O’Neill upbeat as Aghada march on

Aghada 1-08 Newmarket 0-09

It was a deserved win for sure, although Aghada will have counted their blessings that a staggering 18 wides didn’t come back to haunt them on a night when opportunism played a big part in the victory.

Aghada laid much of the groundwork for their success in the opening half when playing against a stiff, swirling, breeze and they turned around a mere two points in arrears.

That was crucial, as emphasised by Cork’s O’Neill: “They [Newmarket] were four points up but we got a goal back and that put us right back into the game. Considering the conditions, it wasn’t too bad for us at half-time,” he said, as they were only two points adrift, 0-7 to 1-2.

Certainly, O’Neill and the Aghada mentors on the sidelines were well pleased with the way the team responded to the challenge and they also hailed goal keeper Raymond Savage for keeping them within that striking distance following a remarkable save shortly before half time.

Michael Kenneally, Barry O’Leary and skipper Tony O’Keeffe produced a marvellous attacking move after 26 minutes which ended with Savage getting down instinctively to make a spectacular one-footed stop from O’Leary. With just two points between the sides at the end, it was a crucial intervention.

Of course, there were other reasons for this deserved win. Aghada’s aggression on the counter-attack throughout the first half helped force Newmarket into submission and there was only one team in it for most of the second half until panic appeared to set in within sight of the finish line.

Ronan Kennedy twice, Michael Russell, O’Neill, Eoin Savage and Cian Fleming rattled up unanswered points to secure a four-point lead in the third quarter. John Ryan and TJ Brosnan hit back for Newmarket but most of the play was down their end of the pitch where the winners missed far more chances than they scored.

“We missed a lot of opportunities,” acknowledged O’Neill. “It’s not a big surprise with us, but actually the conditions were very tough, the wind was all over the place. For us it was a question of getting over the line here tonight. That goal before half-time was hugely important. It helped settle us into the game.”

Ultimately, Aghada will have been happy to advance and avenge defeat to the same opponents at the same stage last year: “They’re a similar side to us, no real stars but just good honest players playing a hard game.”

Scorers for Aghada: T Hartnett 1-0, R Kennedy 0-3, M Russell 0-2, P O’Neill, E Savage, C Fleming 0-1 (free) each.

Scorers for Newmarket: D Culloty 0-2 (0-1 from free), P O’Toole 0-2, J Lane, T O’Keeffe, B O’Leary , J Ryan, TJ Brosnan 0-1 each.

AGHADA: R Savage, T Hartnett, S Wall, B Hennessy, C Power, R Power, B Crowley, P O’Neill, E Savage, M Russell (captain), C Fleming, K O’Connor, T O’Neill, J O’Shea, R Kennedy.

Subs: G Melvin for Power (43), S Cussen for Hennessy (45), M O’Connor for O’Shea (48), J Connolly for Russell (59).

NEWMARKET: D Quinlan, M Fitzpatrick, B O’Riordan, B O’Leary, P O’Toole, TJ Brosnan, J Ryan, C O’Sullivan, B Daly, K O’Sullivan, M Reidy, T O’Keeffe (captain), J Lane, M Cottrell, D Culloty.

Subs: M Kenneally for Culloty (15), P Allen for Fitzpatrick (40).

Referee: B Coniry (Crosshaven).