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Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Cork Premier SHC: Ruthless Imokilly rack up 2-32 against Avondhu
Cork Premier SHC Divisions/Colleges semi-final: Imokilly 2-32 Avondhu 1-17 By the time the first Avondhu attempt had sailed between the posts, Imokilly were already five points to the good at Church Road. By the time the second did, they were seven clear. This was as straightforward as the scoreline suggests. Fifteen shots in the first half returned 13 white flags. Avondhu, with the aid of the breeze, had eight wides and two scores from play to show for their efforts in their Cork PSHC Divisions/Colleges section semi-final on Saturday. In typical candystripe fashion, Denis Ring's men were out of sight before Avondhu had even landed a punch. Another four unanswered scores on the restart left Imokilly 12 up with 25 minutes to play, and still 2-14 to be tacked on. Avondhu did improve, though they couldn't fare much worse. Solely for the unrelenting efforts of Stephen Condon and James Keating. Those two and Brian Lombard got on the scoresheet to leave it 1-23 to 0-10 at the end of the third quarter, while Condon and Keating added two more to leave 14 points between the teams with 15 to play. But Imokilly chipped away. They kept chipping away. Point after point after point. Mike Kelly, Imokilly in action against Sean Killeen, Avondhu. Pic: Jim Coughlan. Mike Kelly – who was on fire in the second half – responded to Condon and Keating's efforts with one of his six scores from play. Avondhu had a couple of half chances at goal. Both from Condon. The first ended prematurely, Condon denied advantage just as he had broken through on goal, with referee Simon Stokes calling it back for the free. He slipped through again 10 minutes later, this time denied smartly by Ciarán O'Brien, who blocked his effort. Avondhu did eventually get that breakthrough, after 61 minutes. A clever one-two between Condon and Keating saw the latter rifle a beauty into the top corner. But that consolation was mercilessly wiped out, as Joe Stack set up substitute Oisín Fitzgerald for a second Imokilly major in the 64th minute. Kelly and Jack Leahy had been scoring for fun up until additional time – leaving Imokilly 1-31 to 0-16 clear before Keating hit the net. It was a woeful opening period for the north Cork side. They couldn't hold onto any of their restarts, and when they did, any attempts at picking out a forward up front were fruitless. Their distribution was subpar, and they scrapped the use of Liam Cronin as a sweeper after 19 minutes. A substitution followed four minutes after. By that stage Imokilly were 0-12 to 0-4 in front. They were eight ahead still at the break. When the first green flag came for the east Cork outfit, it was after 42 minutes, and was a gift from Avondhu. Cronin had done well to win possession and he handpassed it short to goalkeeper Daniel O'Connell, but his stick pass was straight to Diarmuid Healy, who unleashed a low strike into the gaping net. At that stage it was 1-21 to 0-9. All too easy for the reigning county champions. Scorers for Imokilly: J Leahy 0-9 (0-4 f), M Kelly 0-7 (0-1 65), D Healy 1-1, O Fitzgerald 1-0, B Lawton 0-3, S Hegarty, J Stack, W Leahy, C O'Callaghan, J Cronin 0-2 each, C Cahill, C Joyce 0-1 each. Scorers for Avondhu: S Condon 0-8 (0-3 f), C O'Brien 0-5 (0-3 f), J Keating 1-2, B Lombard, E Carey 0-1 each. IMOKILLY: E Davis (St Catherine's); J McCarthy (Dungourney), T Wilk (Cobh), C O'Brien (St Ita's); C Joyce (Castlemartyr), M Russell (Aghada), J Cronin (Lisgoold); S Hegarty (Dungourney), C O'Callaghan (Dungourney); W Leahy (Aghada), D Healy (Lisgoold), B Lawton (Castlemartyr) (c); M Kelly (Castlemartyr), J Stack (Castlemartyr), J Leahy (Dungourney). Subs: C Cahill (Cloyne) for W Leahy (46), M Hegarty (Lisgoold) for Lawton (49), A Sherlock (Cloyne) for McCarthy (56), O Fitzgerald (St Catherine's) for J Leahy (57), J Griffin (Dungourney) for Cronin (58). AVONDHU: D O'Connell (Dromina); S Killeen (Liscarroll/Churchtown Gaels), J Keating (Kildorrery), L Carey (Kilworth); E Buckley (Ballyhooly), B Curtin (Kilshannig), D O'Reilly (Ballyhooly); J O'Sullivan (Ballygiblin), E Carey (Kilworth); J Murphy (Dromina), C O'Brien (Liscarroll/Churchtown Gaels), L Óg Hegarty (Kilworth); J Magnier (Killavullen), S Condon (Harbour Rovers), L Cronin (Killavullen) (c). Subs: J Sheehan (Kilworth) for O'Reilly (23), O O'Callaghan (Liscarroll/Churchtown Gaels) for Hegarty, L Keating (Kildorrery) for Magnier (both HT), B Lombard (Ballyhooly) for Murphy (34). Referee: S Stokes (Tullylease)
