Cill na Martra 1-20
Fermoy 1-10
NOEL HORGAN REPORTS
A STORMING last quarter paved the way for Cill na Martra’s triumph over Fermoy in a lively county senior A football championship tie at Ovens on Friday evening.
Leading by the minimum, 1-11 to 1-10, midway through the second half, they registered an unanswered nine-point return on the run-in, completing their tally with a Damien Ó hUrdail two-pointer from a free in stoppage time.
Having shared the spoils with last year’s defeated finalists Knocknagree in their championship opener, the result puts the 2023 premier intermediate kingpins in a strong position to advance to the knock-out stages for the second consecutive season.
Selector Noel O’Leary was obviously pleased with the result, although he conceded the Gaeltacht men were flattered by their margin of victory.
‘We’re just glad to come out of here with a win, because Fermoy seriously tested us. There were definitely parts of the game when we were under the cosh.’ said the former Cork senior star.
‘The most satisfying aspect of the performance was that our lads responded reasonably well when the pressure came on, and any day you get a win is important.’
Stressing that Cill na Martra have a lot to work on going forward, O’Leary pointed out they could have been hard-pressed to prevail had not Fermoy squandered a golden opportunity in the 54th minute. That chance fell to Fermoy midfielder Shane Ahern, who blasted wide from almost point-blank range. To compound the losers’ frustration, substitute Dermot Kelly was short with an effort for a point one minute later.
Ahead by 1-14 to 1-10 at the time, Cill na Martra stretched the gap through Daniel Ó Duinnin in the 57th minute before finishing the match with a real flourish.
Forced to play second-fiddle for much of the first half, the Muskerry side were stung by a Fermoy goal from full-forward Gary O’Callaghan in the 26th minute. It took a superb save by goalkeeper Mícheál O’Deasuna to prevent Padraig De Roiste from bagging a second goal for Fermoy shortly afterwards before O’Callaghan tacked on a point to make it 1-8 to 1-4.
The Cill na Martra goal was scored by Eoin Ó Conaill in the eighth minute, bringing them level at 1-0 to 0-3 before wing-back Criostoir Ó Meachair nudged them in front with a point 11 minutes later.
They could have gone in at half-time level had not Mícheál Ó Deasuna shot narrowly over the bar from a penalty in stoppage time.
As it was, they trailed by 1-8 to 1-6, but they regained the lead within four minutes of the resumption after a two-pointer from Jason MacCarthaigh was followed by a Daniel Ó Duinnin score.
The issue remained delicately balanced until a flurry of Cill na Martra points shared by Daniel Ó Duinnin, wing-back Danny Ó Conaill and Damien Ó hUrdail put the winners 1-14 to 1-10 up and in the driving seat entering the home stretch.
Cill na Martra need just a draw against Clyda Rovers in their last group game to reach the quarter-finals.
OUR STAR: The classy Daniel Ó Duinnin scored four points and was always a threat when in possession for Cill na Martra.
Scorers
Cill na Martra: J MacCarthaigh 0-6 (2p, 3f); D Ó hUrdail 0-6 (2p, 2pf); E Ó Conaill 1-0; D Ó Duinnin 0-4; D Ó Conaill; C Ó Meachair, M Ó Deasuna (pen), C Ó Duinnin 0-1 each.
Fermoy: G O’Callaghan 1-2; D Lardner 0-4 (2p, 2f); S Aherne 0-2 (2p); G Lardner, D Daly 0-1 each.
Cill na Martra: M Ó Deasuna; D MacLochlainn, F Ó Faolain, T Ó Corcora; D Ó Conaill, S Ó Fiorreadh, C Ó Meachair; A Ó Cuana, G Ó Goillidhe; C Ó Duinnin, D Ó Duinnin, J MacCarthaigh, E Ó Conaill, D Ó hUrdail, S Ó Duinnin.
Subs: A Ó Duinnin for E O’Conaill (44), C Ó Foirreadh for O’Meachair (50), A Ó Loingsihg for S Ó Duinnin (60).
Fermoy: S Coughlan; L Aherne, P Murphy, J Molloy; G Lardner, T Clancy, M Brennan; S Ahene, J Hutchings; J O’Brien, D O’Carroll, P De Roiste; D Daly, G O’Callaghan, D Lardner.
Subs: D Kelly for O’Carroll (44), D O’Callaghan for Brennan (44), K Morrison for G O’Callaghan (56), R O’Hagan for D Lardner (56), A Aherne for Daly (58).
Referee: B Crowley (Castlehaven).
