Barry: Bandon has time to reset before huge Youghal showdown

INNISCARRA 3-18

BANDON 0-12

GER McCARTHY REPORTS

BANDON need a victory in their final Group B game to progress to the Co-op SuperStores Cork PIHC knockout stages following a humbling defeat to Inniscarra in Cloughduv.

Down 2-8 to 0-8 at the end of an evenly-fought first half, Bandon played second fiddle to a hungrier, sharper Inniscara throughout a one-sided second period.

Unable to match the intensity of their opening-half performance, Bandon were powerless to prevent a constant stream of Inniscarra attacks that yielded an additional 1-10 for the rampant Muskerry team.

‘I just feel we never got out of the starting blocks,’ Bandon manager Pat Barry said.

‘You have those days in championships. It is what it is. Coming from the high of beating Valley Rovers to the low of losing here in Cloughduv, it is certainly a disappointing feeling.

‘You have to credit Inniscarra because they came out on absolute fire. They tore into it right from the start and deserved their victory.’ Three goals, two from Sean O’Donoghue and another from Colm Casey, proved crucial to Inniscarra’s victory.

Bandon's Harry Lillis is challenged by Inniscarra's Shane O'Mahony during the Co-op Superstores Cork PIHC round two at Cloughduv.

Colm Casey (two), Dan O’Connell and David O’Keeffe were on target for the Muskerry club with Charlie Long (free and a 65) and Michael Cahalane replying for Bandon to make it 0-4 to 0-3 after a lightning start.

The concession of a penalty handed Inniscarra the initiative and although Bandon goalkeeper Oisin Hennessy saved Owen McCarthy’s effort, he was powerless to stop Colm Casey from hammering in the rebound.

Sean O’Donoghue cut in from the end-line to net a sublime goal short before the break and make it 2-8 to 0-8 in the Muskerry side’s favour.

Inniscarra dominated the third quarter, restricting their opponents to Charlie Long frees in an attempt to keep pace. Three Owen McCarthy and two David O’Keeffe points extended the eventual winner’s advantage as Inniscarra comfortably saw out the closing stages. Inniscarra lost Ciarán Lombard to a late red card but it mattered little as a convincing victory was already secured. A second consecutive group win means Inniscarra look set to have a big say in the destination of this year’s premier intermediate championship.

Bandon’s championship odyssey is far from over despite this disappointing loss, but they require a substantial improvement against Youghal in their next outing.

Bandon's Eolann McSweeney in control against Inniscarra's Owen McCarthy during the Co-op Superstores Cork PIHC round two at Cloughduv.

Manager Pat Barry believes a break from his dual players hurling commitments will be of benefit to them.

‘There were unforced errors in the build-up to Inniscarra’s goals,’ he explained.

‘They happen to everyone so I wouldn’t be hyper-critical of any of our players. No fella goes out to lose a game. We will move on from it. One positive from being a dual club in this new championship format – don’t get me wrong, it is very tough to run two teams – is that the lads take their minds off hurling and will have time to reset before we play Youghal.’

In a nutshell, Bandon must better Valley Rovers’ result in the final round of Group B matches to have any chance of making it through to the knockout phase.

Scorers 

Inniscarra: S O’Donoghue 2-1; C Casey 1-3; O McCarthy 0-6 (1f), D O’Keefe 0-5; J Enright, D O’Connell, S O’Mahony 0-1 each.

Bandon: C Long 0-9 (8 f, 1 65); M Cahalane 0-2; D Crowley 0-1.

Inniscarra: J O’Keeffe; C Lombard, B O’Mahony, J O’Sullivan; J Harrington, L Ryan, S Sheehan; J Enright, S O’Mahony; C Casey, S O’Donoghue, K Rice; D O’Keeffe, D O’Connell, O McCarthy (captain).

Subs: F O’Leary for K Rice (ht), K Rice for J O’Sullivan (59, inj).

Bandon: O Hennessy; M McNamara, P Murphy, N McCarthy; C McCarthy, D O’Donovan, C Calnan; M Cahalane, H Lillis; D Crowley (captain), B Donegan, R Long; C Long, C Lynch, E McSweeney.

Subs: C Twomey for C McCarthy (23), R Desmond for E McSweeney (ht), E McSweeney for M McNamara (36, inj), R Fogarty for R Long (49),

Referee: L O’Riordan (Belgooly).