Cloyne make use of chances
The losers registered 10 wides to Cloyne’s three over the hour and paid a heavy price for their poor finishing.
It took almost five minutes for the deadlock to be broken and the first score came in the form of a Cloyne goal as corner forward Colm O’Sullivan smashed the ball past Fergal O’Sullivan from close range.
It was an especially bitter blow for Ballydesmond to concede as moments earlier Cloyne keeper Chris Smith got down low to his right to turn Shane Kelly’s strike around the post.
Cloyne deployed just two players in the full-forward line, opting to crowd the midfield, a move which bore reward as they dominated possession early on. However, they failed to convert this pressure into scores and struggled with a stiff breeze.
Having spurned early chances with weak goal efforts, Ballydesmond kept in touch with points from Kelly, Niall Fleming and Liam Murphy.
The same three attackers combined magnificently on 26 minutes with Kelly finishing off an incisive move with a fabulous goal to snatch a one point lead.
Rather than galvanise Ballydesmond, the goal roused Cloyne who struck three unanswered points to take a 1-4 to 1-3 lead into the interval.
The contest deteriorated as a spectacle after the break with neither team registering a score until the half was 16 minutes old. Poor Cloyne discipline saw Ballydesmond draw level through two Donncha O’Connor frees with ten minutes remaining before substitute Cha O’Keeffe nudged Stiana O’Donoghue’s men in front.
Cloyne rallied once again however, getting out of third gear for long enough to kick three points without reply and close out the contest.
Scorers for Cloyne: C O’Sullivan 1-0, P O’Sullivan 0-2, D O’Sullivan 0-2 (1f), B McCarthy, M Walsh, P O’Sullivan, K O’Lomasney 0-1 each.
Scorers for Ballydesmond: S Kelly 1-1, D O’Connor 0-2 (2f), L Murphy, N Fleming, C O’ Keeffe 0-1 each.
CLOYNE: C Smith, J Cotter, D O’Sullivan, B McCarthy, G Fleming, E O’Sullivan, D Jermyn, K Cronin, M Walsh, C O’Lomasney, P O’Sullivan, P O’Sullivan, C O’Sullivan, D O’Sullivan, J Nyhan.
Subs: K O’Lomasney for K Cronin (28)
BALLYDESMOND: F O’Sullivan, T Howard, S Murphy, D Kelly, J Dunlea, D Kelly, N O’Connor, S Kelleher, B O’Callaghan, R Flynn, D O’Connor, L Murphy, P Breen, S Kelly, N Fleming.
Subs: C O’Keeffe for Flynn (47), N O’Leary for Kelleher (48), N O’Sullivan for L Murphy (50)
Referee: Pat O’Leary (Kilmurry).
