With the final round of group fixtures played out in the Cork Premier 1 U16 Hurling Championship, the semi-final cast is confirmed. Three of the four names were already pencilled in before Monday night. St Finbarr’s emphatic victory over Sarsfields filled the last vacant seat.
On Monday, September 8, the Mardyke will stage both semi-finals: Ballincollig face St Finbarr’s at 6.30pm, followed by Midleton against Ballinora at 8pm. Any stalemates will be settled at the same venue three nights later.
The pick of the final round came in the shootout between Ballincollig and Ballinora, a 12-goal classic that finished 6-20 to 6-11 in favour of the Village.
Ballincollig were quickest into their stride. Eoin Harris raised the first green flag, while Cal McCarthy, Daithí Murphy and Bobby Power combined brilliantly up front. Jack O’Sullivan clipped a beauty before half-time to leave them 3-10 to 2-5 in front.
In the half-back line, Harris, James Harrington and O’Sullivan stood tall under pressure, and Shay O’Brien’s goal in the second half pushed the advantage out to 12.
Bobby Power was outstanding against Ballinora. Picture: Larry Cummins
But Ballinora would not go quietly. Cormac Murphy, razor sharp from frees, struck the net twice in 10 minutes. He would finish with a hat-trick, but his goals from close-range frees meant the margin was suddenly cut to four.
Midfield was the battleground, Evan Stack and Éanna Ó hUrnaí dominated puckouts, Ó hUrnaí’s influence so great that Ballinora were forced to redeploy Ben Hegarty from centre-back to midfield in an effort to contain him.
Still, Ballincollig found the answers. Goals came from all angles, and they finished with five different goalscorers, Harris, Stack, Power, O’Brien and Éanna Lynch, to cap off an exceptional performance, while Billy Meighen netted twice for Ballinora.
Ballinora captain Cormac Murphy scored a hat trick. Picture: Larry Cummins
Elsewhere in Group 1, Na Piarsaigh – stripped of key men Callum Coffey and Shay O’Neill – fell to city rivals Blackrock, 1-16 to 2-7. For long spells, they clung on, buoyed by the return of Seán O’Callaghan, who picked off a string of points, Alan Crowley sharp in the corner, and U14 Zack Brady exceptional again at corner-back.
They even trimmed the gap to two, but a second-half red card fatally stalled momentum and the Rockies made hay with a decisive goal.
For Blackrock it was a significant result, not least as they travelled with just 18 players. Conor Stack and Jack Punch carried the fight as always, while Adam Kirwan, Alex McEvoy and Euan Butler offered strong support.
Group 2 boiled down to a de facto quarter-final: Barrs against Sarsfields, winner through, loser diverted to the challenge cup.
Sars led 1-10 to 0-12 at half-time, but the Barrs reshuffled with Evan Naughton introduced as a third midfielder and the change swung it. They outscored Sars by 0-11 to 1-2 after the break, enough to see them through.
Eddie Burke and Eli McKeown were outstanding alongside Naughton, McKeown making a notable return playing his first game in over a year after transferring from Bishopstown.
CJ Barrett, St Finbarr’s, scored 0-12 against Sars. Picture: Tony Noonan
Liam O’Regan was inspirational at centre-back, not just for his four points but for a vital late catch that cut out a goal chance in the dying minutes.
Alongside him, U15 wing-back Alex Crowley was outstanding. Up front, CJ Barrett carried the scoring burden with 0-12, Alex Hurley chipped in with 0-5, and Fionn Power made an impact off the bench with 0-2.
Ryan Dunne did very well to nullify Sars’ star forward Tom Huggins, and they sorely missed the injured Cuan McMahon, though Eoin Considine carried the fight with a lively display, scoring 0-1.
Alex Morley (1-1) and Tom Hurley (0-4) hit good scores, but the Riverstown side faded as the Barrs pressed home their advantage to win 0-23 to 2-12.