Cork SHL: Perfect Midleton march into Division 1 final with nine wins

In an entertaining draw between St Finbarr's and Carrigtwohill, the Barrs benefited from the availability of Cork panellists Ben Cunningham and Ethan Twomey

Fionn Coleman scored 1-5 for Blackrock in their victory over Douglas. Pic: Jim Coughlan.

Midleton maintained their perfect start to the season with a ninth consecutive Division 1 HL win after defeating Sarsfields. The two will meet again when they face off in the final, but the Magpies will be pleased with having taken the maximum haul of 18 points from the league.

It was a relatively comfortable victory too. They had eight points to spare over their Riverstown opponents as Conor Lehane top-scored with 0-8, including five from play.

Mikey Finn and Conor Morley hit the goals in their 2-18 to 1-13 victory, while Eoin Moloney made his return following the injury he sustained in last year’s championship semi-final.

After scoring 2-5 for Sarsfields’ juniors in their divisional final the week before, Cian McCarthy made his first senior start to score 0-4, with one from play. Cian Darcy grabbed the goal for Sars, while Paul Connaughton scored 0-3 from play for Midleton.

The Rockies secured third place after three consecutive wins, their most recent arriving against Douglas on Sunday, with the Church Road outfit finishing 3-25 to 0-21 winners.

Fionn Coleman starred with 1-5 from play, while Michael O’Halloran (0-1 f) and Kevin O’Keeffe hit 0-4 apiece. Ciarán Cormack and John Cashman were the other Blackrock goalscorers, and they ensured a 3-9 to 0-14 interval advantage, which allowed the Rockies to push further clear in the second.

Mark O’Brien continued his impressive form, with a contribution of 0-10 (0-9 placed) for Douglas, while Cillian O’Donovan did well at wing-back with 0-3.

Glen Rovers stretched their winning run to four, beating Killeagh well after a high-scoring affair earlier in the week, 4-25 to 3-19. All six forwards got in on the scoring, with Stephen Lynam, Patrick Horgan, Simon Kennefick and Lee Quilligan the goalscorers.

Quilligan and Kennefick in particular punished Killeagh from play with 1-3 and 1-4 respectively, while Hoggy hit 1-10, 1-5 of which came from play.

Ryan McCarthy struck 2-1 for Killeagh, including a penalty which helped spark a brief revival. They got within one point of their opponents in the second half, but a couple of goals from the Glen killed off Killeagh’s challenge.

St Finbarr’s and Carrigtwohill played out an entertaining 1-26 to 2-23 draw in the final round, with both sides losing players to injury, as Sam Cunningham and Seán Walsh departed early. There will be real concern over Walsh’s fitness, particularly with the severity of the injury and the timing of it. A point from a 65 early in the game extended his overall league tally to 5-79, and he will be a huge loss if they are without him for championship.

The Barrs profited from the availability of Cork panellists Ben Cunningham and Ethan Twomey, the latter of whom scored 0-4 from play while Cunningham was the marksman once more from placed balls, totalling 0-12 on Sunday. Jack O’Kelly did well too with 0-3, while Jack Cahalane hit 1-3.

In Walsh’s absence Cork U20 Matthew Barrett stepped up, scoring 1-10 overall with 1-4 from play. Liam O’Sullivan got the other Carrig goal, while Patrick Walsh managed 0-4 and James Mulcahy scored 0-3.

Charleville needed a surge in the final 10 minutes to get the better of Fr O’Neill’s, winning their contest at Castletownroche 3-24 to 1-17. The score was 1-18 to 1-17 with 10 minutes to go, before Charleville found strength and blitzed their opponents with 2-6 unanswered.

David Forde and Rob Carroll were excellent, landing 1-8 (0-5 f) and 1-5 (1-0 pen, 0-2 f) respectively, while Cathal Carroll was the other goalscorer with 1-1.

Tim Hawe and Jack Callaghan tallied 0-3 each, as Kevin O’Sullivan led the way for Fr O’Neill’s again with 0-9 (0-7 f). Rob Cullinane hit the O’Neill’s goal in the first half.

In Division 2, Erin’s Own kept up their strong form with a 3-21 to 1-19 win over Valley Rovers, and they now gear up for their final with Bride Rovers, though the Rathcormac/Bartlemy men weren’t in action this weekend as Newcestown conceded the fixture.

Already relegated Ballymartle got their first win on the board to beat Carrigaline, while Kanturk took care of Na Piarsaigh earlier in the week to relegate the northsiders to Division 3 for 2026.

Newtownshandrum finished the campaign strongly with a 2-20 to 0-12 win over Ballincollig, Turlough O’Neill and Ronan Geary contributing well for the hosts, as O’Neill netted a goal from a sideline.

Rory Troy impressed at midfield while Adam Wills top-scored for Ballincollig, and Fenton Denny impressed in defence.

Two points separated first from fourth in Division 3, as Blarney snatched a 0-20 to 0-19 win over Bandon to seal promotion and a league final spot, where they’ll face Ballinhassig, who defeated Lisgoold 3-15 to 0-19. Courcey Rovers missed out on the final after losing 1-20 to 0-16 against Castlelyons, while Inniscarra rounded out the campaign with a comfortable 3-18 to 2-10 victory over Éire Óg.

Kilworth and Aghabullogue will meet in the Division 4 final after Watergrasshill fell to defeat against Bishopstown on Sunday, 1-21 to 2-15. Aghabullogue were 2-20 to 1-15 winners over Mallow, while Kilworth were denied a ninth consecutive victory as they were beaten by St Catherine’s, 1-26 to 1-24.

Premier Intermediate sides Dungourney and Cloyne secured promotion from Division 5 and will meet in the final, while Aghada and Sarsfields will face off in the Division 6 decider. Barryroe and Ballinora were the teams to get promoted from Division 7.