Kilbrittain back on track in Carbery JAFC ahead of key showdown with Ballinascarthy

Kilbrittain 3-9                                         

Carbery Rangers 0-5

JOHN MURPHY REPORTS

KILBRITTAIN are back in contention for honours in Roinn 2 of the Bandon Co-op JAFC following this emphatic trap-to-line 13-point victory over Carbery Rangers second string at blustery Barryroe on Saturday night.

Shrugging aside their disappointing defeat by Newcestown in their opening tie the Seasiders were led up front by swashbuckling Josh O’Donovan who amassed a fantastic 1-5, all from play, and top displays from Sam Dewey, captain Ivan Burke and Eoin O’Neill.

Wind-assisted, they put Rangers' defence under siege as O’Donovan had three unanswered white flags on the bounce by the close of the opening quarter. In a rare Rangers attack Cillian Eady got one back, the culmination of one of their better moves involving Seamus O’Mahony, Ciarán Fitzpatrick, and Ciarán McCarthy. However, it was a further 16 minutes before they managed to get another score on the board, a Ben Linehan free bringing the first-half action to a conclusion.

In the meanwhile, the Black and Amber made scoring hay, and while the sun had long gone superb scores by Conor Ustianowski and Conor Hogan (two each), Josh O’Donovan and a magnificent goal by Sam Shorten in the 27th minute left the Seasiders with a healthy interval lead of 1-8 to 0-2.

To their credit the Rosscarbery lads upped the ante and were rewarded by two fine points by Chris O’Donovan, one of their top guns, and a lovely score from the boot of the industrious Ben Lenihan by the 40th minute, leaving it 1-8 to 0-5. That was as good as it got scoring-wise for the vanquished as Kilbrittain were soon back in cruise control.

While Rangers defended courageously their citadel was breached on two further occasions, a delightful finish by Josh O’Donovan after an astute build-up by Bertie Butler in the 55th minute. Experienced substitute Philip Wall applied the coup-de-grace in the dying embers, curling home a stunning strike past reliable Rangers shot-stopper Aaron O’Brien. That was that, Kilbrittain romped home with furlongs to spare, having emptied the bench to good effect.

‘We knew Rangers would come at us in the third quarter. We had a good panel of substitutes and when introduced they were very effective for us. The lads were very disappointed after the first day out (against Newcestown) but this is a real morale-booster. We are still in the hunt, granted the last game against Ballinascarthy will be a tough test. At least we now can control our own destiny and we will give it a real shot,’ Kilbrittain selector Damien O’Driscoll said.

Scorers

Kilbrittain: Josh O’Donovan 1-5; Philip Wall, Sam Shorten 1-0 each; Conor Hogan (2f), Conor Ustianowski (1f) 0-2 each.

Carbery Rangers: Chris O’Donovan, Ben Linehan (1f) 0-2 each; Killian Eady 0-1.

Kilbrittain: Eoin McCarthy; Sam Dewey, Ivan Burke, Eoin O’Neill; Colm Sheehan, Eoghan Byrne, Nick O’Donovan, Sean Sexton, Bertie Butler; Thomas Sheehan, Aaron Holland, Conor Hogan; Conor Ustianowski, Sam Shorten, Josh O’Donovan.

Subs: Philip Wall for Aaron Holland (43), James O’Donovan for Sam Shorten (46), Fionn Ustianowski for Conor Hogan (49), Cian O’Leary for Conor Ustianowski (53), Charlie Kenny for Sam Shorten (55).

Carbery Rangers: Aaron O’Brien; Ciarán McCarthy, Killian Eady, Seamus O’Mahony; Eamonn Hodnett, Jack O’Regan, Colm O’Mahony; Caolan Hayes, Ciarán Calnan; Ciarán Fitzpatrick, Chris O’Donovan, Patrick Hurley; Ben Linehan, Michael Mennis, Evan Brown.

Subs: Michael Maguire for Ciarán Calnan (40), Michael O’Donovan for Caolan Hayes (43), Cillian Keane for Michael Mennis (49), Sean O’Neill for Evan Brown (52), Eoghan Hayes for Ciarán Fitzpatrick (54).

Referee: Ian McCarthy (Bandon).