Lane and Kirby star as seemingly untouchable Mounthawk march on

IMPERIOUS PADDY: Paddy Lane, Mercy Mounthawk, Tralee breaks the tackle of Liam Kelleher, St Francis College, Cork during their TUS Corn Ui Mhuiri (19 A F) match at Mallow, Co Cork. Pic: Dan Linehan

Corn Uí Mhuirí: Mercy Mounthawk 5-23 St Francis College, Rochestown 5-6 

It’s all getting a bit repetitive for Mercy Mounthawk. Repetitive too for those looking in at their back-to-back bid.

The pattern is identical each day they take to the field and edge an hour closer to successful retention of the Corn Uí Mhuirí. A cruise control hammering, a double-digit winning margin and the consequent showering of praise for their plethora of starlets.

The pattern is beginning to get a bit humdrum. Of course, that is no fault of the Mounthawk students. It’s simply the by-product of one team being so far ahead of everyone else.

Their semi-final opponents on Saturday week are Hamilton High School Bandon. With absolutely no disrespect to the latter, the evidence just does not exist to suggest Mounthawk’s back-to-back bid will halt there.

What the champions need on Saturday week is to be shaken from the repetitive humdrum of their campaign thus far. What they need is to be searched and probed. To find out something about themselves that none of the double-digit hammerings to date could possibly tell them.

“We did have a close game in the O'Sullivan Cup final (against Tralee CBS) and the next day is not going to be a big winning margin, we are going to have to win a game in a tight squeeze. We'll look forward to being in a tight game and seeing how the boys react,” remarked manager Aidan O’Shea.

Although the results don’t give the slightest impression of any disruption, O’Shea said access to players for the campaign still ongoing is much different to the history-making run of 12 months ago. 

Because of unavoidable factors, such as Austin Stacks’ run to the All-Ireland intermediate semi-final, access has been less. Far from a negative, the manager reckons it could work to their advantage as they approach the last two fences.

“Last year we had access to everyone more often. This year, we have had lads playing with club teams and more lads involved with U20 squads. It has been tricky.

“We haven't really been able to train fully as a squad at all because Austin Stacks were only knocked out 10 days ago, we have minded them lads (Daniel Kirby and Paddy Lane) extremely well. They have only trained with us about 70 minutes in total. They come to every session and their attitude is brilliant, but I think we will benefit from having minded them because they still look fresh.” 

Lane and Kirby were their typical brilliant selves here. After a difficult afternoon in Stacks colours during the aforementioned All-Ireland semi-final, Lane had himself back in the groove courtesy of a 16th second goal. 

It was an opening minute green flag that began with Kirby’s throw-in win and subsequent offload to Ben Murphy.

Lane, Kirby, and Murphy are the three outstanding pillars of this Mounthawk team. The latter pair are the towering coalface. The wall they provide to their defence by sustained dominance around the middle cannot be overstated.

Here, they screened and streamed forward. Both men had raised green flags by the call for half-time. The 5-12 to 1-3 half-time scoreline told of a non-event. The non-event allowed the Tralee school to withdraw Lane on 48 minutes, 2-12 beside his name.

Going back to the 11th minute, breeze-backed Mounthawk were 2-6 to 0-2 clear. Lane was responsible for 2-3, assisting Cormac Bastible for all bar one of the remaining 0-3.

The closest any team has come to the champions in this season’s Corn Uí Mhuirí is 12 points. 

This 17-point winning margin was right up there with the 20-point victories they put down in the opening two rounds. 

The margin was actually 28 points before Rochestown sub Jamie O’Brien, twice, Padraig McGrath, and Mark O’Brien hit the opposition net on four occasions in the final 10 minutes to take some of the meanness off the final outcome.

Still untested, still untouched. Who among the other remaining three can change that?

Scorers for Mercy Mounthawk: P Lane (2-12, 0-4 frees, 1-0 pen); D Kirby (2-1); B Murphy (1-2); T Kennedy (0-1 free), C Bastible (0-3 each); S Corkery, B Doyle (0-1).

Scorers for St Francis College, Rochestown: Jamie O’Brien (2-0); B Delaney (1-0 pen), M O’Brien, P McGrath (1-1 each); D O’Sullivan (0-3, 0-1 free).

MERCY MOUNTHAWK: R Kennedy (Kerins O’Rahillys); B Meehan (Kerins O’Rahillys), B Sharp (St Pat’s Blennerville), J Fisher (Austin Stacks); P O’Halloran (Austin Stacks), D Sargent (John Mitchels), G Casey (Austin Stacks); D Kirby (Austin Stacks), B Murphy (Austin Stacks); A Tuohy (Austin Stacks), T Kennedy (Kerins O’Rahillys), S Corkery (John Mitchels); C Bastible (Austin Stacks), P Lane (Austin Stacks), A Harty (Churchill).

SUBS: K O’Donoghue (Na Gaeil) for Fisher (28 mins, inj); B Doyle (Churchill) for Harty (38); J Hoare (Kerins O’Rahillys) for Tuohy (42); C McGibney (Churchill) for Casey (43); O Kerins (Kerins O’Rahillys) for Lane (48); M Savage (Ballymacelligott) for Bastible (temporary, 53).

ST FRANCIS COLLEGE, ROCHESTOWN: J Lyons (Nemo Rangers); L Kelleher (Douglas), D O'Kelly (St Finbarr's), B Murphy (Carrigaline); D O’Donoghue (Douglas), N O'Shea (Nemo Rangers), J Mouret (Douglas); Jack O’Brien (Douglas), D Reddington (Douglas); R Dooley (Douglas), J Harte (Douglas), B Delaney (Carrigaline); P McGrath (Douglas), M O’Brien (Douglas), D O'Sullivan (Nemo Rangers).

SUBS: Jamie O’Brien (Douglas) for Harte, E Murphy (Carrigaline) for O’Kelly (both HT); S Denn (Nemo Rangers) for Jack O’Brien (50).

REFEREE: D O’Callaghan (Limerick).