Following a close matchup earlier in the day
which resulted in a draw between the sides in the Junior B competition, the
sides met once again, this time in the Intermediate Championship, where both
Cork and the Shannon Blues, who had met earlier in the Intermediate
championship where the Blues were victorious, were looking to continue
their winning ways after victories in their previous matches (Both over the
Christophers)
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Mark Dalton for Cork
(Rachel O'Driscoll)
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Cork started the game strong, with a quick point
from Full Forward Jack Barrett. Quickly after that, Barrett was brought down in
the box with a sliding tackle from Full Back Derek O’Brien, who received a
Yellow card for his foul, and conceded a penalty for the infraction. However,
The Blues had a bit of luck as the Penalty was missed and went wide. Cork
continued to add to their tally with points from Jack Lacey and a free from
Barrett. The Blues looked to be on the back foot until a break in play and a
well taken shot gave them a reprieve as Tom Hannon scored a goal to bring the
game level 0-3 to 1-0. As the half continued, there was a number of wides for
both sides who had numerous shots go wide of the posts. It seemed that the day
would be full of missed opportunities, until Cork made a breakthrough and
Barrett scored a goal to extend Cork’s lead by 5 points. The Blues with a good
flow of play worked toward chipping away at the lead with a point, but a great
block from Center Back Mark Dalton broke the play. A following free from
Barrett and a point for the Blues from Paddy O’Connor ended the half with a
score of 1-7 to 1-2.
The Shannon Blues started the second half with a
point from Wing Forward Paddy O’Connor as they began to attempt to chip away at
the Cork lead. However, the following play lead to Cork extending their lead
with a 2nd goal for Full Forward Jack Barrett who slotted the ball low into the
corner after a great pass setup Barrett 1 v 1 with the Blues Goalkeeper who
made a good attempt to stop the shot. As the 2nd half went on, both teams went
point for point as Paddy O’Connor for the Blues tried to shorten the gap, and
Darragh Murphy for Cork would counter to keep the gap in place. It looked to be
a white wash day for the Blues until a good flow of play pressured the Cork
defence in the Box, and the pressure benefited the Blues as a Cork defender
attempted to stop a surefire goal by intercepting a pass, he was unfortunate
though to mis-handle the ball, leading to an own goal in the Blues favor. This
brought the game within 3 and what seemed to be a surefire win for Cork was
slowly turning into a battle against the Shannon Blues.
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Jack Lacey tracked by Adam Kenny
(Rachel O'Driscoll)
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A number of frees from both teams kept the game
flowing, with Barrett for Cork adding to his growing tally, as did O’Connor for
the Blues. Cork was looking to be uncatchable despite the Blues best effort.
However, a foul by Corolan on Joe McHugh in the Box lead to the Blues to be
granted a penalty opportunity. Paddy O’Connor would step up to take the penalty
at the same goal as Cork had their chance in the 1st half, and same as the 1st
half attempt, the penalty would go wide, keeping the gap within 3 points. The
Blues would follow up with a point from O’Connor, and a great block from Shane
Kelly from the Blues would keep the score at 2 as they continued on to attempt
to steer the game into a victory for the Blues. However, Cork would be the
eventual victors of this battle with a final score of 2-13 to 2-9.
Both teams are in strong contention to make it
to the finals of the Intermediate finals. Cork will continue their push with a
game vs Christophers next Sunday July 14th @ 1pm, while the Shannon Blues will
have to wait until August 4th for their next matchup in the Intermediate
Championship.
Cork: Kieran McEnery, Mike
Conlon, Frank Dillon, Jack Lacey, Mark Dalton, Emmet Smyth, Jack Lynch, William
Finnegan, Nick Mallone, Darragh Murphy, Adam Kenny, Jack Barrett, Ian
Caggney
Shannon Blues: Michael Moriarty, Shane Kelly, Derek O’Brien, Darren O’Donovan, Tom Hannon, Eamon Kilgannon, Pat Murray, Maurice Young, Kyle Higgins, Paddy O’Connor, Michael Moylan, Darren Wallace, Joe McHugh
Written
By: Evan McDonagh
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