Castlemartyr edge Cork Intermediate shootout to progress directly to semi-finals

In the quarter finals ties, third ranked Cloughduv will meet Aghabullogue and Mayfield are paired with Midleton.

Castlemartyr: Contuining their good form in the higher IAHC grade in Cork hurling.

Cork Intermediate A HC: Castlemartyr 0-24 Mayfield 2-17.

The confidence boost of a shootout win for Castlemartyr on Saturday, but ultimately both they and Mayfield advance to the knockout phase of Cork’s Intermediate A Hurling Championship.

With four points each on the board after two games, both sides at perfectly-presented Caherlag had a safety net of sorts, but it didn’t prevent them going for the jugular all the same.

The East Cork men, who came up a grade this season after winning the Lower Intermediate tier only six weeks ago, advance straight to the IAHC semi-final along with Sars who edged Glen Rovers 0-17 to 1-12 to also finish on six points. In the remaining quarter-finals, third-ranked Cloughduv will meet Aghabullogue and Mayfield are paired with Midleton.

From the moment referee Aidan Hyland put the ball in play at Caherlag it was a fast-paced, hotly contested encounter. Early scores from Castlemartyr’s Mike Kelly and Mayfield’s David O’Neill meant there was little to separate the two sides in the early stages. An injury to David Malone on 17 mins seemed to rattle Mayfield for a short stint but they pulled themselves back into the game even though it took a top class save from Darren Wise to keep them aboard.

However, Mayfield’s lack of discipline around the centre of the park led to several Castlemartyr frees effortlessly converted by the star man Mike Kelly. Captain Brian Lawton contributed nicely to the Castlemartyr effort with four scores of his own. The decisive moment of the first half came on 25 minutes when Mayfield’s Shane Kelly goaled to put them three clear at the break, 1-12 to 0-12.

Castlemartyr emerged from the changing rooms a different beast in the second half though, with the fresh legs of Niall Madden and Jack McGann playing a part. They dropped Mike Kelly deeper and it worked a treat as he scored most of his second half points from these areas.

Ultimately it was a Brian Lawton point that sealed the win and propel them directly into a semi-final spot.

Scorers for Castlemartyr: M Kelly (0-13, 5 frees, 1 65), Brian Lawton (0-4), N Madden (0-2), Barry Lawton, J Lawton, A Kelly, J Stack, E Martin (0-1 each).

Scorers for Mayfield: D O’Neill (0-7, 3 frees, one 65), S Kelly (1-1), A. Lawlor (1-0), D Lucey, N Kelly (0-2 each), S O’Donovan, MJ Coffey (0-1 each).

CASTLEMARTYR: D Coughlan; C Martin; D Moran; B Twomey; J Lawton; P Fleming; A Bowens; M Cosgrave; J Stack; Brian Lawton; E Martin; Barry Lawton; A Kelly; J Stack; M Kelly.

Subs: J McGann for J Stack; N Madden for Barry Lawton.

MAYFIELD: D Wise; B O’Leary; D O’Donovan; P Condon; G Lehane; S O’Donovan; S Crowley; N Kelly; D O’Neill; D Malone; S Kelly; D Lucey; S Keegan; K Punch; R Lynch.

Subs: I Looney for S Keegan; MJ Coffey for D Malone.

Referee: A Hyland