Joe Twohig on song as Valley Rovers U21s match past Courcey Rovers

Valley Rovers 6-23 Courcey Rovers 1-13 

Valley Rovers continued their excellent run in the SE Ross Oil U21 A Hurling Championship as they secured their place in the final with an impressive win at Ballinhassig.

Carrigaline or Ballinhassig will provide the opposition but the question now is whether either can stop the Innishannon outfit from claiming the title, especially as Cork minor graduate Joe Twohig hit 3-10.

Courceys, to their credit, never threw in the towel, with Darragh Winter, Jack Harrington and Lucas Harrington prominent. However, the performance of Micheál Maguire will surely have caught the attention of the Courceys' senior team management, who may look to secure the Castlehaven footballer's services in 2027.

Jack Harrington opened the scoring, but Valley Rovers soon responded with Harry O'Sullivan's fine individual goal. They had another three points on the board by the sixth minute, Twohig with two of them.

Courceys registered their second point after eight minutes, but Valley Rovers soon took control with a scoring burst that included a Twohig goal.

Two points from Harrington and Micheál Maguire reduced the deficit to 2-8 to 0-4 on 17 minutes but it was 3-12 to 0-4 at the break, with Shane Ryan adding a third goal on the stroke of half-time.

The second half was certainly more competitive, with Luke Harrington, Winter and Maguire working hard. However, Eoin Guinane and Harry O’Sullivan continued to add to the Valley tally with some outstanding shooting while Twohig completed his hat-trick.

Maguire deservedly found the net late on, finishing a fine move after an outstanding pass from Conor Crowley. However, Shane Ryan had the final say with another goal almost with the last puck of the game.

Scorers for Valley Rovers: J Twohig 3-10 (0-6 f), H O’Sullivan 1-3, S Ryan 1-2, C Murphy 1-0, K Dart O’Flynn 0-3, E Guinane, D Carthew 0-2 each, E Galgey 0-1.

Courcey Rovers: L Harrington 0-6 f, M Maguire 1-2 (0-1 f), J Harrington 0-3, D Winter, E Daly 0-1 each.

VALLEY ROVERS: M Kelleher; N Daly, T McGrath, C Murphy; A Slattery, E Guinane, D Brady; D O'Connell, S Ryan; H O'Sullivan, K Dart O'Flynn, D Carthew; M Croke, J Twohig, E Galgey.

Subs: P Cremin for D Brady (23), E O’Sullivan for M Croke (27), L Casey for H O’Sullivan (50), J Healy for D O’Connell (56).

COURCEY ROVERS: D Hickey; S Galvin, J Galvin, D Winter; P Galvin, D Coakley, C Galvin; J Coakley, L Harrington; C Morgan, J Harrington, C Crowley; O Smith, M Maguire, E Daly.

Subs: TJ Daly, E Maguire and D O’Connell for C Galvin, O Smith and C Morgan (HT), D Walsh and S Óg Hales for E Daly and S Galvin (50).

Referee: Alan O'Connor (Ballygarvan).