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sport@eastcorkjournal.ie Cloyne Prevail After Extra Time Cloyne 4-7 Tracton 0-17 AET


by DECLAN BARRON Not quite daylight rob-


bery, but certainly grand larceny as Cloyne, not for the first time, got them- selves out of jail with a match winning goal in the final period of extra time, in this first round of the Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship played in Pairc Uí Rinn last Saturday night. Tracton will certainly


think that this was one that got away as apart from the opening five minutes


of this contest, they con- trolled most of this match with Ronan Walsh, Joe Kingston and Sean O’sul- livan all shooting some fine points. Tracton, led by six points


at half time after Cloyne through a Colm O’Sulli- van goal had led briefly in the opening quarter, with the sides


level at 1-1 to


0-4 after 15 minutes. By half time however Tracton were in control with six un- answered points to lead by 0-10 to 1-1 at half time. Cloyne began the sec-


ond half with purpose and they again raised a green flag with superb work from Colm O’Sullivan and Dil- lon Cahill setting up Keith Dennehy to finish to the net. Paudie


Paudie O’sullivan convert- ed a 65, the sides were level in the 45th


livan repeated the dose in the 51st


O’Sullivan


pointed and suddenly it was game on again. There was a slight breeze assist- ing Cloyne but points from Sean O’Sullivan and Joe Kingston seemed to have stopped the Cloyne resur- gence as Tracton with a spare defender were once again on top for a few min- utes. It was all change again


as Cloyne pounced for a third goal, this time it was Chris Smith who was up in support of his attack that fired home and when


minute. O’Sul- minute to put


Cloyne back in front and while Joe Kingston lev- elled once more, a superb long range Keith Dennehy point looked to have given Cloyne the upper hand once more. Tracton were determined and in one fi- nal push they earned a free from which Ronan Walsh converted to send the game to extra time. Tracton began the open-


ing period well but with tired legs and bodies scores were at a premium as Joe Good and Ronan Walsh shot points for Tracton while Ashley Walsh had a


badly needed score for a Cloyne side that had Donal Óg Cusack back between the posts. Cusack’s use of the puckout was crucial throughout as a paper-thin Cloyne panel were having to dig deep as another Ro- nan Walsh free in the final period of extra time saw Tracton in front by 0-17 to 3-6 with just over five minutes remaining. There was to be one final twist as Cloyne who were having to use all their experience, came up with a fourth goal as a superb Keith Denne- hy strike from the roadside touchline, somehow end- ed up in the net and now Cloyne were back in front once more. Paudie O’Sulli- van then drew a free which


he duly converted leaving Tracton needing a goal to win. It was not to be how- ever as Cloyne set up shop and held out for what was another victory for sheer heart and determination. Cloyne went


into this


game without six of last year’s


championship


starters including the sus- pended duo of Diarmuid O’Sullivan and Ian Cahill, so to get this victory was a remarkable achievement, one which team manager Tomas O’Brien was de- lighted with at the end of what was an absorbing contest. Cloyne: K Dennehy 2-1,


C Smith 1-0, C O’Sulli- van 1-0, P O’Sullivan 0-3, A Walsh, D Cahill and C Mullins 0-1 each. Tracton: R Walsh 0-9, J


Kingston 0-4, S O’Sullivan 0-3 and J Good 0-1.


Thursday, 18th


May 2017 Cloyne: D Óg Cusack, J


Sherlock, E Motherway, B Fleming, B Miinihane, M Lynch, C Smith, P O’Sul- livan, B O’Shea, A Walsh, D Cahill, K Dennehy, C Mullins, C O’sullivan Capt and N Walsh. Subs used E O’Sullivan for B Walsh 42m, J Homes for C Mullins45m, B Walsh for J Homes 63m, C Mullins for B O’Shea 67m and J Homes for M Lynch 75m. Tracton: K Lyons, J Jag-


oe, P Kilmartin, B Lynch, D Byrne, T McGuinness, K Corrigan, J Good, R Walsh, D Flaherty, S Capt, J Kingston, M Grif- fin, D O’Callaghan and K Lynch. Subs used C McGuinness for K Lynch 50m, K Healy for K Corri- gan 63m and A Kiely for J Kingston 73m. Referee: Joe Larkin (Ballinora)


