Duhallow make Valley Rovers pay for wasted chances

It was Valleys third quarter-final exit to Duhallow in four years but they should have closed this game out

Valley Rovers' Fiachra Lynch gathers the ball from Duhallow's Bart Daly and Shane Hickey at Páirc Uí Rinn. Picture: Eddie O'Hare

Cork Premier SFC quarter-final: Duhallow 0-16 Valley Rovers 0-15 

A powerful late burst - during which Duhallow outscored their opponents by 0-5 to 0-1 from the 56th minute onward - propelled the divisional men into the semi-finals of the county championship.

Last year’s beaten finalists looked to be on their way out of the championship when three-in-a-row from Valley Rovers edged the Innishannon side into a 0-14 to 0-11 lead nine minutes from the end.

And in truth, Valleys could have made that a four or five point advantage in the ensuing passages of play. Kevin Canty and Billy Crowley both had point-scoring opportunities, but, crucially, neither yielded a white flag.

Canty’s effort was well taken down by ‘keeper Patrick Doyle, with Crowley off target with his shot. It was one of eight second-half wides Valley Rovers amassed.

These missed opportunities left the door ajar for Duhallow and they took full advantage in the closing minutes, their late surge triggered by a white flag from sub Jerry O’Connor on 56 minutes.

Paul Walsh halved the deficit before Valley Rovers were reduced to 14 men following a black card for Johnny Kiely for his foul on Jerry O’Connor. Donncha O’Connor converted the resulting free to tie proceedings for the ninth time.

Momentum lay now with Pádraig Kearns' Duhallow charges as the clocked spilled into the red and they edged back in front for the first time since first-half injury-time when sub Darragh Moynihan split the posts. Jerry O’Connor landed his third thereafter and although a John Cottrell free at the other end suggested extra-time may be on the cards, Valley Rovers were unable to find a levelling score.

Duhallow too finished with 14 men as Kevin Cremin walked for a second bookable offence.

The men from Innishannon were rightly distraught at the final whistle. This is a fixture they will look back on with sizable regret for a while to come. Their own wastefulness, ultimately, was their undoing.

Having fallen at the quarter-final hurdle in 2016, ‘17, and ‘18, the latter two defeats coming at the hands of Duhallow, this should have been the evening they avenged those results and went a step further in the championship.

They played the better football, enjoyed a greater share of possession, engineered the greater number of chances, but the final product let them down on too many occasions. Included in their catalogue of misses was a double goal chance early in the second half that was somehow kept out.

On the other side of the table, Duhallow’s experience told in spades when they caught the scent of victory late on. Undeterred by the pressure they were being put under, the divisional outfit were oh so clinical when it mattered most.

The result secures them a fourth consecutive county semi-final appearance where they’ll meet either Ballincollig or Nemo Rangers.

But the progression of three Duhallow clubs - Knocknagree, Newmarket, and Kanturk - to the semis of the PIFC, as well as Rockchapel reaching the last four of the IFC, means Pádraig Kearns' troops have a hectic fortnight in front of them.

An entertaining first-half ended 0-8 apiece, the teams level on five occasions.

Valley Rovers would have been the slightly more disappointed to not have their noses in front given they spent more time in the opposition half of the field than Duhallow did theirs.

They finished the first half with five wides, a couple more dropped short, while Eoin O’Reilly really should have found the net when accepting a perfectly weighted pass from the far side of the large parallelogram. His shot, though, was smothered by a hive of Duhallow shirts.

Duhallow did have a clear cut goal chance of their own, arising from a Valley Rovers restart gone wrong, but Fintan O’Connor’s chipped effort just crept over the crossbar.

The Innishannon side did eke out an early 0-4 to 0-2 advantage following three-in-a-row from Chris O’Leary, Eoin Delaney, and O’Reilly. Duhallow’s reply was as swift as it was impressive, Jerry O’Connor, Donncha O’Connor (free), Fintan O’Connor, and Mark Ellis landing four consecutive points to hand the initiative to the divisional men.

They won't need telling that a significant improvement will be required if they are to make it three county final appearances in a row.

For now, though, they are just thankful to still be alive in the championship.

Scorers for Duhallow: D O’Connor (0-5, 0-3 frees); M Ellis, J O’Connor (0-3 each); P Walsh, E McSweeney, F O’Connor, Seamus Hickey, D Moynihan (0-1 each).

Scorers for Valley Rovers: F Lynch (0-5, 0-3 frees); B Crowley, Tadhg O’Brien (0-2 each); E O’Reilly, A Walsh Murphy, C O’Leary, E Delaney, J Cottrell (0-1 free), J Walsh (0-1 each).

DUHALLOW: P Doyle (Knocknagree); M Mahoney (Knocknagree), B Daly (Newmarket), J McLoughlin (Kanturk); K Cremin (Boherbue), D O’Mahony (Knocknagree), Shane Hickey (Millstreet); A Ryan (Newmarket), M Ellis (Millstreet); F O’Connor (Knocknagree), E McSweeney (Knocknagree), C O’Callaghan (Dromtarriffe); D O’Connor (Ballydesmond), JF Daly (Knocknagree), Seamus Hickey (Rockchapel).

Subs: J O’Connor (Boherbue) for Daly (11 mins, inj); P Walsh (Kanturk) for Ryan (38); D Cashman (Millstreet) for F O’Connor (42); D Moynihan (Ballydesmond) for McSweeney (54).

VALLEY ROVERS: C Desmond; A Lyons, Tomas O’Brien, D Muckian; J Kiely, I Crowley, A Walsh Murphy; C O’Leary, K Canty; R O’Sullivan, E Delaney, J Walsh; E O’Reilly, F Lynch, B Crowley.

Subs: Tadhg O’Brien for O’Sullivan (21 mins, inj); J Cottrell for Delaney (46).

Referee: C Dineen.