Eddie Murphy 'proud' as Carrigaline keep hopes alive after second half surge ensures victory over Valley Rovers

Carrigaline bounced back from their narrow 2-19 to 2-17 loss to Watergrasshill just over three weeks ago.

Sun, 25 Aug, 2024 - 22:10

Andrew Horgan, Ballinspittle

Cork Premier IHC: Carrigaline 0-19 Valley Rovers 0-16

The significance of Carrigaline’s victory over Valley Rovers should not be underestimated.

It certainly wasn’t underestimated by their manager shortly after the full-time whistle was blown.

“We are back in the championship and we are thrilled,” enthused Eddie Murphy.

A strong second-half performance from Carrigaline ensured they kept their Co-Op Superstores Cork Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship hopes alive as they defeated Valley Rovers in Ballinspittle yesterday afternoon.

Watergrasshill’s victory over Castlemartyr in Aghavine meant a win for Valleys here would see them progress, with Carrigaline crashing out. But now, Murphy’s men know another win against already- eliminated Castlemartyr in a fortnight will see them join Watergrasshill in the knockouts.

“And please God the further we go in the championship the stronger we will get in terms of personnel,” said Murphy.

“We have been destroyed with injuries. Valleys are always hard to beat but we were the better side today, the better hurling side overall.

“We showed a great will to win and it’s a huge win for Carrigaline but we have an equally hard game coming up against Castlemartyr.”

Valleys were looking to make it back-to-back wins in Group 1 after they edged past Castlemartyr 1-21 to 0-22 on the opening weekend of the competition, while Carrigaline were hoping to bounce back from their narrow 2-19 to 2-17 loss to Watergrasshill just over three weeks ago.

The end-to-end nature of the first half was summed up by the fact that by the 25th minute the sides were locked at 0-8 apiece, with Valleys taking the lead on eight occasions — Colm Butler firing over three frees — before Carrigaline mustered a response each time, the pick of them being corner-back Chris Vaughan’s strike from distance.

The sequence was finally broken when Ciaran Kearney gave Carrigaline the lead for the first time in the match after 26 minutes, shortly before Brian Kelleher doubled that advantage with a superbly-taken free.

Valleys, playing with the wind, would rue hitting four more wides than their rivals (9-5) in the first period but a couple more converted frees from Butler, either side of an excellent Kearney hit for Carrigaline, ensured they only trailed by the minimum at the break, 0-10 to 0-9.

The second half seemed like it would follow a similar pattern to the first as Valleys remained in front by the minimum with 40 minutes on the clock (0-12 to 0-11) but it was at this juncture that Carrigaline assumed control.

The blue and yellows, inspired by a long-range point from the sensational David Griffin, claimed six of the game’s next seven points to lead 0-17 to 0-13 heading into the final few minutes.

Valleys battled until the very end but despite outscoring their opponents in the closing stages, they were denied the equalising goal they needed by some strong Carrigaline defending.

“Today means the world to Carrigaline. I’m so proud of them; they were brilliant. They were by far the better team when it mattered in the second half; it’s a great win,” said Murphy.

Scorers for Carrigaline: B Kelleher (0-6, 5s), C Kearney and R McCarthy (0-3 each), C Barry (0-2), C Vaughan, D Griffin, R O’Shea, F O’Connell and D Drake (0-1 each).

Scorers for Valley Rovers: C Butler (0-9, 9fs), B McCarthy, J Walsh, E Guinnane, J Cottrell, E O’Reily, A Kenneally and E Crowley (0-1 each).

CARRIGALINE: R Foster; C Vaughan, S Williamson, D King; K Kavanagh, D Griffin, D Stack; R Kelleher, C Barry; R McCarthy, R O’Shea, F O’Connell; C Kearney, D Drake, B Kelleher.

Subs: N O’Keeffe for D Griffin (56).

VALLEY ROVERS: J Lynch; D Murphy, M O’Leary, D Lynch; M Woods, W Hurley, E Guinnane; B McCarthy, J Walsh; C Butler, R O’Sullivan, J Cottrell; E O’Reily, A Kenneally, E Crowley.

Subs: C Johnston for M O’Leary (ht), C McCarthy for J Walsh (50), E O’Shea for E O’Reilly (54).

Referee: Ian McCarthy (Bandon).