Castlehaven show their class in heavyweight epic, but Clon also live to fight another day

Castlehaven 1-16

Clonakilty 1-14

TOM LYONS REPORTS

THE Group of Death in the Bon Secours Premier SFC certainly lived up to its name on the last day of qualifying action as Castlehaven and Clonakilty served up an absolute thriller in Bandon on Sunday afternoon.

Expectations of a dour, defensive encounter, on the evidence of games in the group to date, were thrown out the window as both sides went for it in search of the victory that would guarantee them a qualifying spot.

A draw would have seen Clonakilty through, whereas Haven needed a win, assuming Carbery Rangers would, as expected, beat pointless Valley Rovers.

In the end, when the dust settled and the exhausted, sun-kissed supporters got a chance to draw breath, it was the Haven who were rejoicing, having squeezed a two-point win. The disappointment of losing such an enthralling contest was softened for a gallant Clonakilty side when word came through that Rangers had been surprisingly beaten by Valleys, and the second qualifying spot in the group had gone to Clonakilty.

Clonakilty's Sean McEvoy is challenged by Castlehaven's Mark Collins.

The Haven just about deserved their win on the grounds that they had the sharper attack in which the Hurley brothers, Brian and Michael, and Jack Cahalane all took turns to lay claims to being man-of-the-match. Their scores came much easier than Clon’s with the green and red guilty of some poor misses, especially in the third quarter when they had courageously cut back a five-point deficit to draw level on the scoreboard. Add in two glorious goal chances that went a-begging in the first half and Clon would certainly have rued a missed opportunity, had not Valleys come to their rescue.

‘That was some game to play in,’ said man-of-the-match Jack Cahalane. ‘Both teams went all out for it despite the heat and I thought our defence was outstanding all through. Clon have some very good forwards, we didn’t keep them quiet but we did manage to limit them.

‘The game really opened up towards the end of the first half and into the second half and it’s great to play in a free-flowing game like that. We did manage to kick some good points, especially when Clon came within a point of us a few times in the last quarter. Brian’s goal was crucial in the first half. We knew we would get a battle from Clon and they deserve to qualify too on that performance today.’

It was Clon who started this game on the front foot as centre back Thomas Clancy careered through for the opening point and Conor Daly sent over a soaring effort. However, an early ankle injury to Clancy seemed to limit his contribution for the rest of the game as Brian Hurley began to show what a class footballer he is. A Hurley point, followed by one from industrious midfielder Mark Collins, tied the scores but back came Clon with Johnny Leahy, looking very sharp, kicking two superb points, all this in a hectic opening ten minutes. Unfortunately, Leahy, too, succumbed to injury, being replaced at half time.

Clon’s strong midfielder Ben Ridgeway created two great goal chances but Clon failed to avail of both. They were to pay a price. After the hard-working Jack Cahalane and young Darragh Gough had swapped points, Cahalane and Michael Hurley set up Brian for a superb goal in the 13th minute.

That goal seemed to rock Clon’s confidence. Despite a point from Conor Daly, Castlehaven took control in the second quarter. Brian Hurley was unstoppable as he kicked three points, Michael kicked two and both Jack Cahalane and the brave Sean Browne added one each. Clon’s only responses came from a Daly free and a fisted Ridgeway point. It was 1-10 to 0-8 at half time and the Haven were heading for a comprehensive win, or so it seemed.

Castlehaven's Damien Cahalane defending against Clonakilty's Conor Daly during the Bon Secours PSFC round three tie at Bandon on Sunday.

Within five minutes of the restart, the game was turned on its head. Maurice Shanley raced through for a superb goal and Daly pointed two frees to level the scores. From there to the end the sides swapped point for point. Clon never actually managed to get their noses in front as every time they cut the lead to a single point, the Haven responded to open it to two.

Clon certainly had their chances but kicked some poor wides, while the Haven were much more clinical in front of goal, thanks to superb efforts from Mark Collins (2), Jack Cahalane (2) and Conor Cahalane. Three times in the last quarter Clon cut the lead to a point with scores from Darragh Gough and Ross Mannix (2). They had a great chance of saving the game when Brian Hurley was black carded in the 42nd minute but the Haven defence put up the shutters and they outscored Clon by two points to one in that period.

There was no let-up in the dying minutes, even with the news of Rangers’ imminent defeat filtering through, and the rampant Jack Cahalane again opened a two-point gap with his second marvellous point in a row.

Then came one of the many highlights of the game when Clon’s adventurous goalkeeper Mark White brought off a spectacular flying full-length save from sub Jack O’Neill. Clon weren’t finished just yet and when Gough pointed, a draw loomed large but the Haven had the final say deep in injury time when Michael Hurley pointed.

Scorers

Castlehaven: Brian Hurley 1-4 (1f); Jack Cahalane 0-5; Michael Hurley, Mark Collins (1f) 0-3 each; Sean Browne 0-1.

Clonakilty: Conor Daly 0-5 (4f); Maurice Shanley 1-0; Darragh Gough 0-3; Ross Mannix, Jonathan Leahy 0-2 each; Ben Ridgeway, Thomas Clancy 0-1 each.

Castlehaven: Darragh Cahalane; Johnny O’Regan, Rory Maguire, Robbie Minihane; Thomas O’Mahony, Damien Cahalane, Ciarán O’Sullivan; Conor Cahalane, Mark Collins; Andrew Whelton, Brian Hurley, Seán Browne; Jamie O’Driscoll, Jack Cahalane, Michael Hurley.

Subs: Jack O’Neill for R Minihane (35), Conor O’Driscoll for J O’Driscoll (45).

Clonakilty: Mark White; Liam O’Donovan, Dan Peet, David Lowney; Jack O’Mahony, Thomas Clancy, Chris Kenneally; Maurice Shanley, Ben Ridgeway; Jonathan Leahy, Darragh Gough, Odhran Bancroft; Ross Mannix, Conor Daly, Seán McEvoy.

Subs: Niall Barrett for O Bancroft (25), Tony O’Connell for J Leahy (ht).

Referee: James O’Regan (Lough Rovers).