'We thought we were the best team in this grade': Unshakable belief leads Courcey Rovers to glory
Courcey Rovers captain Tadhg O'Sullivan and players celebrate after defeating Castlelyons in the Co-Op Superstores Cork premier IHC final at Pairc Ui Chaoimh. Picture: Eddie O'Hare
Despite going eight points down, Courcey Rovers captain Tadhg O’Sullivan had full faith that his team would rally in the Co-Op Superstores Cork Premier IHC final at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Saturday. Six points was the deficit at the interval but the gap got bigger after the resumption when they conceded the opening two points of the second-half.
The number 10 felt encouraged by his side’s honesty.
“The honesty in the group is incredible. And when you have that, you always have a chance. I never doubted them, they have such heart. They never gave up.
“We thought we were the best team in this grade and we were disappointed we didn’t perform in the first-half.
“I knew if we would get back to within three or four, we would make it tight. We always finish strong. Sean (Twomey) did incredible to pass to Olan (Crowley) for the goal and that was the biggest score of the game. We drove on from there. The momentum swung and I knew we were going to win.”
They were 1-11 to 0-8 behind at the interval, and matters got worse, 1-13 to 0-8 two minutes into the second-half.
They set about working their way back and slowly they began to assume control.
Outstanding free-taker Richard Sweetnam - who tallied 0-11 - set the tone when Twomey was fouled. Twomey himself added an inspirational point. Sweetnam tapped over another free and there was one from play from Jerry O’Neill.
The difference was reduced to four, that same margin at the second water- break, 1-15 to 0-14.
An Eoin Maye point stretched the Castlelyons lead in the 47th minute. However, their five-point cushion proved to be surmountable.
And what followed was a remarkable revival, ignited by Olan Crowley’s goal at the beginning of the fourth quarter. He was only introduced a minute earlier, and was in the right place to capitalise on Twomey’s good work.
Exceptional point-taking followed from Sweetnam on the home stretch - he struck five on the spin, four from placed balls and they came from so many different angles. Meanwhile, Castlelyons couldn’t get any decent shot at the posts, which also illustrated the dominance of the Courceys defence - headed up by man-of-the-match Fergus Lordan.
The Carrigdhoun side moved ahead by three and five minutes plus stoppage remaining.
Alan Fenton and Michael Spillane points made for an action-packed finish. A half-chance of an equaliser drifted wide, and with that the result was secure.
A first title in this grade for the Ballinspittle-Ballinadee outfit since 2011.
Three years ago, Courcey Rovers were defeated by Charleville (0-15 to 0-14) in a replay in the Premier IHC final.
This time however, they came out on the right side of another tense finale.
In the first-half, Courcey Rovers had to give way to 2020 defeated finalists Castlelyons. The east Cork side were dominant during this period. In spite of falling three points in arrears, David Morrison got them up and running in the seventh minute.
At the first water-break, they edged it 0-4 to 0-3, thanks in the main to the accurate free-taking of Alan Fenton. It was five points apiece when the game turned in their favour. Niall O’Leary got on the end of Jack Barry’s long puck out to whip the sliotar to the net.
Colm Barry was strong at full-back, while the conversion of late points came from Anthony Spillane, Maye and Alan Fenton.
Six points to three they dominated on the approach to half-time, the 1-11 to 0-8 interval advantage was an accurate reflection of proceedings.
When Castlelyons added another two points straight from the restart, Courceys had it all to do.
To do their credit, they knuckled down.
Among their key performers was Sweetnam, his eleven points invaluable. Jerry O’Neill another to impress - three points in the first-half and two after the break proved critical. The influence of Sean Twomey also key.
Defensively, having the ability to curtail the Castlelyons attack in the fourth quarter was central to victory.
Courcey Rovers will next set their sights on a Munster club semi-final against Limerick’s Mungret St Paul’s in a couple of weeks.