Cork Face Tipperary This Sunday In Thurles Cork hurlers get their


campaign underway this Sunday in Semple Stadium in Thurles, when the All-Ire- land champions Tipperary, will provide the opposition for Kieran Kingston’s Cork side, who will travel hope- ful rather than confident that


they can get a result


from what is a really difficult opener. Few outside of the Cork


camp, believe that the rebels can win this one, but such is the rivalry between Cork and Tipperary that this fixture takes on a life of its own. With Tipperary losing the league final to Galway, the Premier county will be hell bent to get back to win- ning ways and this will make life even more difficult for Cork to get a result. Michael Ryan’s side on


form would seem to be the best around at the mo- ment, but Galway showed that they may well have a few chinks in their armour. Can Cork find and expose any weakness that Tipper- ary may have, will be the big question that needs to


be answered. Certainly, on paper Cork have the players to at least test Tipperary, but for that to happen a lot of things need to go right. For one Cork need to get


into the match from the off as they cannot afford to fall behind. They will also need to stop Tipperary from get- ting goals, easier said than done I would think. Cork will need to get on top in the half-backline and if they do then from midfield on Cork could trouble the premier boys.


Cork will also need to


take their chances and keep the wide count low as every score will be important. If Cork could get a goal or two it would help greatly as well, so the team that will be chosen is vital, as inter county games are now 20 man games so who to come in and the impact that they can make is often vital. Out- side influences such as the playing conditions of wind or rain could suit one side more than the other, while the referee could also play a part for either side, if a play-


er were to be sent off. This is what makes the sport of hurling so exciting and why there should be a big crowd in Thurles this Sunday. The Cork team to do duty will not be announced until later in the week, but An- thony Nash should guard the net. In front of him is likely to be Damien Cala- hane, team captain Stephen McDonnell and either Colm Spillane or Killian Burke. The


half -back line will


most likely be Mark Ellis, Christopher Joyce and Mark Coleman from Blarney who was very impressive in the league. The midfield part- nership is certainly an area that Cork must get right with Bill Cooper, Dean Brosnan, Lorcain McLoughlin, Dan- iel Kearney and Brian Law- ton all putting their hand up for selection, with my pref- erence being for a Kearney, McLoughlin pairing as both are good to get scores from outfield, and both work ex- tremely hard as well. The composition of the


forward line is more com- plex with Patrick Horgan,


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Alan Cadogan, Seamie Harnedy and Conor Lehane all expected to be accommo- dated, while Shane King- ston, Luke Meade, Darragh Fitzgibbon and Michael Calahane, along with Dean Brosnan, will all be pushing for inclusion, and all are likely to see action at some stage.


Tipperary are expected


to be without Patrick Ma- her but they have a very strong panel with Darren Gleeson in goal, Michael Cahill, James Barry, John Maher, Ronan Maher, and Shane Curran in defence.


At midfield Michael Breen and Brendan Maher will be expected to team up if Jason Forde is ruled out, while in attack, Dan Mc- Cormack, Noel and John McGrath, John O’Dwyer, Niall O’Meara and Seamus Callinan, will be expected to get the scores to defeat Cork. When the sides met in the


league Cork won by a point 0-26 to 3-16 and Cork lined out as follows: Cork: A Nash, D Ca-


lahane, S McDonnell, C Spillane, C Joyce, M Ellis, M Coleman, L McLough- lin, B Cooper, D Brosnan,


C Lehane, P Horgan, A Cadogan, S Harnedy and L Meade. Subs used D Fitzgib- bon for C Lehane inj 6m, B Lawton for D Brosnan and M Calahane for A Cadogan. Tipperary fielded a very


much second string team on that occasion, having al- ready qualified, but the still caused Cork plenty of prob- lems.


Tipperary: D Gleeson, M


Cahill, J Barry, J Maher, W Ryan, T Hamill, P Maher, K Bergin, S Curran, J Forde, N O’Meara, D McCormack, T Heffernan, S Callinan an J McGrath. Subs used N McGrath for T Heffernan, P Flynn for S Curran, B Hef- fernan for K Bergin and J


O’Dwyer for N O’Meara. I expect Cork to put up


a really spirited showing as Tipperary really bring out the best in Cork. It is dif- ficult to make a case for a Cork victory on this occa- sion, but in sport, nothing is certain and if Cork are at their best and Tipperary are a bit below par, then I could see Cork winning. Otherwise it is more likely that Tipperary on home soil, with a big crowd behind them will come out on top. It should be a good start to the Munster hurling cham- pionship and I expect that both sides will still be in All Ireland contention later in the summer.


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