Barrett praises Blarney character after Courceys scalp
DEAD-EYE: Free-taker Shane Barrett, Blarney eyes his target before slotting over a point against Courcey Rovers. Pic: Larry Cummins
It says much about the competitiveness of the Cork senior A hurling grade that Courcey Rovers, 2022 runners-up and top seeds for 2023, became the first team to be eliminated from the championship on Saturday evening.
A strong endorsement, too, for the progress made by Blarney, knocked out by the West Cork men last year. Even without perennial top-scorer Mark Coleman, they backed a youthful team to absorb the lessons from that defeat and their first-round loss to Newcestown.
That they did, grabbing a two-goal head start and refusing to be headed when the inevitable Courcey comeback made landfall.
“That's the character we're trying to build in the group this year,” said Michael Barrett, a member of the management team which has former Limerick captain Gavin O’Mahony as coach. “They're a very young team, lads, a very young team.
“This is a new Blarney team that we're trying to develop and there's a lot of young fellas that we brought into the group this year.
“To be fair to them, this was their stage today and they performed very well, especially without the two or three players that we've had injured.
“For them to come back into the group now over the next two to three weeks will be great.”
Six of the 18 players who saw game-time lined out at U21 for their club last year, including their two inspirational countymen, Shane Barrett (0-12 from midfield, five of those from play) and Pádraig Power (1-3).
The three weeks’ grace until their final-round clash with Ballyhea will do their club and county teammate Coleman’s prospects no harm. He was once again named as no.25 but isn’t yet fit enough to feature after his knee surgery last winter.
“He had a very severe injury, he's going through his rehab. At the moment, he's not ready for us,” said Michael Barrett. “We'll see, fingers crossed.
“Time is the big thing. The three-week break is important so from our point of view now, we'll just work on that.”
A win or draw against Ballyhea would guarantee their progression to the knockout stage.
Seán Twomey led the Courceys’ charge, slotting four points and being fouled for five of Richard Sweetnam’s nine pointed frees. But their fightback was dashed by Power’s 62nd-minute clinching score and their fate sealed by Newcestown’s victory in the other game.
Their opponents have let a few games slip when they were there for the winning but this time, Barrett said, Blarney believed.
They hadn’t scored a goal in their last four championship games, mind you, dating back to the 2021 quarter-final, but had two within seven minutes at Ovens.
Cian Barrett, the younger brother of Shane, provided the supply line for both. He teed up Power to blast home the first and then turned over possession from which Cork U20 panellist Denis McSweeney was fouled.
Wing-back Alan McEvoy showed exactly why he’s first-choice penalty-taker ahead of some inter-county stars by dispatching a bullet to the bottom corner.
It was a tough start for Michael O’Donovan, centre-forward the last day, standing in between the sticks in the absence of Stephen Nyhan but only for his bravery, Blarney would’ve had a third goal from Conor Power.
Courceys, who are also missing last year’s captain Tadhg O’Sullivan, rejigged their full-back line and by the time Twomey closed the half with a pair of points, it was back to a one-score game, 2-7 to 0-10.
They were level for the first time in the 37th minute, with wing-back Colin Roche credited for propelling the sliotar beyond the whitewash in a goalline scramble.
Blarney hit back with five points in a row, four from Shane Barrett who was charging forward at every opportunity.
That was still the margin with a minute of normal time remaining when substitute Daniel O’Donovan cleaved the sliotar to the roof of the net despite having his helmet removed in the process.
A Sweetnam free brought it back to one but Blarney held on.
“It's a great competition,” concluded Michael Barrett, “but not good for the heart!”
S Barrett (0-12, 6 frees, 1 65); P Power (1-3); A McEvoy (1-0 penalty); C Barrett (0-2); C Power (0-1).
R Sweetnam (0-9 frees); S Twomey (0-4); C Roche, D O’Donovan (1-0 each); F Lordan, R O’Callaghan, J McCarthy (0-1 each).
C Murphy; S Crowley, P O’Leary, D Murphy; P Philpott, P Crowley, A McEvoy; S Barrett, O Hegarty; D McSweeney, C Power (capt), C Hegarty; S Mulcahy, P Power, C Barrett.
C Dunlea for Mulcahy (30-h-t, blood), W Crowley for C Power (56), C Dunlea for Mulcahy (56), J O’Keeffe for Philpott (60+1).
M O’Donovan; C Daly, B Collins, K Collins; C Roche, F Lordan (capt), D Collins; DJ Twomey, M Collins; O Crowley, S Twomey, L Collins; R O’Callaghan, J McCarthy, R Sweetnam.
B Ryan for B Collins (19), R Nyhan for Crowley (46), D O’Donovan for O’Callaghan (47), O Crowley for McCarthy (59).
C McAllister (Aghada).
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