Cork Hurling League round up: Champions Sarsfields secure place in Division 1 final
Reigning champions Sarsfields secured their place in the final with Douglas, St Finbarr's, Glen Rovers and Charleville all in contention to join them.
At the other end of affairs, Kanturk and Carrigaline have been relegated.
Sars booked their place in the decider with a 0-24 to 0-21 win over Blackrock in Church Road on Thursday. They were boosted by the availability of their Cork men, Jack O'Connor, Cathal McCarthy and Daniel Hogan who shot 0-7, 0-4 and 0-2 respectively.
Colm McCarthy also hit 0-7 for Sars and Bryan Murphy clipped 0-2. Robbie Cotter played for the Rockies and helped himself to 0-7, Gavin Connolly and Michael O'Halloran both scored 0-3 while Tadhg Deasy hit 0-2.
Douglas are a point behind Sars after they beat Fr O'Neill's by 1-21 to 1-17 on Sunday morning. Alan Cadogan showed his class for Douglas by hitting 0-9, Conor O'Donovan fired 0-6 from full-forward and Niall Hartnett bagged the goal.
Kevin O'Sullivan scored 0-11 for O'Neill's, Mikey Wall raised the green flag and Rob Cullinane clipped 0-2.
St Finbarr's remained in contention to make the final after they bested Carrigaline by 1-26 to 0-16. Ethan Twomey and William Buckley were in form for the Barrs, with Buckley hitting 1-12 with 1-7 coming from play.
Cathal Crowley and Scott Callanan both fired 0-3 for the Barrs and Colm Keane landed 0-2. Brian Kelleher shot 0-9 for Carrig but other results confimed their return to the second tier.
Charleville kept their hopes of reaching back-to-back finals alive by beating Kanturk by 1-22 to 1-18 on Sunday morning. David Forde and Zack Biggane led the way for Charleville, with both men clipping 0-6, Rob Carroll fired 1-2 and Andrew Cagney delivered 0-3.
Ronan Sheahan had 0-9 for Kanturk, Ian Walsh struck for 1-2 and Brian O'Sullivan contributed 0-4 but it wasn't enough to save them from the trapdoor.
Glen Rovers also gave themselves a chance of making the final when they played out a 3-15 to 1-21 draw with Carrigtwohill on Sunday night. In a game that was level on six occasions, Dean Brosnan hit 1-3 for the Glen, Luke O'Connor bagged 1-2 and Stephen Lynam hit 1-1 from the bench.
Sean Walsh hit 1-10 for Carrig, Mark O'Connor pilfered 0-3 while Jay Horgan was outstanding in defence.
The race for promotion from Division 2 will go down to the final day with Erin's Own and Midleton locked on fourteen points and Killeagh two behind. The Magpies will play Killeagh in the final round in a fortnight.
Midleton kept their fate in their own hands when they beat Ballymartle by 1-21 to 0-13 last Tuesday. Brion Saunderson manned the posts for the Magpies, Cormac Beausang fired 0-7 and Pa White clipped 1-2. Ryan Deasy scored 0-5 for Ballymartle and Luke O'Callaghan scored 0-4.
Erin's Own joined them on top of the pile when they beat Ballincollig by 2-18 to 0-18 on Thursday.
Conor Lenihan hit 1-6 for the Caherlag based side, Cian O'Callaghan bagged the other goal and Finn O'Brien fired 0-4. Brian Keating led the way for Ballincollig with 0-6, while Mark Oldham and Cian O'Driscoll both hit 0-4.
Killeagh kept in touch with the top two with a 2-15 to 1-15 win over Valley Rovers on Sunday morning. Ryan McCarthy hit 1-8 for Killeagh, Richie Long clipped 1-1 and Evan Lane fired 0-2 while Matthew Woods raised the green flag for the Rovers.
Éire Óg keep their survival hopes alive with a 1-25 to 1-13 win over Fermoy. Eoin Kelleher fired 0-14 for the Ovens men, Mark Kelleher bagged the goal while Johnny Galvin, Lar Considine and Jerome Kelleher all contributed. The result condemned Fermoy to relegation.
Finally, Newtownshandrum ensured that they will finish in fourth spot after they beat Na Piarsaigh by 2-18 to 0-21 on Saturday. Eoin O'Mahony and Conor Twomey had the goals for Newtown, Jamie Coughlan hit 0-6 and Bill Collins clipped 0-4.
For Na Piarsaigh Keith Buckley hurled well in defence while Daire Connery and Cian Hogan did well in attack.
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