen Cup with an all-action display against Clonakilty Community College at Ballincollig.
Setting the tone in the opening 10 minutes, they had 3-5 on the board as explosive attacking trio Billy Mehigan, Donnagh Conway and Rian Madden all grabbed goals before Clon, runners-up in the Munster U17 competition for the past two seasons, had time to settle.
Tadhg Lehane also rattled the crossbar in this period as midfielders Evan Stack and Conor Murphy clipped a pair of points apiece while monopolising primary possession.
A curling Conor Cullinane score and a booming two-pointer from Eoin McCarthy lifted the siege for the West Cork school and they battled gamely in the second quarter. However they needed keeper Adam Dollery to come to the rescue on three occasions, smothering a Mehigan shot at the near post and repelling palmed efforts from Lehane and Olan O’Mahony that looked certain to hit the net.
Coláiste Choilm raised white flags coming up to half-time through Mehigan and Peter Kelly, after a flowing team move that he started from deep, while Cullinane nailed a two-point free after Adam Whooley was pulled back.
Up 3-7 to 0-5 at the break, the Ballincollig school would have been forgiven for taking the foot off the pedal but burst out of the blocks on the resumption. Clearly well drilled by Evan Dodd and Fintan O’Connor, they rattled off 0-11 without reply.
Mehigan was a force of nature from centre-forward and he arrowed a two-pointer, with Madden also raising an orange flag.
The hard-working Olan White and the lively Charlie Moore did nab a neat point apiece for Clon while wing-back Ollie Hunt and midfielder Oisín McCabe were doing their best to secure kick-outs against the wind.
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However, Coláiste Choilm began to find gaps and cut through for three more goals. Mehigan completed his hat-trick as well as setting up his Ballinora club comrade Conway to net his second from close range.
Gearóid O’Keeffe, Ollie Power and powerhouse defender Fionn Murphy, who thundered up through the middle time and again, added points to cap an emphatic victory which leaves them well placed heading into a clash with Hamilton High School, Bandon, a repeat of last year’s Cork U16 final that Coláiste Choilm won.
B Mehigan 3-6 (1 2pt), D Conway 2-2, R Madden 1-4 (1 2pt), C Murphy, E Stack 0-3 each, P Kelly, F Murphy, G O’Keeffe, O Power 0-1 each.
C Cullinane (1 2pt f) 0-3, O McCarthy (2pt), C Moore (0-1 f), O White 0-2 each, J Flynn 0-1.
T Mullins (Éire Óg); J Clifford (do), F Murphy (Ballinora), M Delea (Blarney); C Hannigan (Ballincollig), K Murphy (do), O O’Mahony (Éire Óg); C Murphy (do), E Stack (Ballincollig); P Kelly (Ballinora), B Mehigan (do), G O’Keeffe (Valley Rovers); D Conway (Ballinora), R Madden (Cloughduv), T Lehane (Canovee).
R O’Sullivan (Ballincollig) for Mullins (h-t), O Power (Ballincollig), J O’Riordan (Ballinora), C Dineen (Éire Óg) for Lehane, Hannigan and Kelly (40), O O’Sullivan (Kilmurry) for Murphy (47).
A Dollery (Newcestown); C Harrington (Kilmeen), R O’Donnell (Clonakilty), C O’Sullivan (do); O Hunt (Ibane Gaels), L Leahy (Clonakilty), E McCarthy (Owen Gaels); O McCabe (do), P Haughney (St James); M O’Donovan (do), B O’Regan (Clonakilty), O White (do); C Moore (Carbery Rangers), C Cullinane (Owen Gaels), A Whooley (Clonakilty).
M Alfonso (Clonakilty) for Whooley (h-t), R Leahy (Ibane Gaels) for O’Donovan (37), R Harte (Clonakilty) for Leahy (43), D Collins (Kilmeen) and J Flynn (Ibane Gaels) for Cullinane and O’Regan (45), K White (Clonakilty) and D Morse (Ibane Gaels) for O’Sullivan and Haughney (47), R Collins (Ibane Gaels) for McCarthy (56, inj).
Alan Hourihan (Aghinagh).
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