East Cork Junior A Football Championship Rd 2

Castlelyons 3-13 v Aghada 2-10

Don’t be fooled by the final score line, this was far from a great game that the high scoring might suggest. In fact for most of the game it was a very one-sided contest. Played in near perfect conditions on a splendid Lisgoold surface, a stronger, fitter and faster Castlelyons team, had way too much for Aghada’s second team. When Castleyons’ best forward Alan Fenton hit his 6 point of the evening, 6 minutes into the second half, the score board read 3-11 v 3pts and it gave Castlelyons a whopping 17 point lead. It was all about making the scoreboard look more respectable from here to the finish for Aghada, and to their credit they managed to achieve this thanks mainly to former Cork star Pearse O’Neill, who had missed Aghada’s opening senior game through injury.  6 points from the former All-Star, allied to goals from Stephen Daly and David Rice meant Aghada outscored their opponents by 2-7 to 2 pts for the remainder of the half. That 1-2 of that tally came in injury time, tells you that the result was never in doubt at any stage, and Castlelyons were worthy winners from a long way out.

Beaten finalists in this competition 2 years ago, Castlelyons dominated proceedings from the get go, with 3 points in the opening 4 minutes. Michael Spillane and Fenton x 2 were the scorers. Aghada were living off scraps but still with 16 minutes gone there was only two points in it as the men from the north of the barony led 5 points to 3. From here to the interval however it was all one way traffic. Fenton kicked 2 frees and then on 25 minutes he struck powerfully to the back of the net to finish of a move that swept the entire length of the field. A minute later, crossbars, uprights and last ditch Aghada blocking prevented a second green flag going up. Eventually after the 4th rebounded attempt at goal, midfielder Thomas Carroll pointed from close range. Then as the clock ticked into the final seconds, full forward Jack Barry intercepted the Aghada ‘keepers kickout and he finished smartly giving Castlelyons their second goal with the last action of the half.

2-8 vs 0-3 at the halftime whistle and Aghada had a mountain to climb. 2 minutes after the restart, Jack Barry palmed a third goal, to remove any slight hope they might have had of getting back into this game. So Castlelyons deservedly march on to the 3rd round, while Aghada must wait another year to tilt at this championship again.

Castlelyons Team and scorers – John Paul Murphy, Brian Carroll, Cian O’Leary, Shane Fenton, Liam Moroney, Aidan O’Sullivan, Eoin Maye, Shane Moroney, Thomas Carroll (0-1), Darragh Lawlor, Ciaran McGann(0-2), Michael Spillane (0-3), Alan Fenton (1-7, 4f’s), Jack Barry (2-0), Ronan Fenton(capt). Subs Used – Brian O’Donovan for Ronan Fenton 35m, Peter Roche for Darragh Lawlor 20m and Shane Flynn for Ciaran McGann 24m.

Aghada Team and Scorers – Ciaran O’Shea, Shane Dorney, David Rice (capt)(1-0), Michael Gilroy, Tommy Dobbyn, Colm Power, Ben Stafford, Tom O’Neill(0-1), Pearse O’Neill (0-6,2f’s), Paul Daly, Jordan Ryan, Stephen Daly (1-0), Luke O’Connell (0-1), Brian Wall (0-1), Ray Savage (0-1f).

Referee Niall O’Neill Midleton.