O'Leary lands late leveller for Watergrasshill
TELLING IMPACT: Daire O'Leary. Pic: Eoin Noonan/Sportsfile.
There was no separating Ballinhassig and Watergrasshill after a remarkable evening’s hurling in Riverstown on Saturday.
Incredibly, it’s the Hill’s fifth successive championship draw and it leaves them one point behind the Blues in Group C of the Co-op Superstores Cork PIHC.
For the draw, the Hill can thank Daire O’Leary who thundered into the game in the final quarter, hitting 0-2 from centre-back, including the leveller in the 64th minute.
Ballinhassig had one final chance to get the win when Brian Lynch stood over a tough free from the sideline, but it drifted wide, and when all was said and done, it was the right result.
Ballinhassig played with the elements from the off, but there was nothing between the sides in a tough and, at times, tetchy opening half.
They were level at 0-3 each after five minutes as Brian Lynch had a couple for the Blues, Charlie Grainger picked up the other while for the Hill, Mick O’Driscoll, James Gowen and Brendan Lehane were on target.
The rest of the half played to a pattern as Ballinhassig threatened to develop a lead, but were never allowed to by a well organised and motivated Watergrasshill side. Two frees from Donncha O’Donovan and two more from Lynch out did points from Shane O’Regan and Liam Foley for the Hill to leave two between them at the end of the opening quarter.
Ballinhassig then had a purple patch, hitting five of the next seven to take a seemingly commanding 0-12 to 0-7 lead, Fintan O’Leary and Darragh O’Sullivan with the pick of them. The remainder of the half belonged to the Hill, however.
A Colin Crowley point got them going before O’Regan thrice punished Ballinhassig ill-discipline to leave one between them at the break, 0-12 to 0-11.
The opening sequences of the second half proved to be similar, uncompromising hurling as neither side showed any signs of not staying the pace. O’Leary pushed the Blues clear before successive scores from Cronin and Sean Desmond levelled the game for the second time.
Then came a crucial period. The Hilll’s accuracy deserted them as they hit five wides in the next fifteen minutes and Ballinhassig punished them with an inspirational score from Richie Lombard and three frees from Lynch.
Yet again though, the Hill came back as an O’Regan free and fine efforts from Daire O’Leary and Lehane and made it 0-17 to 0-16 to the Blues with four to play. Goalkeeper Aiden Foley then levelled it up, Lynch then pushed Ballinhassig clear before O’Leary’s late tour-de-force restored parity for the fourth and final time.
: B Lynch (0-8, 0-6 frees), D O’Donovan (0-3, frees), F O’Leary (0-2), D O’Sullivan, C Grainger, G Collins, C Desmond and R Lombard (0-1 each).
S O’Regan (0-7, frees), D O’Leary, B Lehane and C Cronin (0-2 each), A Foley (free), M O’Driscoll, M Foley, J Gowen and S Desmond (0-1 each).
P Collins; D O’Sullivan, P O’Leary, E Lombard; D O’Donovan, M Collins, S McCarthy, M Sheehan, C Desmond; R Lombard, C Grainger, A O’Sullivan; G Collins, F O’Leary, B Lynch.
C Tyers for Sheehan (blood, 30-31), C Tyres and D O Sullivan for G Collins and Grainger (both 41), S Lombard for O’Leary (59)
A Foley; P Cronin, A Ricken, D Roche, M O’Driscoll, D O’Leary, D McCarthy; D O’Riordan, P O’Regan; S O’Regan, L Foley J Gowen; C Cronin, S Desmond, B Lehane.
C O’Leary for Gowen (56), G O’Kelly Lynch for Cronin (62).
Pat Lyons (Bishopstown).
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