Irish Examiner
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Imokilly has created a strong 'bond' among all its clubs
The divisions and colleges take centre stage on Leeside this weekend. The clubs, following their opening round exploits, are given short reprieve before going again. Reigning county champions Imokilly and Avondhu meet at Church Road on Saturday (7pm) in the first of the weekend's semi-finals, with the second semi between UCC and Muskerry pencilled in for Sunday, 7pm, in Riverstown. The last-four pairings are a repeat of the same stage of the divisions/colleges competition from 12 months ago. Muskerry and UCC was tight on that occasion, Imokilly and Avondhu was not. This evening's game represents the opening tie of Imokilly's county title defence. The promotion of Watergrasshill from Premier Intermediate to Senior A means Daire O'Leary, Sean Desmond, and Adam Murphy - all starters on Denis Ring's side last autumn - are not eligible for divisional involvement in 2025. Still eligible and still hungry for involvement, despite all they have achieved in East Cork colours, are the long and dutiful serving Brian Lawton, Bill Cooper, and John Cronin. 'I suppose a different version, maybe, of The Last Dance with Michael Jordan,' quips Cronin of these mid-to-late thirty-somethings going again for a fifth Imokilly county since 2017. With too many divisions failing to field teams during the round-robin phase of the divisions/colleges section, or having to pull their involvement last minute because of dictatorial club managers, Imokilly remains an out-on-its-own market leader for how a division correctly goes about its business to ensure maximum buy-in from available players and maximum co-operation from relevant managers. 'It would be very easy now for the likes of the bigger clubs to pull players left and right, but what I would say is, in Imokilly, they always look to have open lines of communication with all clubs, which makes an awful difference,' says Lisgoold clubman Cronin, who was at half-back on last year's all-conquering side. 'It would be easy to pull the plug on a Monday night and say, 'Oh, I can't make it to Imokilly training,' but fellas want to make it and that's the big difference. 'The fellas want to make it because, I suppose, look, the success was great, but even prior to the success, I remember as a 16 or 17-year-old, getting my first call off Ronan Dwane. My brother was playing at the time, and I said I was only mad to play. Imokilly has created that bond among all its clubs. 'It's great to see, in fairness, and hopefully long may it continue.'
Irish Examiner
24-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Avondhu flawless in Duhallow demolition as they top first phase of Premier SHC Divisional/Colleges section
Cork Premier SHC (Divisional/Colleges): Avondhu 2-31 Duhallow 0-10 Avondhu's supremacy was never in doubt as they topped the first phase of the divisions and colleges section of the Co-op SuperStores Premier SHC with victory over Duhallow at Ballyhooly. While the prize — a meeting with county champions Imokilly next month — is not an entirely enticing one, the North Cork division were excellent in how they achieved it, taking control early and staying on top throughout. With Avondhu having beaten Carbery last week while Duhallow lost to Muskerry, there was an unusual knockout element in that there is no third round of fixtures in this league stage and so victory for the north-west side would have sent them through on head-to-head record. Such an eventuality never really looked likely, however. There were six wides — four for Avondhu — in the opening three minutes and, after Colin O'Brien and Luke Keating had them off the mark, a good point from wing-back Nicholas Linehan was the Duhallow response. It was as close as the teams would be all night. After Stephen Condon got the first of his ten points, Avondhu knitted together a great move