Sat July 22- McAnespie's v Cork- Men's Intermediate Football Championship

 McAnespie’s Intermediate team took on Cork last Saturday afternoon, in a tight battle till the very end. McAnespie’s took the first point of the game, followed shortly by a point from Cork’s number 12, Charlie McCarthy. McAnespie’s retaliated with a point and a goal from their number 13, Peter O’Connell.  

Goals were aplenty in this match, with four for each side by the final whistle. Despite the high level of scoring, both teams struggled to maintain an advantage. Sweltering temperatures called for a water break. Cork’s Peter O’Connell (13) kicked the first point post-break followed by an incredible joint effort from Mac’s numbers 4, Conan Mc Cushlen, and 13, O’Connell. McAnespie’s clung onto their two-point lead, as O’Connell (13) continued his scoring spree. After a missed penalty opportunity, he returned with two incredible points before the first half came to a finish.  
Cork’s number 7, Kieran Costello suffered a facial injury that saw him coming off the pitch and returning in the second half, bandaged up and ready for action once more. In the final minutes of the first half, Cork was just one point behind when Mac’s number 3, Tiernan Mc Skean pinged the ball off the post and it landed in the net, making it a four-point game at half time.  

O'Connell (13) kicked the second half off with a point for McAnespie’s, followed by three from Cork’s 13, Sean McDonnell, Charlie McCarthy (12) and 16, Jack Keller. The Cork players returned to the field with a vengeance- it was clear that they knew the push it would take to close that gap. They were relentless with their efforts to penetrate the wall of McAnespie's defenders.  
Suddenly goals started to rack up for Cork, two of them courtesy of Jack Keller (16). As the gap on the scoreboard got smaller, the tensions got higher. A straight red was dealt to McAnespie’s number 8, Steve Ward, for hitting his marker, number 9, Jack Dillon.  

The score evened out momentarily before a point from Keller (16) put them in the lead for the first time in the second half. The turnaround was quick but thrilling as a goal for Keller (16) sent the crowd wild. With just minutes left, McAnespie’s Mc Skean (3) buried another ball, but time was against them. After hanging onto their advantage for dear life, the McAnespie’s did not have the time to get it back.

Cork took the victory with a final score of Cork 4-13 to McAnespie’s 4-12.  
 
Cork: 

1. Kieran McEnerny 
   
2. Tomas Gordon  
   
3. Niall Fitzgerald 
   
4. John Mullane 
   
5. Mark Dalton 
   
6. Emmett Smith 
   
7. Kieran Costello 
   
8. Shawn O’Sullivan 
   
9. Jack Dillon  
   
10. Cullen Barry 
    
11. Padraig Smith 
    
12. Charlie MacCarthy 
    
13. Sean McDonnell  
    

 
McAnespie’s: 

1. Jack Lake 
   
2. Eoin Murdock 
   
3. Tiernan McSkean 
   
4. Conan McCushlen 
   
5. Conor Tierney 
   
6. Colm O’Malley 
   
7. Paddy Magee 
   
8. Steve Ward 
   
9. Jimmy Rigney 
   
10. Pol McKervey 
    
11. Niall Murphy 
12. Peter O’Connell  
13. Padraic Dillon