Bantry Blues guarantee progress, Castletownbere in pole position, Bandon grab crucial victory

A FIRST championship win in just under two years for Bandon came when they saw off Nemo Rangers’ second string, 2-13 to 2-12, on Saturday in Carrigadrohid.

Aidan McCarthy’s team needed a reaction in this Bon Secours Premier IFC Group A game after the Rockchapel defeat, and they got it.

‘We worked on that mental aspect with the lads – having a strong start and strong finish. As it materialised, we started with 0-3 and finished with 1-4,’ McCarthy said.

‘We are just absolutely thrilled. It takes a huge burden of pressure off the club, it has been a rough couple of weeks for them in both codes. All of a sudden, a win like that can change a season.’

Bandon started the game strongly by hitting the first three points but Nemo rallied in scoring the first goal through Luke Horgan before the Trabeg side hit the next three points to open up a sizable lead. It was 1-8 to 0-5 at the interval as Bandon looked in trouble.

Nemo led 1-11 to 0-6 on 38 minutes and looked home and hosed.

Conor Calnan grabbed a goal to give Bandon hope but Jack Coogan replied with another Nemo goal. With ten minutes of normal time to go, Bandon were 2-12 to 1-9 down but they didn’t give up.

Aidan O’Mahony and Mark Sugrue reduced the gap before Peter Calnan bagged a priceless goal to set up a grandstand finish, 2-11 to 2-12.

The last two points of the game came from the influential Sugrue into a strong wind, queue jubilant scenes as Bandon finally broke their duck.

‘Those last two kicks were amazing by Mark Sugrue. We were eight points down going into a gale-force wind in the second half. We were talking about staring down the barrel, that really was it. I knew they’d deliver. There were tight games that didn’t go our way but we learned from it. It was fantastic to see,’ McCarthy added.

‘We were just delighted to get the monkey off the back really. We were just waiting for that win to ease the tension. The game was a huge learning curve and positivity and confidence will come from it.’

Castletownbere's Fintan Fenner out in front of his marker Rockchapel's Maurice O'Keeffe in their PIFC tie. (Photo: Anne Marie Cronin)

Castletownbere provide the next test for Bandon on September 9th in Aughaville. The Beara club beat Rockchapel 1-11 to 2-6 to maintain their 100 percent record. The was a more dominant display from Town than the scoreline suggested as they led 1-6 to 0-1 at half time. James Harrington got the Beara side’s goal after seven minutes.

Even going into the final stages, Castletown were eight points ahead until two Rockchapel goals through Ciarán Curtin and a Liam Collins penalty made the finish more interesting. It wasn’t enough though as Castletown continued their good form. It now means Castletownbere need just a point in their next game against Bandon to qualify. For Bandon, if Rockchapel beat Nemo Rangers, the Lilywhites need to beat Town by five to qualify.

Bantry Blues won their second Group B game on the bounce and are through to the knockout stages after a 1-10 to 0-10 win over Naomh Abán in a tight encounter in Inchigeela. Ruairi Deane and Paddy Cronin both had goal chances squandered in the first half but despite being close to a goal, Bantry trailed 0-5 to 0-4 at the short whistle.

The Gaeltacht side got the opening score of the second half but Cork star Deane rattled the net to leave it 1-4 to 0-6 after 33 minutes. From then on, Blues were relatively comfortable and finished with another win.

Uibh Laoire beating Macroom means Bantry’s qualification job is done and they’ll go into the last game against Macroom targeting a win to gain an automatic semi-final place.

Group C saw Aghada hammer Na Piarsaigh by 3-24 to 2-5. Danny Creedon provided one of the performances of the weekend for Aghada, hitting 1-14. The other group game saw Kilshannig and Cill na Martra share the spoils, 0-10 to 1-7. Those results mean Cill na Martra (3 points) are in the best position to qualify as they play bottom placed Na Piarsaigh (0 pts), who are definitely finishing last. It’s a winner-take-all clash between Kilshannig (3) and Aghada (2). A draw would be enough for the intermediate A champions.