Junior A Football - Cork v Galway

Cork 0-12 Galway 0-2

Cork took the first points of the junior A championship Sunday afternoon with a convincing win against a Galway side that generated plenty of chances, but could not convert.  Cork built a 7 point lead in the first 15 minutes and Galway, in spite of their best efforts at both ends of the field, could not eat into it.

Cork had the better of Galway for much of game.

Galway got off to the brighter start right after the throw-in with back to back points from Shane Lohan and Kevin Cummins, Cummins with a lovely strike from a 45.  However, once Cork got a taste of the scoreboard the rebels took over the rest of the half, and game for that matter.  Mark Dalton points and the scores then flowed from Colm Caffrey, Mike Moynihan, and another from Dalton.  Cork worked the ball well from the backs and found the openings up front to take their points.  At the water break it was in a well-deserved six point lead, 0-8 to 0-2. 

Cork almost killed the game off with a goal shortly after play resumed, however the score was disallowed due to a square ball.  Galway started to make a better fist of it after the let off, and nearly had a goal for themselves.  JJ Doyle burst through the Cork rearguard but his shot was well saved by Lar Barden.  Galway enjoyed much more possession as the back line worked hard to turn over Cork attacks, but could not convert into scores.  It was an evenly played second quarter, and Cork added one to their lead from Dalton before the half time break.

With the Cork holding a 7-point lead, Galway changed things up a bit to try and generate some more scoring chances in the second half.  John Moylan moved into the full forward line and Kevin Cummins into the middle of the field.  The Westerners continued to fight hard in the backs and did have some chances to eat into the deficit that drifted the wrong sides of the posts while Cork capitalized on their opportunities.  Injuries to John Moylan and Sean Melville also hampered Galway’s efforts. 

Cork also had a bench of 7-8 players, something that must have seemed like a luxury to Galway.  Cian Clifford pointed twice shortly after entering play, and Dalton put another over the bar as Cork stretched out the lead.   Cork brought on the bench in the final quarter, and saw the game out.  The rebels will be happy with their outing, while Galway will be looking after a couple of injuries and hoping for better things in their next match.

Cork:  L. Barden, M. Carolan, C. Moynihan, N. O’Doherty, K. McInerney, A. Cadogan, J. Long, D. O’Regan, J. Gaffney, M. Moynihan, A. Proce, M. Dalton, C. Caffrey.  Subs:  C. Clifford, R. Hayman, J. O’Riordan, F. Murray, P. Smith, P. McCafferty, S. Kelly.

Galway:  G. Lundy, A. Flanagan, P. Delaney, N. Walsh, P. Cummins, D. McKeigue, J. Moylan, S. Melville, D. Burke, K. Cummins, C. Kelly, S. Lohan, JJ Doyle.

By Rory O'Donnell