Ballymartle pull out all the stops

THAT Ballymartle were within two points of Cloyne at half-time in this Cork SHC round two game in Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Saturday owed much to the brilliance of keeper Declan McCarthy; that they were ahead at the end of the hour, owed just as much to the accuracy from placed balls of his namesake Darren McCarthy in midfield as it did to the corresponding inaccuracy of a succession of Cloyne free-takers.

First, to Declan McCarthy. Six point-blank saves in the first half, three of those in rapid succession in the 21st minute when twice he got off his knees to somehow reach the ball and keep it from crossing the line; he wasn’t done at that either, and twice more in second half he did superbly to keep cloyne at bay.

But oh, how Cloyne will bemoan the lack of a free-taker. Yes, they had probably the most dangerous individual forward on the pitch in the person of Cork senior Paudie O’Sullivan (though Brian Corry was superb for Ballymartle), whose first-half goal was a score of real quality, bearing in on a goal before unleashing a rocket. On several other occasions also Paudie broke through, each time with only goal on his mind, each time denied; admirable ambition, but certainly a point would have been the wiser option on a couple of occasions.