Cooper goal the catalyst for Éire Óg success in Carrigaline victory

Joe Cooper's gave his side the lead for the first time in half an hour and gave his side the confidence to push on for the victory after a Brian Kelleher hat-trick had stunned them in the first half.

CRUCIAL GOAL: Eire Og's Joe Cooper is tackled by Carrigaline's Rob O'Shea. Pic: David Keane.

Éire Óg 2-19 Carrigaline 3-14  

A rip-roaring contest here in Brinny on Sunday afternoon as Éire Óg moved to the top of Group B in the Co-op Superstores Cork PIHC as a result of their slender victory over Carrigaline.

In the end the game hinged on Joe Cooper’s goal for Éire Óg in the 47th minute. It gave his side the lead for the first time in half an hour and gave his side the confidence to push on for the victory after a Brian Kelleher hat-trick had stunned them in the first half.

It put Eire Óg 2-14 to 3-9 clear but soon Carrig were level through Kelleher and Dan Greene. They would be level twice more in the final ten minutes but, eventually, the Ovens side broke Carrigaline’s resolve with three of the last four scores of the game, two from Eoin O’Shea and one from the outstanding Cooper.

Éire Óg, buoyed by their thrilling victory over Valley Rovers last weekend, started the brighter here and raced into a 0-5 to 0-2 lead. 

Kevin Hallissey was prominent in midfield, scoring one and making one for Colm O’Callaghan. Eoin O’Shea also chipped in with a couple of scores and Cooper fired over a beauty while Brian Kelleher was Carrigaline’s sole marksman.

Further scores from Cooper and Hallissey outdid a Dan Greene point for Carrig before the Brian Kelleher show began in earnest.

From the puckout following Cooper’s point, he gathered possession and planted the ball past Dylan Desmond. 

He followed with two points before he twice profited from the excellent work of Kevin O’Reilly. Twice O’Reilly fetched the ball from the sky, twice he fed Kelleher and twice more Kelleher found the net to finish his hat-trick, 3-5 to 0-7.

O’Shea stopped the rot for Éire Óg but further scores from Drake and Kelleher put Carrig back in control.

 Again O’Shea was on target for the Muskerry side before a long frees from Desmond broke for Cork football star O’Callaghan who in turn rattled the Carrig net. There was time for one more Kelleher free before the sides retired for the interval with Carrig leading by 3-8 to 1-9.

The scores slowed down a bit after the break but Éire Óg slowly began to erode the deficit. 

Three O’Shea frees and one each from Cooper and David Kirwan brought them to 1-14 while All Carrigaline could register was another score from Kelleher.

Then came Cooper’s game-breaking goal, and his side will face Ballymartle in the final round with one foot in the knockout stages while Carrig will play Valley Rovers in a final effort to garner something from their season.

Scorers for Éire Óg: E O’Shea (0-9, 0-8 frees), J Cooper (1-4), C O’Callaghan (1-2), K Hallissey (0-2), D Kirwan and J Sheehan (0-1 each).

Scorers for Carrigaline: B Kelleher (3-8, 0-5 frees), E Desmond and D Greene (0-2 each), D Drake and F O’Connell (0-1 each).

ÉIRE ÓG: D Desmond; D Dineen, John Kelleher, M Brady; J Mullins, C McGoldrick, Jerome Kelleher; D McCarthy, C Mac Eaelsa; C O’Callaghan, J Cooper, J Sheehan; D Kirwan, O O’Shea, E O’Shea.

Subs: B Hurley for Jerome Kelleher (38), D Casey for Kirwan (53).

CARRIGALINE: R Foster; N Coleman, S Williamson, Kieran Kavanagh; R O’Shea, R McCarthy, N O’Keeffe; R Kelleher, J McCarthy; Kevin Kavanagh, D Drake, E Desmond; B Kelleher, K O’Reilly, D Greene.

Subs: F O’Connell and D King for R Kelleher and O’Keeffe (both 46).

Referee: Patrick O’Mahony (Kilbrittan).