O'DONOVAN ROSSA 1-18

FERMOY 0-17

JJ HURLEY REPORTS

O’DONOVAN Rossa retained their Senior A football status as they overcame Fermoy with a disciplined performance in Pairc Uí Rinn on Saturday.

At times the West Cork side rode their luck in the McCarthy Group Insurance relegation battle, but in truth, over the hour the Skibb men were deserving of their victory.

Acknowledging they had received the rub of the green, team manager Gene Hourihane believed his side had deserved to preserve their position in the A grade.

'Yes, I think we did – but I think we deserved it. We have been in a battle all our championship games,' he said.

'Our lads have worked so hard. They haven’t downed tools for a second, in any game, in any match. I hope that showed in our football today.'

Indeed, that fortune showed early on as Riain Price placed his kick-out into the arms of Fermoy’s Den Twomey, but he made amends by producing a fine save.

Relegation deciders are often nervy affairs, but Kevin Davies calmed early Skibb nerves with two points.

By the eighth minute, the West Cork outfit were leading by 0-3 to 0-1 as Niall Daly sent over, but then received a serious late scare as Darragh Daly hit the post, with Price beaten.

Another Davies score, sandwiched between two Fermoy points, gave his side a single-score advantage on 14 minutes.

The lead was further extended on 17 minutes as Frank Hurley surged forward from defence to set up Luca Harte for a crucial goal, bringing the score to 1-4 to 0-3.

O’Donovan Rossa captain Darren Daly gets in his kick as Fermoy’s Jack Hutchings comes to challenge.

Niall Daly extended the lead with a white flag, but Fermoy pegged their opponents back with three points, including a two-pointer from Ben Twomey.

The scores seemed to jolt Skibb into action as they hit four unanswered points coming up to the break, with Davies (two), Daly and Crowley all getting on the score sheet, with the interval tally at 1-9 to 0-6.

The opening minutes of the second period had a Davies point being joined on the scoreboard with a superb two-point effort from Dylan Hourihane (Snr), but two scores from David Lardner and Pádraig De Róiste gave the Avondhu team a chink of light.

A point from Thomas Hegarty on 43 minutes was welcome, but Skibb lived dangerously as Twomey struck the woodwork up the other end.

With the chance wasted, Kevin Hurley kicked another all-important two-pointer, extending their advantage to 1-15 to 0-9 on 50 minutes.

If the Skibb faithful thought they were heading towards calmer waters, a Shane Ahern two-pointer followed by Darragh Daly effort that struck the woodwork caused anxiety among Rossa’s vocal supporters.

With Rossa heading down the home straight with a seven-point advantage, three scores on the bounce from Fermoy, including another Twomey two-pointer, left just a green flag between the teams.

Needing a strong hand to steady the ship, the all-important two-score advantage came from the boot of second-half substitute Isac Harte.

As time ticked away, the Skibb nerves were further soothed by Oisin Lucy, whose late introduction saw him fire over two points.

Despite Ben Twomey capping off a fine performance with the last kick of the game, it was Skibb that departed the ground the happier side.

Our Star: Kevin Davis deserved the accolade as he worked hard and took his chances well to settle Skibb nerves.

Scorers

O’Donovan Rossa: K Davis 0-6 (2f), L Harte 1-0, N Daly, O Leahy, K Hurley (1 2pt), D Hourihane Snr (1 2pt) 0-2 each, D Daly, B Crowley, T Hegarty, I Harte 0-1 each.

Fermoy: D Daly 0-5 (1 2pt), B Twomey 0-4 (2 2ptf), D Lardner 0-3, S Aherne 0-2 (1 2pt), J O’Brien, G Lardner, P De Róiste 0-1 each.

O’Donovan Rossa: R Price; D Hourihane Jnr, F Hurley, L Connolly; D Daly, K Hurley, C Coombes; L Harte, D Hourihane Snr; B Crowley, K Davis, N Daly; T Hegarty, D Shannon, E Connolly.

Subs: I Harte for L Connolly (40), O Lucey for D Shannon (55).

Fermoy: S Coughlan; L Aherne, J O’Brien, J Molloy; T Clancy, G Lardner, P Murphy; J Hutchings, S Aherne; P De Róiste, D O’Carroll, B Twomey; D Lardner, G O’Callaghan, D Daly.

Subs: M Brennan for J Hutchings (ht), K Morrison for G O’Callaghan (37), D Kelly for D O’Carroll (37), B O’Sullivan for D Lardner (49).

Referee: A O’Connor (Ballygarvan).