O'Sullivan-led Na Piarsaigh register resounding come-from-behind victory over Fermoy
Ross O'Sullivan of Na Piarsaigh keeps a close eye on the sliotar. Pic: Howard Crowdy
Na Piarsaigh completed an inspiring turnaround in Saturday’s Cork SAHC Group 2 clash against Fermoy to ease their relegation worries.
The Fair Hill men were down by eight points after just ten minutes in Castlelyons after a disastrous opening spell that saw them ship three quick-fire goals.
However, the Northsiders were not intent on throwing in towels and fought back well. They retired at the break a point down and from there it was pure dominance.
Ross O’Sullivan energised the North Cork outfit with 11 fine points in a man of the match performance as Piarsaigh eventually rallied to a ten-point victory.
Daniel Scanlon opened the Northsiders’ account after a minute but a calamitous next nine minutes would follow.
David Lardner spun Greg Healy and fired past Na Piarsaigh keeper Luke Donovan to raise the first green flag for Fermoy.
Three minutes later Ben Twomey had the ball in the net, fumbling the ball over the line despite being brought down by his man.
It got even worse for the Northsiders in the 10th minute when Fionn Lardner smashed it home off his stronger right side to give the East Cork men a healthy lead in the early stages.
From that moment forward Na Piarsaigh moved up a gear, keeping their opponents to a paltry 0-12 points.
Fermoy went in ahead by a point at the break (3-7 to 0-15) and may have considered themselves lucky to do so.
Ross O’Sullivan’s brilliant score from distance brought the sides level for the first time after just 25 seconds of the second half.
The two teams went tit-for-tat until the 42nd minute, Fermoy’s Darragh Daly and John O’Keefe adding their names to the scoresheet alongside Na Piarsaigh’s Luke Sheehan who had an impressive second half.
The final 20 minutes saw the Northsiders really take hold though. Cian Hogan, Patrick Rourke and Greg Healy all contributed great scores as O’Sullivan continued to add to his tally.
Captain Padraig Guest and Kevin Moynihan were two other vital cogs in the Piarsaigh wheel again as they commandeered the middle of the park, winning crucial puck outs in both halves and contributing seven points between them.
As the minutes slipped away so did hope of a Fermoy comeback.
A simple missed free from 20 yards by Fionn Lardner (Fermoy’s star man to that point) in the 49th minute was evidence enough that Fermoy were truly rattled and quickly running out of steam.
Their second half productivity came to six points with Na Piarsaigh finishing strong with 13 of the final 15 scores.
Na Piarsaigh’s Daire Connery (0-5) gave James Molloy a torrid time in at corner forward. O’Sullivan (0-11) did similarly to Ben Twomey in at full running circles around the Fermoy goalscorer who struggled to keep tabs with the Piarsaigh talisman all afternoon.
They were the key battles that ultimately gave Na Piarsaigh the spoils.
Mark Mullins and James O’Connor’s men played with a freedom and fluidity that was totally missing in their loss to Erin’s Own in the last round, posting only five wides and not needing a single green flag to help them on their way to victory.
The Northsiders travel to Midleton to take on Killeagh in Round 3 in a stiff test that will decide their fate.
F Lardner 1-7 (3f), D Lardner 1-1, B Twomey 1-0, S Aherne 0-2, C Roche, D Daly, J O’Keefe 0-1 each.
R O’Sullivan 0-11 (4f), D Connery 0-5, P Guest 0-4, D Scanlon, C Hogan and K Moynihan 0-3 each, L Sheehan, P Rourke, G Healy 0-1 each.
H Bates; C Roche, B Twomey, J Molloy; M Brennan, J O'Brien, C Fitzpatrick; B Daly, P Murphy; D Daly, S Aherne, D Lardner; F Lardner, D O'Callaghan, J O’Keefe.
K Morrisson for B Daly (43), J Ring for J O’Keefe (54).
L Donovan; K Buckley, D Scanlon, A Higgins; G Healy, C Buckley, E Gunning; C Meaney, K Moynihan; L Sheehan, P Guest, P Rourke; D Connery, R O’Sullivan, O Galvin.
D Gunning for O Galvin (20), C Hogan for D Gunning (25, inj), P Murphy for P Guest (62).
Ian McCarthy (Bandon).
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