Wasteful Midleton struggle past Finbarr's

Midleton 1-15 St. Finbarr’s 1-13: The story of this Cork SHC round four clash on Saturday centred around Midleton’s staggering total of 20 wides, but 1-15 was enough for the Magpies to make it into the quarter-finals to face the winners of next weekend’s Duhallow-Douglas clash.

The three month wait since Midleton’s first round win may account for their uncharacteristic profligacy. And, though much of their outfield play was smart and neat, when it came to putting points on the scoreboard their radar was way out of focus, particularly in the first-half when accumulating 14 wides.

Midleton manager, Jerry Wallace, has called for change to the current championship format. “Explain tonight’s performance? Three months of inactivity from championship hurling,” admitted Wallace. “I think there’s a big collective decision needed at County Board level to look at the structure that’s in place. It has been a huge achievement for us to get over the line tonight.”