Cork Premier IHC: Stephen Wills hits 1-11 as Ballincollig sweep Éire Óg aside

The defeat leaves Éire Óg at the bottom of Group 1

Stephen Wills scored Ballincollig's first goal against Éire Óg after just seven minutes of their Cork Premier IHC clash. Pic: David Keane.

Cork Premier IHC Group 1, Rd 2: Ballincollig 2-23 Éire Óg 1-18 

Superior from the get-go, Ballincollig put Éire Óg to the sword in the Cork Premier IHC on Sunday, brushing aside their neighbours by eight points in Riverstick.

The loss for Éire Óg leaves them rooted to the foot of Group 1 with a scoring difference of -18, following a similarly heavy defeat to Aghabullogue in the last round.

Ballincollig’s Stephen Wills was a vital part of his side’s success on the day, posting 1-11 in the local derby, nine from frees.

Éire Óg’s David Kirwan was even more impressive from the dead ball (0-12 all from frees) but it simply wasn’t enough to keep his side in the contest.

It was a fast start at the Ballymartle GAA grounds with six points on the board in the opening five minutes. Wills started as he meant to go on, putting an early free over the bar in the opening seconds of play.

Oisín O'Shea responded quickly with a point for Éire Óg before teammate Colm O'Callaghan drove forward with pace and power to place one over from close range.

Ballincollig captain James Dwyer was on fine form once more scoring three points in the first half. His first drew things level in the third minute before Éire Óg marksman Kirwan slipped over two frees in quick succession.

The first green flag was raised in the seventh minute when Wills caught the Éire Óg defence napping, the forward firing a quick free low into the opposition net from the 21 to put Ballincollig ahead (1-2 to 0-4 to Ballincollig).

Ballincollig’s lack of discipline around their own backline was keeping Éire Óg in the contest with Kirwan happy to clean up from the dead ball on multiple occasions. He slipped over three more frees with ease before the end of the half.

Theo Morgan and Adam Wills added two more scores to the board for Ballincollig before the whistle, giving their side a six point lead before the short whistle (1-12 to 0-9 to Ballincollig).

Kirwan got things up and running for Éire Óg in the second half, pucking his seventh free over within 30 seconds of the restart.

Two minutes later Ballincollig half forward Cian O’Driscoll came to burst the Éire Óg bubble, slaloming between two defenders and smashing high into the net for the second goal of the game.

An eight point deficit and a mountain to climb for Éire Óg.

Diarmuid Kirwan’s men failed to recover from this despite firing home a goal of their own in the 42nd minute, Colm O’Callaghan catching well before spinning his man and firing into the top left corner (2-16 to 1-12 to Ballincollig).

To add the cherry on top, James Linehan pulled off a fantastic last ditch save from sub Daniel Healy’s powerful effort with four minutes remaining.

Wills and Kirwan continued to trade frees but there was no way back for Éire Óg and that eight point deficit remained at the final whistle.

Ballincollig will look to continue a rich vein of form in round three against Aghabullogue. Éire Óg, meanwhile, will be hoping to topple Bishopstown who also sit on zero points.

Scorers for Ballincollig: S Wills 1-11 (9f), C O’Driscoll 1-0, J Dwyer, T Morgan 0-3 each, B Dore 0-2, H Ahearne, D O’Leary (1f), D O’Sullivan and A Wills 0-1 each.

Scorers for Éire Óg: D Kirwan 0-12 (12f), C O’Callaghan 1-1, D Healy, D Foley, D Clifford, O O’Shea and J Kelleher 0-1 each.

BALLINCOLLIG: J Linehan; R O’Donovan, F Denny, B Dore; D O’Sullivan, J Dwyer (captain), D O’Leary; T O’Connell, T Morgan; C O’Driscoll, S Wills, H Ahearne; A Wills, J Murray, M Oldham.

Subs: P Kelly for M Oldham (45), B Coleman for J Murray (53), C Dalton for H Ahearne (57).

ÉIRE ÓG: D Desmond; J Mullins, J Kelleher, C Clifford; K Beechinor, C McGoldrick, O O’Shea; D Kirwan, E O’Shea; J Galvin, D Foley, C O’Callaghan; Jerome Kelleher, K Hallissey, S Hurley.

Subs: D Clifford for D Foley (blood sub, 29), D Clifford for K Hallissey (HT), D McCarthy for J Kelleher (40), D Healy for E O’Shea (42).

Referee: Kevin O’Sullivan (Valley Rovers).