Barryroe 1-12
Castlehaven 1-6
MARTIN WALSH REPORTS
IGNITING sporadically, this opening round Bandon Co-op JAFC encounter between familiar protagonists Barryroe and Castlehaven was a cagey affair for the most part.
When it did open up, both sides produced some flowing football, woven with fine scores, but round-robin games are about results. Barryroe, given the sadness within the club at the passing of their club stalwart Donal Holland, will take the points and move on.
For the Haven, they know improvement is necessary. Indeed, both sides will be aware of what's required to achieve greater success.
2023 champions Barryroe unleashed Luke Murphy for his championship debut and he caught the eye on more than one occasion, the first inside two minutes for the opening point. It was almost five minutes for the second score when the Barryroe defence failed to clear and Sam Burchill took the opportunity to score the game's opening goal.
With William O'Donovan adding points – his second on ten minutes – increased Castlehaven's lead by 1-2 to 0-1.
Both sides seemed to lack the desire for the open game, with possession the key factor, albeit without deep penetration into the opposition half.
While Mark Crowley pointed for Barryroe, Castlehaven did most of the attacking.
However, when Castlehaven goalkeeper Stephen Collins had to be substituted as a precaution for a head injury, the momentum of the game changed and Barryroe found some intensity.
Murphy billowed the back of the Haven net on 25 minutes and good link-up play between Jerome O'Brien and Mikey Walsh saw a well-policed Ryan O'Donovan knock over a point.
As half time approached, O'Donovan converted a free for the game's first two-pointer and his cousin Olan, following a pass from Murphy, added a point from play.
Castlehaven's Liam McCarthy chased by Barryroe's Daniel Moloney.
Castlehaven registered the last score of the opening half, and their first in 22 minutes, when Kevin O'Donovan tapped over after a pass from William O'Donovan to leave the half time score, Barryroe 1-5 Castlehaven 1-3.
On the resumption, a brace of quick-fire points from Brian O'Donovan and Adam McSweeney settled Barryroe. Murphy came close to adding to his goal tally while Barryroe goalkeeper Conor Madden had to be alert to tip over a goal-bound shot from Shane O'Connell.
Points from the hard-working Olan O'Donovan were sandwiched between ones from Conor Nolan and Kevin O'Donovan before Olan O'Donovan's accuracy from a placed ball added a two-pointer free as the game petered out.
Afterwards, Barryroe's Norman Fleming gave his assessment: ‘The game was slow to get going, we stood off them a little bit. To be fair to Castlehaven, losing a goalie is something that you don't want, especially with the new rules. We got a bit of luck out of it and we are delighted with the result. We had three minors starting and that was good to see. Castlehaven are a seasoned team, they train with their senior outfit and they marked our key men.’
Referencing the late Donal Holland, Fleming added: ‘One of our great mentors, Donal Holland would have been over on the far sideline, he was sadly missed tonight – I think the lads did him proud.’
Scorers
Barryroe: O O'Donovan 0-5 (2ptf); L Murphy 1-1; R O'Donovan 0-3 (2f); M Crowley, B O'Donovan, A McSweeney 0-1 each.
Castlehaven: S Burchill 1-0; W O'Donovan, K O'Donovan 0-2 each; S O'Connell, C Nolan 0-1 each.
Barryroe: C Madden; M Walsh, S O'Riordan, J O'Brien; A Fleming, C Dineen, J Moloney; D Dineen, M Crowley; B O'Donovan, O O'Donovan, T O'Buachalla; L Murphy, R O'Donovan, A McSweeney.
Castlehaven: S Collins; S Burchill, O Daly, G O'Driscoll; S O'Connell, R Whelton, S Bohane; L O'Mahony, W O'Donovan; M Crowley, L McCarthy, C Nolan; D O'Donovan, F Collins, K O'Donovan.
Subs: C O'Sullivan for S Collins; P O'Brien for S Bohane, S Dineen for F Collins; S Hurley for D O'Donovan and S Nolan for L O'Mahony.
