Conor Lehane again the key as Midleton motor on

Midleton 0-20 Killeagh 2-8: The outcome was the one most predicted, but not with the ease expected from Midleton in this Cork senior hurling championship first-round game in Castlemartyr yesterday.

On a day when Killeagh would have been glad of the services of Joe Deane, who has not been involved so far this year, once again the quality of Conor Lehane’s striking from frees and general play was appreciated on all sides with a contribution of eleven points. Anticipating ‘a banana-skin fixture’ – “a local derby takes on a life of its own” — Midleton manager Jerry Wallace expressed satisfaction with the overall performance.

Adding the management had been ‘very happy’ with a five points lead at half-time after playing with the strong wind. “We lost our way around the 20th minute but the lads got back to the gameplan and kept tipping over the points. Conor Lehane wasn’t going a hundred miles an hour, he paced himself well and near the end of the game he came up with some nice scores. He’s a great player.”