Midleton 4-22

Blackrock 3-19

THE SENIOR HURLING kingpins bowed out in Cork this afternoon, Blackrock undone by a scoring blitz that Midleton unleashed in the third quarter to settle this semi-final clash.

In possession of a three-point advantage at half-time, Midleton cracked home three goals in that spell early in the second half and while they conceded one to Niall Cashman, a terrific score by the Cork defender, the damage had been done by the East Cork team.

Their 4-16 to 2-13 lead at the midway mark of the second half proved unassailable to ensure Midleton will contest the final for the first time since 2018 and sees title holders Blackrock fall short in their attempts to retain their crown.

Conor Lehane capped a fine display with the last point of the day, swelling his total to ten for the day. Cormac Beausang hit 1-4 in a sparkling showing at full-forward, while Luke O’Farrell, Pa White and Ross O’Regan all raised green flags in that productive third quarter for the team coached by Ben O’Connor.

Luke O'Farrell (right - file photo) was amongst the Midleton goalscorers. Oisin Keniry / INPHO Oisin Keniry / INPHO / INPHO

The first-half was a free-flowing affair, characterised by the space both teams created in attack and the volume of scores they registered. 

They shared 25 points between them, both teams rattled the net and the upshot was Midleton just shaded the exchanges at the break, 1-14 to 1-11. That was a product of a strong burst by Ben O’Connor’s charges before the interval, as they outscored Blackrock 0-5 to 0-2 after the 23rd minute.

The goals arrived early and in quick succession. Cormac Beausang accelerated in from the left wing and finished off his left side in the 5th minute for Midleton, the towering figure of Mark O’Keeffe replied for Blackrock two minutes later, a timely boost as things threatened to unravel for the champions as they stared at a five-point deficit.

Blackrock’s best spell came in the first quarter, trailing 1-3 to 0-1 after five minutes but in front 1-6 to 1-4 by the 12th minute. Yet Midleton steadied and gradually moved ahead. Conor Lehane amassed 0-6 in the opening period, including two exceptional points from play, one from either wing. Beausang was always dangerous at full-forward and Tommy O’Connell hit one terrific point from his centre-forward berth.

Then came that third quarter surge from Midleton which powered them towards the finish line. They had a couple of other openings to net late on but Gavin Connolly in the Blackrock goal denied O’Farrell and Beausang, while the impressive John O’Sullivan booted home a late goal for Blackrock as they chased the game.

Scorers for Midleton: Conor Lehane 0-10 (0-6f), Cormac Beausang 1-4, Ross O’Regan 1-2, Luke O’Farrell 1-1, Pa White 1-0, Paul Haughney 0-2, Sean O’Leary-Hayes, Tommy O’Connell, Sam Quirke 0-1 each.

Scorers for Blackrock: Alan Connolly 0-8 (0-7f), John O’Sullivan 1-3, Niall Cashman 1-2 (0-1 ’65), Mark O’Keeffe 1-0, Robbie Cotter, Daniel Meaney 0-2 each, Stephen Murphy, Michael O’Halloran 0-1 each. 

Midleton

1. Brion Saunderson

2. Eoghan Moloney, 3. Luke Dineen, 5. Ciarmhac Smyth 

4. Sean O’Leary-Hayes, 6. Tommy O’Connell, 7. Cormac Walsh

8. Paul Haughney, 9. Sam Quirke

15. Sean O’Meara, 10. Conor Lehane (captain), 11. Ross O’Regan

13. Luke O’Farrell, 14. Cormac Beausang, 12. Pa White

Subs

25. Seamus O’Farrell for Haughney (45)

18. Alex Quirke for White (50)

20. Aaron Mulcahy for O’Meara (52)

23. Garan Manley for O’Regan (61)

Blackrock

1. Gavin Connolly

2. Jamie Ryan, 3. Gary Norberg, 4. Conor O’Brien

5. John Cashman, 6. Ciaran Cormack, 7. Niall Cashman

8. Stephen Murphy, 10. Daniel Meaney,  

15. Mark O’Keeffe, 14. Shane O’Keeffe, 12. Michael O’Halloran 

9. John O’Sullivan, 11. Alan Connolly, 13. Robbie Cotter

Subs

26. Alan O’Callaghan for Norberg (38)

21. David O’Farrell for John Cashman (43)

20. Tadhg Deasy for Mark O’Keeffe (44)

24. Ciaran Cormack for Shane O’Keeffe (45)

Referee: Colm Lyons