East Cork Junior A Football Championship
Quarter Final – Sat 28th May, Glenville
Carraig na bhFear 0-08 Lisgoold 0-06
Carraig advanced to the East Cork semi final after a hard fought win over Lisgoold in Glenville in the quarter final on Saturday night. Having overcome Midleton and Fr. O’Neills impressively after a round 1 defeat to Cloyne, Carraig knew it would all count for little if they couldn’t see off the formidable challenge of Lisgoold. Conditions in Glenville on Saturday night were perfect for football, the pitch in excellent condition and the summer sun was shining. However, a month had passed since our last match against Fr. O’Neills and that was evident in the number of missed chances accumulated over the hour.
Carraig started brightly and an early Aaron Dorgan point had us on the board after 2 minutes. John Cashman, the Lisgoold dangerman, was on target from a free soon after to level the sides up. With Paul O’Keeffe and Shane Horgan winning possession around midfield we dominated the early exchanges but struggled to make it show on the scoreboard, a number of early wides flowed until our second point on 10 minutes. The defence was confident and assured but it took us until the 17th minute to trouble the scoreboard operator again with our third point. An instant reply from the men in blue made it 0-03 to 0-02 after 18 minutes.
Carraig were forced into an early change when centre forward Brendan Murphy picked up a knock, Con Burns being introduced in his place. Both sides were defending well and it was Lisgoold who were next on the board with a pointed free to level it on 25 minutes. We retook the lead shortly before half time as referee Mark Murphy brought a low scoring first half to a close with Carraig 0-04 to 0-03 ahead and plenty work to do.
On the restart Carraig sprung out of the traps but again, a series of early missed chances had the Carraig supporters wondering if they might prove costly in the end. Lisgoold levelled from a Cashman free and Carraig continued to press without punishing the Lisgoold rear guard. A great move involving Paul O’Keeffe, Timmy Geaney and John Forde found Aidan Hegarty bursting through on the right side but his powerful shot drifted just the wrong side of the upright. On 45 minutes Carraig were dealt a blow when Aidan was sent off for an off the ball incident. However, rather than fold, the remaining 14 dug deep and upped their performances another notch.
Substitutes Paul Murphy, Sean O’Sullivan and William Spillane were introduced and with Paul O’Keeffe in inspirational form around the middle of the park, Carraig took the lead on 47 minutes through Con Burns. Moments later Carraig added another point after some great running and teamwork from Aaron Dorgan, Timmy Geaney and Shane Horgan set up Dee O’Driscoll to fist over. Lisgoold refused to yield and a point from play closed the margin to a point entering the final stages. The hard working Oisin Crowley, now operating in a two man full forward line with Paul Murphy, twice dispossessed defenders expertly and the second of these lead to Paul kicking over a fantastic point under pressure to extend the lead to two points again. On 55 minutes, we scored again and lead 0-08 to 0-05.
Lisgoold pressed hard but Ricky Galvin in goal was never called into action, with the full back line not giving an inch to their opponents. Deep into injury time Lisgoold won a free 25 yards out, but a crowded Carraig goal line ensured the last kick of the game headed over, rather than under the crossbar, to seal a deserved win and a place in the semi final. Well done to all, it wasn’t a classic but the team showed great heart and character to get the win with 14 men.
Team:
Ricky Galvin,
Tomás Sheehan, Stephen Casey, Daniel Coleman
Diarmuid O’Driscoll, Timmy Geaney, Paul Geaney
Shane Horgan, Aaron Dorgan
Paul O’Keeffe, Brendan Murphy, Oisin Crowley
Colm O’Reilly, Aidan Hegarty, John Forde
Subs:
Con Burns for Brendan Murphy
Paul Murphy for Colm O’Reilly
Sean O’Sullivan for Con Burns
William Spillane for John Forde