as Liam Óg Hegarty, captain Liam Cronin and Johnnie Murphy linked to give Condon a goal chance. While Ben Newman saved well, Avondhu kept play alive and Paddy Walsh's pass allowed Hegarty to drill a shot to the top corner. Paddy Walsh in action for Avondhu. Picture: Larry Cummins With Eoin Carey and Joseph O'Sullivan superb as a midfield tandem and James Keating dominant at centre-back, the scores began to flow freely for Avondhu after that. Carey's pass allowed Hegarty to get his and his team's second goal on 16 minutes while Luke Keating, O'Brien and Murphy all had points during an unanswered run of 1-11. Evan Murphy did end a 15-minutes scoreless spell for Duhallow coming up to half-time, but, even so, a 2-17 to 0-4 interval lead was not in any danger of significant erosion. Duhallow's Barry O'Connor did have the opening score of the second half but Condon, Carey and Paddy Walsh stretched the Avondhu advantage. Not needed to build up scoring difference, they didn't chase too many more goals, though Hegarty was denied a hat-trick as Ben Newman saved well from him. O'Brien and Condon remained to the fore for Avondhu while subs Jack Twomey and Jamie and Jamie Sheehan also got on the scoresheet as the lead extended to 29 points near the end before a pair of frees by Duhallow's Fionn O'Connor. A bigger test awaits for Duhallow, but they go in with some measure of momentum. Scorers for Avondhu: S Condon 0-10 (0-2 f), L Óg Hegarty 2-2, C O'Brien 0-6 (0-1 f), E Carey 0-5, J Murphy, L Keating 0-2 each, J O'Sullivan, P Walsh, J Twomey, J Sheehan 0-1 each. Scorers for Duhallow: F O'Connor 0-3 (0-2 f), N Linehan, S Howard, E Murphy, B Murphy, L Philpott (0-1 f), C Crowley, B O'Connor 0-1 each. AVONDHU: D O'Connell (Dromina); B Carey (Araglen), S O'Callaghan (Liscarroll-Churchtown Gaels), B Curtin (Kilshannig); D O'Reilly (Ballyhooly), J Keating (Kildorrery), L Cronin (Killavullen); E Carey (Kilworth), J O'Sullivan (Ballygiblin); C O'Brien (Liscarroll-Churchtown Gaels), P Walsh (Kilshannig), L Keating (Kildorrery); S Condon (Harbour Rovers), J Murphy (Dromina), J Magnier (Killavullen). Subs: J Mullins (Ballygiblin) for Curtin, J Sheehan (Kilworth) for L Keating (both half-time), O O'Callaghan (Liscarroll-Churchtown Gaels) for Hegarty, E Sykes (Ballyhooly) for O'Reilly (both 41), J Twomey (Kilshannig) for Walsh (49). DUHALLOW: B Newman (Newmarket); R Heffernan (Kilbrin), C O'Callaghan (Dromtariffe), A Coughlan (Banteer); N Linehan (Meelin), J Murphy (Dromtariffe), C King (Kilbrin); S Giward (Dromtariffe), F O'Connor (Kilbrin); E Murphy (Dromtariffe), R King (Kilbrin), R Lynn (Newmarket); B Murphy (Dromtariffe), L Philpott (Banteer), B O'Connor (Newmarket). Subs: C Crowley (Newmarket) for King (half-time), R O'Connell (Banteer) for Heffernan, C Curtin (Meelin) for Philpott (both 44). Referee: C Walsh (Nemo Rangers).
Irish Examiner
10-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Avondhu outclass Carbery in Cork Premier SHC Divisional/Colleges opener
Avondhu 3-28 Carbery 0-20 Avondhu had too much class for Carbery as they romped to victory in the Co-Op SuperStores Cork Premier SHC Divisional/Colleges clash at Ballinlough on Tuesday evening. This opening round encounter was dominated by the North Cork outfit from start to finish. They had a very balanced team with a nice spread of scorers and a resolute defence. They have the potential to do well in this section, but stiffer tests lie ahead. Avondhu will now meet Duhallow in Round 2 while Carbery take on Muskerry. The winners set out their stall early on, showing incredible accuracy as they pushed into a 0-7 to 0-4 lead after the first quarter. Stephen Condon, Colin O'Brien and Luke Keating all influential in raising white flags. The latter extended Avondhu's advantage, but in fairness to Carbery, they were having a lot of the ball, but wayward shooting was leaving them down. Avondhu put together five unanswered points to lead 0-13 to 0-4 with nine minutes to the break. Caolan O'Donovan, Peter Collins and Conor O'Sullivan efforts did leave Carbery just six points adrift, 0-13 to 0-7. Avondhu finished the half the better though, hitting three of the last five points, 0-16 to 0-9 at half-time. The game was as good as over just a minute into the new half when Johnnie Murphy