The sun shone in Killeagh on Friday night last as Carraig took on the home side in the third round of the East Cork JHL Div 4. Short a number of regulars, Carraig fielded a team consisting of 11 U21s, no less than 6 of whom are U17. Added to that mix was the experience of Conor Hegarty in goal, Mark Crowley and William Spillane in defence and Barrie Casey at midfield.
It was Carraig who started the better of the two sides, with John Forde opening the scoring ealy on. Conor Hayes was causing the Killeagh defence huge problems and chipped in with a few great points over the hour. Our first goal came early when Oisin Crowley swept home a breaking ball in the square from a John Forde free. Oisin was involved in the second goal also, setting up Conor O’Brien in the right corner forward position and he made no mistake with a well placed shot. Our defence was solid throughout, with Michael Ahern and James Forde clearing their lines well at every opportunity. At the break we lead 2-08 to 1-04, an injury to centre back and captain William Spillane being the only cause for concern.
For the second half, Joe Murphy dropped from midfield to centre back where he did very well, while James Meehan joined Barrie Casey in midfield, forming a dominant pairing. John Forde continued to keep the scoreboard ticking over from frees as Killeagh tried hard to reduce the margin. A third goal came for Carraig after some great work from Conor Hayes on the right wing, with Conor O’Brien on the end of his pass to finish to the net for his second goal of the night. Killeagh replied with a second goal of their own shortly afterwards, but with the Carraig forwards runnign themselves into the ground, lead by Brendan Murphy at centre forward, we responded well again. In the closing minutes, a great move involving 4 passes saw Barrie Casey burst through the middle and rifle the ball to the roof of the net from 20 yards to seal the game.
Try as they might, Killeagh couldn’t close the gap and at full time, Carraig took the points on a scoreline of 4-13 to 2-10 after an entertaining game. The team will be keenly aware however, that an even better performance will be required for Championship against Dungourney on Sun 29th June in Rathcormac at noon.
Team:
C. Hegarty
M.Crowley, C.Cooney, J.Forde;
M.Ahern, W.Spillane, J.O’Donnell;
B.Casey, J.Murphy;
C.Hayes, B.Murphy, J.Forde;
C.O’Brien, O.Crowley, D. Cronin
Subs: F.Deane for C.Hegarty, J.Meehan for W.Spillane