Aghabullogue edge out Mayfield at the death

Points from Shane Tarrant and Matthew Bradley swung it for Aghabullogue who will now play Kildorrery in the last four

Mayfield's Shane Duggan tries to stop a clearance by Aghabullogue goalkeeper Finbarr Furey in the Co-Op Superstores Cork IAHC at Páirc Uí Rinn. Pic; Larry Cummins

Cork IAHC quarter-final: Aghabullogue 1-16 Mayfield 1-14 

Despite a much improved second-half performance, Mayfield fell short to Aghabullogue in a low-key Cork IAHC quarter-final at Páirc Uí Rinn on Saturday.

The winners looked a dominant force in the first half but credit to Mayfield, they battled right to the wire and with a bit of luck could have edged it at the death.

The opening exchanges were sluggish with the first touch of both teams below the standard expected at this level.

The teams exchanged points in the opening minute but five unanswered points from Aghabullogue put them in pole position.

Consecutive points from Shane Duggan and Shane O’Donovan gave Mayfield a boost in the 11th minute but Duggan should have done better three minutes later but he was blocked by Aidan Barry-Murphy just as he was about to pull the trigger.

The city side went 15 minutes without registering a score as Aghabullogue took total control and a classy goal in the 22nd minute from Matthew Bradley gave them a 1-7 to 0-3 lead.

Despite getting outplayed, Mayfield refused to lie down but they needed huge improvement when trailing 1-10 to 0-6 at the break.

Nicky Kelly was called into action in the 37th minute and despite playing his first game of the season, he made an instant impact.

In Kelly’s first touch he brought down a ball and played a beautiful pass to fellow substitute Jamie Curtin but his thunderous shot was superbly saved by the Aghabullogue keeper Finbarr Furey.

It took Aghabullogue 11 minutes to open their scoring when Shane Tarrant slotted over his sixth point from a free.

Kelly continued to pose Aghabullogue’s defence problems and when he caught a stunning ball in the 60th minute his assist this time saw Jamie Curtin billow the back of the net to level the match at 1-14 each.

The pendulum had swung firmly in Mayfield’s direction but they fell short when the game hung in the balance and points from Tarrant (64) and Bradley (65) edged it for Aghabullogue who will now play Kildorrery in the last four.

Scorers for Aghabullogue: S Tarrant (0-8, 5fs), M Bradley (1-2), D Dineen (0-2), P Ring, B Casey, J Buckley, D Twomey (0-1 each).

Scorers for Mayfield: J Curtin (1-1), D O’Neill (3fs), S Duggan (0-3 each), N Kelly, S O’Donovan (0-2 each); D Lucey, D Malone, S Kelly (0-1 each).

Aghabullogue: F Furey; C Furey, A Barry-Murphy, D Quinlan; P Ring, N Barry-Murphy, S O’Connell; S Furey, M Dennehy; B Casey, M Bradley, S Tarrant; J Buckley, P Twomey, D Dineen.

Subs: J Coffey for C Furey (37), L Casey for J Buckley (39), S O’Sullivan for S Furey (48), P Finnegan for P Twomey (53), N Buckley for B Casey (53).

Mayfield: D Wyse; S Crowley, I Looney, B O’Leary; D Hayes, R Lynch, G Lehane; S O’Donovan, D O’Neill; D O’Gorman, D Malone, K Punch; D Lucey, S Kelly, S Duggan.

Subs: J Curtin for K Punch (ht), N Kelly for B O’Leary (37), B Punch for D O’Gorman (47), M J Coffey for D Lucey (60).

Referee: P O’Driscoll (Bride Rovers).