Bandon produce the goods against Midleton to book Cork IHC decider

Bandon’s Jack Cullinane scored an early goal to set the standard. Pic: Noel Sweeney

Cork IHC semi-final: Bandon 3-19 Midleton 1-17 

Bandon produced an exhilarating brand of hurling to book their place to the Co Op Superstores Intermediate hurling championship final following a superb win over Midleton at Church Road on Saturday.

In a game where the west Cork side started well a strong closing 10 minutes in the opening half ensured Midleton were back on parity at the break.

Bandon found their mojo in the second half and - inspired by Jack Cullinane (1-5) and the free taking of Michael Cahalane (8 points) - they soon took over as the Midleton challenge petered out.

It was an explosive start to this cracking semi-final where Bandon only took 20 seconds to carve open the Midleton defence.

A superb catch and solo from corner forward Jack Cullinane saw him finish with a superb shot to the corner of the net.

Indeed, Bandon were simply breathtaking in the opening 10 minutes and a brace of Sean Carey points gave them a six-point lead.

Finally, the Midleton drought ended a minute later when an Aaron Mulcahy point got them up and running. Midway through the half they took total control.

In a 10-minute period Bandon failed to score from play as the free taking of Michael Cahalane kept their noises in front.

Midleton were now playing and moving far better than their opponents and a second Killian Burke point in the 28th minute reduced the deficit to two points.

Another late surge from the Magpies saw them conclude the half with points from Mulcahy and Paul Haughney. The sides went in at the break level at 1-9 to 0-12.

Midleton’s Paul Haughney looks to score a point as Bandon’s Sean Carey closes in. Pic: Noel Sweeney

On the restart both teams increased the tempo, and the Midleton full forward Kian Farmer forced the Bandon keeper Oisin Hennessy produce a superb save just two minutes into the restart.

Kevin Hannon proved to be a masterclass substitution for Bandon when introduced in the 36th minute as he registered a green flag a minute later.

A well worked three man move saw Hannon finish with a fabulous strike to the corner of the net.

The west Cork side were now buzzing, and the pressure intensified four minutes later when they found the net again.

On this occasion a thunderous Hannon shot came back off the crossbar and the Bandon stalwart Mark Sugrue was on hand to guide the ball to the empty net.

The Midleton stalwart Luke O’Farrell was sprung from the bench and his introduction saw him finding the net in the 48th minute.

Bandon were unstoppable coming down the stretch as they consistently found space to nail crucial points.

In the end Midleton can have few excuses as Bandon will now have a final date with Aghada after a truly professional display against their highly rated opponents.

Scorers for Bandon: M Cahalane 0-9 (f), J Cullinane 1-5, K Hannon 1-0, M Sugrue 1-0, S Carey 0-2, C Long, C Coleman, P Barry (0-1 each).

Scorers for Midleton: A Mulcahy 0-9 (0-6f), L O’Farrell 1-0, K Burke 0-2, E McCarthy, P Barrett, C Stack, D Scanlon, P Haughney, D Egan (0-1 each).

Bandon: O Hennessy; P Calnan, T Twohig, C Twomey; C Lynch, P Murphy, D O’Donovan; M Cahalane, C Calnan; D O’Mahony, M Sugrue, E McSweeney; C Long, S Carey, J Cullinane.

Subs: K Hannon for D O’Mahony (36), D Crowley for S Carey (43), N McCarthy for P Calnan (44), P Barry for M Sugrue (56), C McCarthy for M Cahalane (60).

Midleton: B Rossiter; C Gunning, L Dineen, S Smyth; K Burke, C Cronin, E McCarthy; D Egan, P Haughney; C Beausang, D Scanlon, A Mulcahy; C Stack, K Farmer, P Barrett.

Subs: A Faye for S Smyth (38), M McSweeney for C Cronin (40),L O’Farrell for D Scanlon (40) E Fraser for A Faye (47), S O’Meara for K Farmer (50), J Hogan for D Egan (52).

Referee: Brendan Barry-Murphy (Cloughduv).