O’Donovan in last-gasp Barry Cup quarter-final victory at Ballincurrig
He won the first two shots, but Bowen got a good third to Geary’s to draw level. They were still level at the no-play lines. O’Donovan’s left-hand pull militated against him up the straight and they were still locked together at the big corner. Little changed from there to the finish. Bowen had a narrow lead facing the line. O’Donovan’s last bowl stayed high on the road and ran into the green. Bowen’s bowl followed a similar path but did not have the speed to reach O’Donovan’s tip in the grass.
O’Donovan plays James Buckley in the semi-final, with James O’Donovan meeting Eamon Bowen Jnr on the other side.
World champion Aidan Murphy got the better of All-Ireland champion Martin Coppinger in the semi-final of the Con Kelleher-Dan Hurley Cup at Drimoleague, with Edmund Sexton third in the three-corner contest.
Coppinger opened with a massive bowl, but needed two more to make Caheragh Cross which left all three within a few metres of each other. He lost further ground when he missed light at Crowley’s bend with his fifth. Murphy grabbed that opening to push 100m clear at Sam’s Cross and set the pace from there. He exploited a bad patch from Sexton through the wood to gain almost two bowls of odds, while he edged almost a bowl clear of Coppinger.
Coppinger got a good bowl onto the wide road to close the gap. In the shots to O’Driscoll’s he brought the lead down to 30m and Sexton improved his position too. Murphy eased clear again after Coppinger got a poor shot down the hill. At the line he had almost a bowl on Coppinger and well over a bowl on Sexton. He plays Gavin Twohig and James O’Donovan in the final. James O’Donovan beat Eamon Bowen Jnr in the last shot of a gripping Paddy Barry Cup semi-final at Rosscarbery.
The lead changed hands in the seven hotly-contested opening bowls to Barry’s Cross. O’Donovan seemed to break that deadlock with a great bowl past the ‘black pole’, but Bowen gained control with a great bowl past the B&B to the junior line. O’Donovan was in trouble when he missed Maguire’s Gate, but he bounced back with a great bowl to the Cahermore lines to level the score.
From there to the finish it was on a knife edge, but O’Donovan got the verdict in the last shot.
In Friday night’s final he faces either Donal Riordan or John Creedon, who meet in the second semi-final.
There were three ties in the Jim O’Driscoll at Ballincurrig. Gary Daly is through to the final following his semi-final win over Tim-Pat O’Donovan. David Hubbard is in the semi-final after his win over Brian O’Donovan.
The biggest winner of all though is Billy McAuliffe who beat Killian Kingston to gain a quarter-final with Michael Bohane. Kingston looked set for a comfortable win after he raised a bowl with his third shot to Geary’s. McAuliffe made a dramatic recovery with a brilliant shot to O’Sullivan’s followed by another great bowl past the no-play line. Kingston took three to cover the same road. They were level from there to O’Riordan’s.
McAuliffe then got an extraordinary bowl up the left on the straight that went all the way to light. Kingston’s reply looked perfect but it hopped onto the right bank and he was almost a bowl down after his next. McAuliffe won by a bowl.
The Munster Junior C championship semi-finals will be played this week.
Tonight Tadhg Crowley plays Mick Murphy at Derrinasafa and tomorrow evening Donie Harnedy and Wayne Kingston clash at Béal na mBláth.
In the Novice I, wins for Michael Ward over Niall Fitzgerald at Shannonvale and for Paudie Murphy over John Butler (East) at Rylane take them to the semi-final. In the other side Shane Lotty beat John Butler (Mid) at Gortroe and will face one of Aidan Desmond, Aidan Murphy or Denis Whooley. In the Novice II, Brian Murphy plays Tadhg O’Driscoll in one semi-final at Dunderrow and Michael Foley faces Pat Gould in the other at Donoughmore.
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