Kilmacabea 2-18

Na Piarsaigh 1-6

MATTHEW HURLEY REPORTS

KILMACABEA made a comfortable start to life in the county championship, putting 13-man Na Piarsaigh to the sword in Ballinascarthy.

The Carbery men led 0-11 to 1-5 after 38 minutes in their McCarthy Insurance Group Premier JFC opener, but turned on the style to outscore the city side 2-7 to 0-1 from then to the end.

Eoin Cronin’s dismissal for Na Piarsaigh on 22 minutes was a huge moment and gave Kilmacabea oxygen.

Kilmacabea had 37 shots compared to Na Piarsaigh’s ten, highlighting the gulf between the sides.

‘It’s great to be up in premier junior. To come out the first day and get a win, it’s good for the club, and good for the team as well,’ Kilmacabea manager Donie O’Donovan told The Southern Star.

‘We were dominant from the start but found it hard to break them down. The red card was a big plus for us.’

It was encouraging, too, to see more players than Damien Gore and Ian Jennings step up for the Leap/Glandore team. Eamonn Shanahan hit 1-3. Ray Shanahan was solid at centre-forward. Newcomer John Keating linked up their attacks brilliantly.

‘Ray was coming in and out of the team last year, but he’s put in a lot more work this year and showed that in this game. John is a young man coming through and looked really sharp. You need new blood coming into a team all the time,’ O’Donovan said.

‘Getting up this far, you need a little extra all the time. Cillian Whelton and Liam McCarthy came off the bench. Joe Collins is another guy that missed a lot of the league through injury – he came back and showed what he’s about.’

Ian Jennings opened the county junior A champions’ account after a minute before Paul Murphy gave Na Piarsaigh the lead with a two-point free.

Three Kilmacabea scores in a row from Diarmuid O’Callaghan, goalkeeper Colin McCarthy and Eamonn Shanahan pushed them 0-4 to 0-2 in front, but it could have been more.

Following a flowing move, Donnacha McCarthy rattled the crossbar but the Kilmacs players were certain the ball bounced over the line. Na Piarsaigh pulled a score back from Seán Paul Cooke in the next play.

The city side stunned the Carbery victors on 15 minutes when Murphy kicked his short-range free straight into the net and Na Piarsaigh led 1-3 to 0-5.

John Keating equalised four minutes later before a major turning point saw the Seandun club’s Eoin Cronin red-carded.

Damien Gore pointed three times to give Kilmacs a 0-9 to 1-3 half-time lead.

Donnacha McCarthy, Eamonn Shanahan and Gore chipped over scores in the third quarter to keep O’Donovan’s team ticking before their final-quarter surge.

After breaking a Na Piarsaigh kick-out, the ball found Ray Shanahan, who struck it to the top of the net and increased Kilmacabea’s lead to ten, 1-16 to 1-6.

The city club’s Gordon Joyce received a black card, as Eamonn Shanahan took his tally to 1-3. He placed his goalward shot into the bottom corner and put a seal on a comfortable win.

With a clash against a Canovee side that beat St Nick’s by 20 points up next, O’Donovan knows the levels are going to rise.

‘It’s a good day when you win. Everyone’s clapping you on the back but we know there are bigger tests down the road,’ the Kilmacs boss added.

‘Canovee have gone up to Division 4 in the league and put up a huge score against St Nick’s. They’re probably two of the best teams in the county championship, but they’re the cards you’re dealt.’

OUR STAR: Damien Gore showed why he deserves to play at this level but Eamonn Shanahan created big chances as well as scoring 1-3.

Scorers

Kilmacabea: Damien Gore 0-9 (4f); Eamonn Shanahan 1-3; Ray Shanahan 1-0; Colin McCarthy 0-2 (2 45s); Ian Jennings, Donnacha McCarthy, Diarmuid O’Callaghan, John Keating 0-1 each.

Na Piarsaigh: Paul Murphy 1-4 (1-0f, 2 2ptf); Seán Paul Cooke, Cian Hogan 0-1 each.

Kilmacabea: Colin McCarthy; Darren Whooley, Liam Tobin, Dara Tobin; Sam O’Driscoll, Martin Collins, Diarmuid O’Callaghan; Keith Whelton, Ian Jennings; John Keating, Ray Shanahan, Donnacha McCarthy; Eamonn Shanahan, Joe Collins, Damien Gore.

Subs: Liam McCarthy for J Collins (39); Cillian Whelton for J Keating (49).

Na Piarsaigh: Jamie Boland; Aaron Higgins, Eoin Sheehan, Bobby Kelleher; Eoin Cronin, Gordon Joyce, Seán Paul Cooke; Eric Dorgan, Conor Clancy; Kevin O’Mara, Cian Hogan, Gearóid Dwyer-Harrington; Padraig Lynch, Paul Murphy, Dylan Philpott.

Sub: Peter Lehane for A Higgins (50).

Referee: Anthony O’Regan (Youghal).