O’Donovan rules the road to seal Barrett Cup victory
Hubbard opened with a good bowl to the church diamond, but O’Donovan’s bowl brushed and beat it by 70m. Hubbard got a good second shot to the top of the hill. O’Donovan was well placed to beat that, but he played his bowl onto the lawn on the right and missed the tip by 30m.
He was just shy of Lisangle cross with his next and Hubbard beat it by 70m with a good bowl through the cross. O’Donovan’s fourth just beat that tip by 20m to leave almost a bowl between them. Hubbard now had a chance to extend his lead, but he played his bowl to the right and beat O’Donovan’s tip by just 70m. O’Donovan then played a good bowl to the soccer pitch to cut the lead to 30m.
O’Donovan threw a great sixth shot over the bridge. Hubbard’s reply was perfect and settled on the centre of the road and pushed him 70m clear again. O’Donovan responded with the bowl of the day which ran to Reenroe. Hubbard did well to miss that tip by just 10 metres and followed with a great bowl to the tunnel to regain the lead by 40m.
O’Donovan made Sheily’s with his next. Hubbard was off to the right with his reply and missed the tip by 30m. The score slipped away from him when he only made the farmhouse with his next. He then saw O’Donovan release another massive bowl to the novice line, which he missed and he fell a bowl behind. O’Donovan raised his bowling a few notches to the junior line where he was pressing towards a second bowl.
Pat Butler overcame a disastrous first shot to beat Gary Daly by well over a bowl at Cobh. Daly by contrast got a fine opening shot past the double-gates and then beat Butler’s good second throw by 60m. Butler’s third shot was an exceptional bowl over the brow, down past Dennis’s and well onto the flat. Daly was well hind of that tip, but closed the gap to 40m with his fourth bowl towards Durkin’s boreen.
Butler led to the top of Durkin’s hill with Daly in close pursuit but the latter made a mistake with his bowl there. Butler punished him with a big shot to Sam’s corner which gave him a bowl of odds. Daly got a brilliant bowl from there and was unlucky to miss the line at McCarthy’s cross by two metres. It knocked the bowl, but Butler was still in control.
Butler regained the bowl in the next shots and held it to the top of Clash. Daly got a super shot there, which virtually guaranteed that he would make the last bend in three. He achieved that goal, but Butler matched him to hold his bowl of odds. Daly beat the line with his next shot, but Butler beat that tip by 70m.
Dan O’Halloran beat Sean Murphy by almost a bowl in the Ballinacurra semi-final. Murphy won the first two shots well, but O’Halloran’s third brushed the kerb to close the gap at Brinny cross. Murphy held the lead past Foley’s.
A good sixth shot to the nooks put O’Halloran in front, he followed with a magnificent seventh to Perrott’s to gain a 100m lead. Two great bowls from the GAA field over the bridge pushed him almost a bowl clear. Murphy rallied strongly and kept in touch to the line.
Both O’Halloran and Murphy have their first Mid-Cork Junior A championship ties of 2011 next weekend – O’Halloran plays Denis Wilmot and Murphy takes on Trevor McCarthy.
David Hubbard and Anthony Gould meet in the first score of the 2011 Munster Premier Intermediate championship on Sunday at Ballinacurra. Hubbard will have mixed feelings after his defeat in the Bill Barrett Cup, but Gould got the perfect boost when he finished with five brilliant bowls to beat Brian O’Donovan in the return score at Ballinacurra on Saturday.
Jerry Gibbons was sharp too at the Marsh Road ahead of his clash with John Young in the opening round of the West Cork championship on Sunday. He beat Liam O’Sullivan by almost two bowls. He broke the deadlock early with a great bowl to the quarry gate, which helped him raise a bowl at the top of the hill. He held that lead to Ballyhilty, despite a strong challenge from O’Sullivan. He increased his lead into the wood. In his first outing of 2011 David Murphy beat Eamon Bowen Jnr in the last shot at Carraig na bhFear. Bowen had a big advantage at the creamery and raised almost a bowl on the straight. He missed a chance to seal the score in the shots past the farmhouse and Murphy pounced with a good last bowl to take his only lead of the day.
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