Tough derby ends level as Hayes strikes for Carbery

WE could have done without the excesses of physical challenges on and off the ball which prevailed for much of the game in Clonakilty’s state-of-the-art complex on Saturday afternoon.

But, on the positive side, this west Cork derby produced a fascinating contest that ended with an equaliser for Carbery Rangers 10 seconds from the end of a second half extended by seven and a half minutes.

County player John Hayes was the one who kept their hopes of a Cork SFC semi-final against Castlehaven alive, showing calmness in forcing a draw from his excellently-kicked 45-yard free off the ground. That cancelled out a 59th-minute point from Barry Horgan and, as Newcestown manager Jim O’Sullivan acknowledged, they missed opportunities of increasing their lead in the final minutes.

“We were slow to start but we got to grips with the pace of the game. And maybe that came from the hurling last week,’’ he said before insisting that involvement in the Premier IHC semi-final in a fortnight would not be a distraction.

Carbery Rangers selector John Murphy wasn’t surprised by the physical nature of the contest, commenting: “that’s what you expect in the latter stages. Newcestown are a strong, physical team and I thought we stood up to that well. We had a few chances to level before we did. We’re delighted to get out of it with a draw.’’

Quicker to settle, with Michael O’Sullivan impressive at midfield and John Hayes threatening in possession, Carbery Rangers were ahead 0-4 to 0-1 by the 15th minute.

But, running up eight wides by the break cost them dearly at a stage when Newcestown had struggled to find their rhythm.

However, once they settled they came strongly into contention, the Keane brothers combining well at midfield, Tadhg Twomey making an impact at full-forward and Barry Horgan contributing three valuable scores — one of them a terrific angled shot from a free. They went in at half time leading 0-6 to 0-5, with Rangers scoreless from the 18th minute onwards. And, the lead could have been greater but for some sloppy use of the ball in the Newcestown attack.

The second half was to be much more closely contested, with scores level for the first of five times up to the final whistle when Brian Shanahan pointed for Rangers within 20 seconds — after which midfielder James Fitzpatrick kicked an excellent lead score. Several scuffles then broke out while two players were treated after a clash and following a four-minute break, the referee yellow-carded a player from each side.

Newcestown were back in front in the 40th minute when Daniel Twomey set up Hugh Curran for a goal but in a matter of minutes two John Hayes points had the teams level.

The closing stages were fought out with huge intensity and Rangers were unlucky when Declan Hayes hit a powerful shot against the crossbar. After scores were level in the 47th and 56th minutes, Newcestown missed two chances of going in front before Horgan finished off a good move by Curran.

That looked like the winning score over the following seven minutes, when Rangers messed up several attacking moves before finally Declan Hayes won the free from which brother John struck.

Scorers for Newcestown: B Horgan 0-5 (4f); H Curran 1-1; T Twomey 0-3 (1f).

Scorers for Carbery Rangers: J Hayes 0-5 (4f); J O’Rourke and B Shanahan 0-2 each; J Fitzpatrick, M O’Sullivan and S Hayes 0-1 each.

NEWCESTOWN: P White; G O’Rourke, J Crowley, K Long; E Kelly, N O’Sullivan, O Keane; C Keane, F Keane; D Twomey, H Curran, D Heffernan; B Horgan, T Twomey, S Ryan.

Subs: B O’Mahony for Heffernan (55); G O’Driscoll for Twomey (62).

CARBERY RANGERS: M Moloney; M Kelly, M Mennis, S Hayes; S Murray, K McMahon, P Hodnett; M O’Sullivan, J Fitzpatrick; D Hayes, J O’Rourke, A Jennings; B Shanahan, S Hayes, J Hayes.

Subs: M O’Donovan for Mennis (36); J. Murphy for Kelly (42).

Referee: Niall Barrett (Carrigtwohill).