Cill na Martra take control very early

Cill na Martra 1-13Glanmire 0-10

Seán Kelleher was the outstanding player in the centre of the field for the Muskerrry outfit. But, in truth, Cill na Martra had the edge in most departments, with Martin O’Connor and Mikey Dineen a constant threat in attack, while the likes of Mark Golden and Cork star Noel O’Leary were solid in defence.

Glanmire looked a team out of ideas. Michael Cussen was deployed at full-forward and, to his credit, made a nuisance of himself anytime his teammates managed to send the ball his way.

But aside from the long ball to Cussen, Glanmire had very little cut and thrust with over half of their points coming from frees.

With 30 seconds on the clock, Cill na Martra were celebrating the game’s only goal. Kevin O’Sullivan did well to hold possession in the corner before finding Kelleher, who was charging through on goal, and the midfielder blasted past Brendan O’Connell in the Glanmire goal.

Three stunning points from Kevin Hoare, Dineen and Danny O’Connell followed before Glanmire finally got to grips with the pace of the game.

Jonathan O’Callaghan opened their account before Cussen saw his goal effort saved from Eoin Dineen. Cill na Martra continued to boss proceedings but their early ruthlessness deserted them as they wasted several scoring opportunities allowing Glanmire to claw their way back into the game through free kicks from Daniel Molden and Kieran Kenneally.

Three unanswered points at the end of the first-half hinted at a possible comeback after the interval with Cill na Martra taking a modest 1-6 to 0-6 lead into half-time.

Glanmire got the upper hand after the changeover but for all their possession they rarely threatened the Cill na Martra goal and the Muskerry side enjoyed another purple patch midway through the second-half produced four unanswered points in quick succession which effectively killed off the Glanmire challenge. Cussen was switched to midfield for the final 10 minutes but it wasn’t enough for Glanmire who slumped to second disappointing defeat in this year’s championship.

Scorers for Cill na Martra: S Kelleher 1-2, M Dineen 0-4, M O’Connor 0-4 (1f), K Hoare, D O’Leary and D O’Connell 0-1 each.

Scorers for Glanmire: D Molden 0-4 (4f), K Kenneally 0-2 (2f), M Cussen, J O’Callaghan, M Hopkins and A Barry 0-1 each.

CILL NA MARTRA: E Dineen; M Golden; C O’Leary; T McSweeney; B Lynch; N O’Leary; T Dineen; S Kelleher; C McSweeney; K Hoare; K O’Sullivan; M O’Connor; M Dineen; D O’Leary; D O’Connell.

GLANMIRE: B O’Connell; D O’Regan; K Sheahan; J Leopold; A Garvey; P Goggin; C Harrington; K Kenneally; B Murphy; P Radley; J O’Callaghan; B O’Callaghan; A Barry, M Cussen; D Molden.

Subs: B O’Sullivan for O’Regan (28), M Hopkins for Goggin (ht), D Kenneally for B O’Callaghan (51), D Murphy for Harrington (54), J Cashman for J O’Callaghan (57).

Referee: D Shorten (St. Mary’s).