Plenty to improve on for Na Piarsaigh, insists Seán Óg
PERFECT PERFORMANCE, BUT...: Inniscarra's Sean Sheehan keeps possession under pressure from Na Piarsaigh's Eoin Moynihan, during their Senior AHC clash at Ballincollig. Pic: David Keane.
Despite seeing his Na Piarsaigh team convincingly beat Inniscarra 1-25 to 2-11 in the Co-Op SuperStores SAHC in Ballincollig, Seán Óg Ó hAilpín believes that his panel of players is capable of more.
“I’m delighted with the win, I mean there is plenty to improve on after that. I think the score-line flattered us,” he said.
“I don’t know what the difference was, it was probably a bit closer than the score-line suggested. The important thing for us was to get a win after last week’s loss and we did that. We just have to focus now for the next two or three weeks on the Killeagh game. That could be our season on the line, to get to the next stage.
“But overall there were positive signs during the game. The most pleasing thing is that we took more of our scoring chances this week whereas last week we didn’t.”
The Northsiders delivered a statement performance that saw them completely outplay the newly promoted side over the 60 minutes that were played.
With just eight minutes played it was 0-5 to 0-1, and Inniscarra came back into it through scores from Sean O’Donoghue and Andrew McCarthy. Despite this flurry of white flags, the closest they got to pegging Na Piarsaigh back was making the score-line read 0-7 to 0-6.
Eoin Moynihan personally embodied the black and yellow cause as he scored seven points in the first half. This made it 0-12 to 0-7 at the break and Inniscarra pushed up for a goal once played resumed.
McCarthy was denied by the Na Piarsaigh back-line during this advance and O’Donoghue fired narrowly wide.
Their attempts to get back in the game were complicated by a searing run from Shane Forde. He carved out space for himself on the left wing and hit the roof of the net, and that made the scoreboard read 1-17 to 0-7.
Na Piarsaigh were in total control and the goal just padded their tally, and almost everything they hit went over the bar.
O’Sullivan got another point after this and so did Moynihan, and that was his eighth of the game. What could have been a four-point game when that chance fell to O’Donoghue, was now a commanding 16-point lead midway through the second half.
Gordon Joyce was excellent for the Northsiders as they saw the game out with the only blemish on an otherwise perfect evening for Na Piarsaigh being Padraig Holland’s two late goals.
The green flags were a major source of frustration for the manager after the full-time whistle.
“From a coaching point of view, I would be critical of how they were left in. They were very defendable,” Ó hAilpín finished up.
E Moynihan 0-10 (7f); R O’Sullivan 0-8 (3f), S Forde 1-2, D Connery (1f), G Joyce, P Lehane, C Flynn, P O’Rourke all 0-1.
P Holland 2-2 (2f); A McCarthy 0-4, S O’Donoghue 0-2; K Rice, S Sheehan, O McCarthy all 0-1.
J O’Keeffe; D Keane, C O’Leary, C Lombard, B O’Mahony, S Sheehan, L Ryan, J Harrington, O McCarthy, S O’Donoghue, C Casey, A McCarthy, P Holland, C O’Leary.
Subs: M Nagle for Rice (40), D O’Keeffe for O’Leary (45).
A Horgan; P Murphy, K Forde, A Dennehy, G Joyce, D Connery, C Buckley, K Moynihan, E Moynihan, K Buckley, C Hanafin, L Sheehan, R O’Sullivan, P Rourke, S Forde.
P Lehane for Moynihan (40), E Kidney for Buckley (45), S Paul Cooke for Sheehan (50), C Hogan for P Rourke (52).
Ian McCarthy (Bandon)
A collection of the latest sports news, reports and analysis from Cork.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
