GLEN ROVERS PLAYED FOR over a half with 14 men but still ran out winners by 14 points over St Finbarr’s as last year’s beaten finalists made a storming start to their Cork senior hurling campaign tonight in Pairc Uí Chaoimh.
County senior Robert Downey was shown a red card before the break for an off the ball incident yet his team still ran out 3-20 to 0-15 victors with Patrick Horgan bagging 1-9 and Simon Kennefick firing home 2-1.
Downey’s dismissal came at a stage when Glen Rovers were in front by six points and the gap was down to four at the interval, 1-12 to 0-11. St Finbarr’s hit five of the last six points of the half but they conceded 1-4 without reply at the start of the second half which proved costly.
Watch full-time highlights of Glen Rovers v St Finbarr’s in the Cork Premier Senior Hurling Championship pic.twitter.com/0AeDkokVfk
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Horgan hit five first-half points with Kennefick’s terrific early goal helping Glen Rovers push into a strong position early on, in front 1-11 to 0-6 after 20 minutes. Luke Horgan and Liam Coughlan also weighed in with a brace of points apiece for the winners in this phase.
Damien Cahalane hit three first-half points for St Finbarr’s while Billy Hennessy (0-2) and Eoghan Finn (0-5) were others to aid their overall scoring effort. Kennefick’s second-half goal proved crucial in ending a spell of momentum for St Finbarr’s and they trailed 2-16 to 0-13 entering he final water break.
Robert O’Mahony and Stephen Sherlock both hit the woodwork in search of a late goal while Horgan cracked home the Glen’s third strike to get the 2015 and 2016 champions off to a fine start.
Earlier Alan Connolly struck 1-9 in Páirc Uí Rinn to inspire 2017 finalists Blackrock to their 2-16 to 2-12 success over Erins Own. Blackrock were on fire in the first half with Ciaran Cormack lashing home an early goal and when Connolly netted in the 21st minute, they were 2-8 to 0-3 clear.
Cork senior Robbie O’Flynn was sharp and alert in influencing the action in the first half. He struck 0-4 from play at a time when his Erins Own team were struggling badly and they made some headway before the break with Maurice O’Carroll’s goal helping them to only trail by five at the interval, 2-8 to 1-6.
The second half was a free-taking battle between Connolly and Eoghan Murphy for Erins Own, who brought on his brother Kieran, the ex-Cork senior, to make a second-half impact. Alan Bowen’s goal ten minutes from time left them narrowly adrift, 2-12 to 2-11, but Blackrock finished strong with Connolly (2) and Robbie Cotter hitting over the last three points of the game.
The other Cork Premier SHC game played today saw Alan Cadogan and Shane Kingston point the way for Douglas as they triumphed 0-17 to 1-11 over Ballyhea. Cadogan shot 0-6 and Kingston grabbed 0-4 with Pa O’Callaghan top scorer for Ballyhea with 0-9. Douglas were ahead narrowly at the interval, 0-8 to 0-7, but they pushed on in the second half and ultimately prevailed by three points.
Results
Cork Premier SHC
- Blackrock 2-16 Erins Own 2-12
- Glen Rovers 3-20 St Finbarr’s 2-15
- Douglas 0-17 Ballyhea 1-11
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