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as Erin's Own fail to fire Irish Examiner Newtownshandrum 0-16 Without ever playing to their potential, Newtownshandrum still proved far too good for a disappointing Erin's Own side in the quarter-final of the Permanent TSB County SHC at Kilworth last night (18th August). The victory was also achieved without the services of Gerry O'Connor for 45 minutes. The Cork senior failed to start because of a hamstring injury, but his arrival did give his side a psychological boost at a time when they were just two points in front and they were battling to stay in the championship race. On his arrival O'Connor was "welcomed" by Timmy Kelleher who received a yellow card for his indiscretion and it proved extremly costly as he received a second yellow and a red 10 minutes from time which effectively made it impossible for his side to retrieve the situation. Not for the first time, Newtown owed much to the silken skills of Ben O'Connor who claimed seven of his sides' points, while his younger brother John, John Paul King, goalkeeper Paul Morrissey and centre-back pat Mulcahy also made major contributions. Erin's Own were hugely disappointing. They failed miserably to reach the form of the previous week when they ousted Cloyne, and only Shay Bowen, Micheal Dunne, Denis Mulcahy and Peter Kelly can look back on this game with any degree of satisfaction. Many in the huge crowd felt that Newtown, without Gerry O'Connor, would have it all to do, but putting his absence behind them, they raced into a three points to nil lead inside the opening five minutes, Ben O'Connor (2) and his younger brother, John, accounting for their scores, one of them a delightfull effort from a sideline cut by Ben. Erin's Own were clearly rattled by the tenacity of the North Cork side and struggled to cope with it, and as a result were 0-5 to 0-1 adrift at the end of the opening quarter. The usually reliable Cian O'Connor found Ben O'Connor too hot to handle and with Shane Murphy also struggling to contain the lively John Paul King, the Glounthaune side were in serious trouble. However, as the game wore on, Erin's Own began to warm to the task and with Timmy Kelleher well on top at centre-back, it took a great save by Paul Morrissey in the Newtown goal to deny Tomas O'Leary a goal after Sean Dunne drew the backs before parting to the unmarked O'Leary. The North Cork side failed to maintain their early dominance, and when Shay Bowen pointed a free from his own 45 metre line it sparked off a tremendous period for the Glouthaune side in which they drew level with a succession of points, before John Paul King edged Newtown in front again which left them 0-7 to 0-6 to the good at the break. Erin's Own moved to try and contain the rampant Pat Mulcahy by moving Kieran Murphy to the 40 for the second half but it mattered little as the Newtown man continued to lord it at the centre back and, with Ben O'Connor orchestrating matters up front, the North Cork side hit over three unanswered points. Gerry O'Connor's introduction was clearly done to maintain the Newtown momentum and it worked. However by the end of the third quarter Erin's Own had reduced the deficit to two points, before Kieran Murphy had a 20 metre free blocked when a point was there for the taking. As the game hung in the balance, Erin's Own lost the services of Timmy Kelleher and, using the extra man well, Newtown took full advantage of their numerical superiority to hit over four unanswered points, one of them a marvellous effort by Pat Mulcahy from well inside his own half, to set up an intriguing semi-final with their own divisional side Avondhu in a forthnight's time. Scorers: Newtownshandrum: Erins Own: Referee: R Murphy (Lyre) | ||
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