Ahern's late goal enough to edge Dungourney past Midleton 

Neighbours go toe to toe for much of a well-contested affair but injury-time strike is enough to see Dungourney into semi-finals

In the hunt: Dungourney will move on to face Sarsfields in the last four. File pic: INPHO/Laszlo Geczo

Dungourney 1-15 Midleton 1-14 

Dungourney will meet Sarsfields in the Co-Op Superstores Cork IAHC semi-final following a one-point victory over Midleton at Carrigtwohill. 

This quarter-final encounter was well contested, but it didn’t look like that early on. Dungourney raced into a 0-4 to 0-0 lead after 15 minutes, with Shane Hegarty scoring two of those. Midleton gradually grew into the game and two frees from James Nagle and Conor Fitzgerald got them back into the game.

Dungourney held a three-point advantage five minutes to the break, but their opposition landed four of the last five points of the half to go in level at the short-whistle, David Cremin slotting over three lovely points for the Magpies.

The neighbours were still deadlocked seven minutes into the second-half, but the winners pushed three points clear after the third-quarter. 

Midleton upped the ante, and 1-1 in 50 seconds pushed them ahead by one, Tiernan Roche with a lovely goal from close range. Ryan Denny drew his team level from a free, but a Fitzgerald free and a Paul Connaughton effort nudged the Magpies two clear with four minutes remaining, 1-12 to 0-13.

Midleton led by a point heading into sixth minute of injury-time, until James Ahern billowed the back of the net for the winners. The beaten team did reduce the lead to a point, but the final whistle blew from the resulting puck-out.

Scorers for Dungourney: R Denny 0-7 (0-4f), J Leahy 0-4 (0-2f), S Hegarty 0-3, J Ahern 1-0, B Forbes 0-1.

Scorers for Midleton: C Fitzgerald 0-6 (0-6f), D Cremin 0-3, T Roche 1-0, G Carroll 0-2, P Connaughton 0-2, J Nagle 0-1 (0-1f).

Dungourney: P Flynn; W McCarthy, M McGrath, S Rohan; M Leahy, N Motherway, D Healy; S Hegarty, R Denny; J Ahern, B Forbes, N Flynn; J Leahy, J Ahern, N McGrath. Subs: C Flynn for N McGrath (35), C Padden for W McCarthy (40), N Geaney for N Flynn (50).

Midleton: B Rossiter; C O’Brien, C Murray, L Hennessy; P O’Keeffe, J Nagle, E McCarthy; G Reddy, C Crowley; A Faye, D Cremin, G Carroll; P Connaughton, T Roche, C Fitzgerald. Subs: D McCarthy for A Faye (50).

Referee: Aidan Hyland (Kilworth)