raised a green flag for the North Cork team. The game tipped along as the winners led 1-20 to 0-15 after the third quarter with the excellent O'Brien scoring some gorgeous points for Avondhu. They tacked on two more points before Carbery's best player, Caolan O'Donovan, sent over two great scores, 1-22 to 0-17 with 10 minutes to go. Avondhu dominated the closing stages in a free-flowing contest with very little bite or tackling. The North Cork men were 1-26 to 0-19 clear after 57 minutes before Murphy and Condon bagged goals in quick succession. Avondhu landed two of the last three points to run out easy winners. Scorers for Avondhu: S Condon (1-6, 1f), C O'Brien (0-7, 2f), J Murphy (2-0), L Keating (0-5), J Magner, P Walsh (0-3 each), L Cronin (0-2), D O'Reilly, S O'Callaghan (0-1 each). Scorers for Carbery: C O'Donovan (0-11, 7f), P Collins, J Lucey, M Cahalane, C O'Sullivan (0-2 each), D Collins (0-1). AVONDHU: D O'Connell (Dromina); P Walsh (Kilshannig), B Carey (Araglen), S Killeen (Liscarroll/Churchtown Gaels); D O'Reilly (Ballyhooly), J Keating (Kildorrery), S O'Callaghan (Liscarroll/Churchtown Gaels); L Carey (Kilworth), L Cronin (Killavullen); J Murphy (Dromina), P Hannon (Harbour Rovers), L Keating (Kildorrery); J Magner (Killavullen), C O'Brien (Liscarroll/Churchtown Gaels), S Condon (Liscarroll/Churchtown Gaels). Subs: E Sykes (Ballyhooly) for L Carey (49), F Hickey (Araglen) for L Keating (52), C Twomey (Araglen) for J Magner (54), V Daly (Liscarroll/Churchtown Gaels) for D O'Reilly (55). CARBERY: M O'Driscoll (Diarmuid Ó Mathúnas); D Curtin (St Mary's), S O'Riordan (Barryroe), J O'Callaghan (Diarmuid Ó Mathúnas); M Lawton (Argideen Rangers), T Twohig (Bandon), R Lucey (Diarmuid Ó Mathúnas); C O'Sullivan (Diarmuid Ó Mathúnas), P Collins (Randal Óg); C O'Donovan (Diarmuid Ó Mathúnas), M Cahalane (Bandon), D Collins (Randal Óg); P O'Sullivan (Randal Óg), G O'Donovan (Diarmuid Ó Mathúnas), J Lucey (Diarmuid Ó Mathúnas). Subs: S Crowley (Randal Óg) for P O'Sullivan (h-t), N O'Driscoll (St Oliver Plunkett's) for M Lawton (35), C O'Neill (Randal Óg) for D Collins, M O'Driscoll (St Mary's) for D Curtin (both 50), C Dullea (St Oliver Plunkett's) for R Lucey (56). Referee: Robert Whelan (Gleann na Laoi).
Irish Examiner
10-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Muskerry's near escape reaffirms need for Cork championship change
After two false starts on the football side, and a brief, 11th hour panic in the hurling corner of the house, the 2025 Cork county championship will throw in this Tuesday evening. In the round-robin section of the Cork PSHC colleges/divisions bracket, Avondhu and Carbery meet at Ballinlough (7.30pm), while Duhallow and Muskerry clash at Coachford (7.30pm). The latter clash, as of Monday midday, was in jeopardy of following the same walkover path as the two opening round colleges/divisions football games that never were last week. Similar to Beara and Avondhu withdrawing from the Cork football championship because of insufficient playing personnel, Muskerry were in danger of having to forfeit their hurling championship opener against Duhallow when the division was informed that players from one of its largest feeder clubs would not be available for Tuesday's game. The word from the mid-Cork division on Monday evening was that a number of other clubs rallied in support by furnishing additional players to ensure a team would be fielded and a walkover avoided. A week after Beara also found itself in direct conflict with feeder clubs refusing to make players available, this latest episode, even if the match will go ahead, highlights how the June scheduling of the colleges/divisions section is not conducive to divisions putting their strongest foot forward. April has been floated as a more workable start for divisional involvement given its remove from the Leaving Cert and the start of the county championship proper. What has been reaffirmed by Muskerry's near escape is the requirement for change. The respective winners of this evening's two games will face the loser from the other tie in Round 2. At the end of the three rounds, the top-ranked side will advance to play reigning county champions Imokilly in one semi-final and the second-placed team meeting UCC in the other semi-final.
