Bandon 3-20

Midleton 1-17

NOEL HORGAN REPORTS

ALTHOUGH they were just a point behind, the signs were ominous for Bandon with 37 minutes gone in the county intermediate A hurling championship semi-final at Church Road on Saturday.

Forced to relinquish a seven-point lead they had enjoyed at different stages in the first half, they were struggling to cope with a Midleton outfit that had serious momentum at that juncture.

Following the boost of a timely goal from effective substitute Kevin Hannon, however, Bandon became a transformed side, not least in attack where Darrren Crowley, in particular, and Pat Barry also made a significant impact after being sprung from the bench.

It enabled the Carbery men, runners-up to Aghabullogue in 2025, to outscore Midleton by 1-10 to 1-3 during the last 20 minutes.

Elated manager Joe Burke agreed the subs made a huge difference, admitting he wasn’t without concern when the tide was flowing against Bandon after half time.

‘We got a huge return from the fellas we brought in, but that shows the strength of the panel, which is a great thing to have,’ he said.

‘I was a bit worried when Midleton went ahead of us, but I knew our lads wouldn’t panic. Kevin’s goal came when we needed it most and was the game’s turning point,’ he acknowledged.

Bandon's Jack Cullinane considers his options as Midleton's Luke Dineen comes to challenge. (Photo: George Hatchell)

It wasn’t all down to the replacements that Bandon produced the goods big-time when the crunch came, as practically every player put a shoulder to the wheel on the run-in.

They came up with most of the answers in defence where Cathal Lynch, Peter Calnan and Peter Murphy were especially resolute, Conor Calnan worked tirelessly at midfield, and Jack Cullinane shone in attack.

Cullinane was very much to the fore as well during what amounted to a whirlwind start by Bandon that saw them go 1-4 up before Aaron Mulcahy got Midleton off the mark from a free in the 11th minute.

Following good work by Michael Cahalane and Mark Sugrue, Cullinane completed an incisive run from the right wing with a well-taken goal inside a minute.

Flawless free-taker Cahalane and full-forward Sean Carey, who chipped in with a brace, both got on the scoresheet before Cullinane gave Bandon a seven-point advantage, which they still held after Cahalane converted a 65 to make it 1-7 to 0-3 in the 17th minute.

To say that Midleton got their act together in the second quarter would be putting it mildly.

Wing-backs Killian Burke and Evan McCarthy were particularly prominent as their defence tightened up to such an extent that Bandon were limited to just two more points, both of which came courtesy of Michael Cahalane from placed balls, before half time.

Paul Haughney regularly caught the eye at midfield, while such as Aaron Mulcahy, Cian Farmer and Peter Barrett moved with ever-increasing menace in a cohesive attack.

On level terms, 1-9 to 0-12, at the interval, the East-Cork Magpies continued to shape up well on the turnover.

It took a splendid save by Bandon goalkeeper Olan Hennessy to deny Cian Farmer an early goal, but Midleton twice nudged ahead by the minimum before being rocked back on their heels by Kevin Hannon’s inspirational strike.

An Aaron Mulcahy pointed free in reply from Midleton was quickly negated by a fine effort by Jack Cullinane, which triggered off a Bandon purple patch that propelled the winners into a 3-14 to 0-15 lead approaching the last ten minutes.

Jack Cullinane, Darren Crowley – after Eolann McSweeney had charged down an attempted clearance to create the opening – and Conor Calnan were all on target for Bandon before their third goal arrived in the 46th minute.

It was scored by Mark Sugrue, who was on hand to knock the rebound home after a cracking shot from the excellent Kevin Hannon had been denied by the crossbar.

Aided by a goal from substitute Luke O’Farrell, Midleton, trailing by 3-14 to 1-16, were still in with a shout until Bandon moved up the gears in earnest in the closing stages.

That it didn’t look on the cards early in the second half made Bandon’s convincing victory taste all the sweeter, and it’s fair to say they looked extremely formidable when in full flight.

‘We’re delighted to be back in the final,’ commented Joe Burke, who accepts it isn’t going to be easy to get the job done against an Aghada side they beat by 2-24 to 1-24 in their group-phase encounter in late July.

‘There was only a bounce of a ball between us the last day, but we have four weeks to come up with a plan for the challenge ahead, so we’ll be ready to give it our best shot,’ he remarked.

OUR STAR: Jack Cullinane sparkled up front in the opening quarter, and again when Bandon made the decisive push in the second half.

Scorers

Bandon: M Cahalane 0-9 (8f, 1 65); J Cullinane 1-5; K Hannon, M Sugrue 1-0 each; S Carey 0-2; C Long, D Crowley. C Calnan, P Barry 0-1 each.

Midleton: A Mulcahy 0-9 (5f); L O'Farrell 1-0; K Burke 0-2; E McCarthy, C Stack, P Barrett, D Scanlon, P Haughney, D Egan 0-1 each.

Bandon: O Hennessy; P Calnan, T Twohig, D O’Donovan, C Lynch, P Murphy, C Twomey; M Cahalane, C Calnan; J Cullinane, M Sugrue, D O’Mahony; E McSweeney, S Carey, C Long.

Subs: K Hannon for O’Mahony (35), D Crowley for Carey (42), C McCarthy for Murphy (blood sub, 52-55), P Barry for Sugrue (56), McCarthy for Cahalane (62).

Midleton: B Rossiter; C Gunning, L Dineen, S Smyth; K Burke, C Cronin, E McCarthy; D Egan, P Haughney; A Mulcahy, D Scanlon, C Beausang, C Stack, K Farmer, P Barrett.

Subs: A Faye for Smyth (38), L O'Farrell for Scanlon (44), C Crowley for Egan (46), E Fraser for Faye (54).

Referee: B Barry-Murphy (Aghabullogue).