O’Donovan holds off Creedon at Rosscarbery
He just shaded the opening tips. Creedon played his second bowl to the left and O’Donovan took a big lead with a great shot to the well. He had almost a bowl after his third and he raised it in full with his fourth to just short of the priest’s house. When Creedon missed the bottom of the hill, O’Donovan pushed his lead to almost two bowls.
He raised the second bowl with his seventh and might have had a third, but just missed the line before Cahermore Cross in 11. Creedon was much stronger in the last quarter and cut the lead to just a bowl but O’Donovan held on and beat the line with his 18th shot.
David Murphy got back into championship mode with a two bowls-of-odds win over Paddy O’Donoghue at Kilcorney. He was a bowl in front by Coleman’s Bridge and cruised home from there.
Eamon Bowen Jnr beat Edmund Sexton in an uninspiring tie at Macroom, where he took 23 throws to beat the line. Defeat closed the door on Sexton’s hopes of winning one of the two quarter-final places from Pool B. James Buckley and Pat Butler now get those as Bowen lost his two previous outings.
Martin Coppinger recovered from a sluggish start to beat Gary Daly by a bowl at Donoughmore. He won the opening shot, but Daly won the next four to Ring’s Corner. Coppinger went almost a bowl in front with a great bowl to the end of the wall, but Daly cut the odds on the straight.
Coppinger then got a record bowl to the end of the straight to go almost two bowls clear. Daly rallied again, but Coppinger closed it off with a massive last shot to win by a bowl.
Christy Mullins beat Raymond Ryan in the last shot at Lyre. He easily won the opening shot and then beat a great second bowl from Ryan to the forestry. He got the better of each of the next four shots over the hump. Ryan took his first lead with a great seventh to Crowley’s and won the next exchange to light. Mullins was back in front after two more to McCarthy’s bend.
He struggled to pull clear till he got a massive second-last bowl to just short of the line. Ryan finished with a brilliant bowl, but Mullins beat it by 50m.
Juliet Murphy got her 2012 senior championship campaign started with a good win over Rose Twohig in a North Cork derby at Ballinagree. Twohig led but Murphy turned the score with four massive shots in succession to win by well over a bowl.
Declan O’Donovan bowled well to beat William O’Driscoll by two bowls in the Béal na mBláth final. He raised a bowl after three to the water and increased his odds to Shorten’s Cross. He made Long’s Lane in eight where he had well over a bowl. O’Driscoll played poorly to Twohig’s and O’Donovan was over two in front at the garage.
Padraig Scanlon won a three-way last-shot finish over Mick Hurley and Thomas Boyle in the Ballincurrig 27. Hurley broke the early deadlock with a great bowl to the green, which helped him lead Boyle by a bowl and Scanlon by almost a bowl at the no-play line. The others levelled to the big corner and Scanlon went clear when he was the only one to reach the top of the short straight from there. Hurley was back in third at the sycamores, but he got a big bowl there to send it to a last shot. He just beat the line with his last throw, Boyle missed that tip and Scanlon did just enough to win.
Denis Murphy reached the Mid-Cork Junior A final with a two bowls-of-odds win over Brendan O’Neill at Castletownkenneigh. He had a bowl after four and two bowls at the triangle, and held to the line.
Killian Kingston had a double at Gortroe where he beat David Hubbard by a bowl and followed with victory over Edmund Sexton. Sexton also lost to Gary Daly at Sally’s Cross.
Seamus McKee won the Northern Builder’s Cup at Knappagh when he beat Darren Donnelly in the last shot with Kevin McQuaid a bowl back in third. Barry Duffy won the Grade 2 final when easily beat Mal Donnelly and Chris McCann beat Paul Mullen in the Grade 3 final.
