Cork Finish League Campaign in style at Chadwicks Wexford Park;

 

Allianz Hurling League Division One Group A

Cork 3-21 Wexford 1-15

By Ronan Fagan at Chadwicks Wexford Park

Another hat-trick from goal machine Alan Connolly spurred Cork to ease past Wexford at rain-drenched Chadwicks Wexford Park in Saturday’s Division 1 Group A Allianz hurling league encounter.

While a third straight victory wasn’t enough for 2022 league finalists Cork to make the semi-finals for a third straight year, Pat Ryan’s charges certainly are moving in the right direction ahead of their April 21 Munster opener against Waterford, with 12 different scorers on this occasion.

Wexford are home to Dublin that same day in the Leinster championship, and while this ends a seven match unbeaten run under new manager Keith Rossiter, the purple and gold have already established solid foundations for the summer.

And ‘keeper Mark Fanning most certainly showcased his class after a virtual goalkeeping masterclass to thwart several additional Cork goal threats, principally from ravenous full-forward Connolly, who was fresh of a three goal haul against Offaly.

Cork didn’t let the deplorable conditions hinder their ambitions when collating 1-3 without reply inside the first five minutes.

And Connolly calmly flicked home a low cross from the right by Patrick Horgan in the second minute.

Centre-back Ciarán Joyce had drawn first-blood while Pat Horgan (two) also contributed to the Rebels developing the early six point cushion.

Wexford were toiling hard, and they got it back to 1-4 to 0-3 after 16 minutes through Seamus Casey (two) and Darragh Carley, the latter an Under-20 from last year.

But Cork were bossing matters and went close with a couple of goaling efforts – Connolly’s angled drive going wide off the woodwork, before Shane Barrett drew a save from the Wexford ‘keeper.

Regardless, Horgan (free), Connolly and defender Robert Downey had them on 1-7 to 0-3 after 23 minutes.

And Connolly consolidated their position when stitching a second personal goal on 26 minutes to open-up a 2-8 to 0-4 lead after Patrick Horgan broke down a delivery from corner-back Eoin Downey.

Cork goalie Patrick Collins even drove a point from play almost the length of the field as the red and whites settled into a healthy 2-13 to 0-5 interval lead.

Wexford drafted in Mikie Dwyer and the experienced Liam Óg McGovern on the resumption, but Cork continued to pose serious danger.

Indeed, it demanded a solid save by the Wexford ‘keeper to deny Seamus Harnedy a green-flag in the 38th minute, while Alan Connolly was a clearance off the goal-line by Simon Donohoe from making it a hat-tricks five minutes later.

Conor McDonald was introduced for his seasonal bow on 49 minutes as the purple and gold sought to rustle a fight-back.

But Wexford netminder Fanning further distinguished himself on 57 minutes when keeping out Connolly after Shane Barrett sent him through.

That came shortly after Declan Dalton’s kicked effort rebounded off an upright in a goalmouth scramble.

Wexford lost Eoin Ryan to a black-card for the closing stages after hauling down Shane Barrett at the expense of a penalty, from which Alan Connolly sealed his hat-trick a minute into added-time but only after his shot dribbled past the outstanding Wexford number one.

Wexford gained a consolation goal in response moments later after sub Mikie Dwyer fed Seamus Casey to smash home.

Scorers for Cork: Alan Connolly 3-2 (1-0 penalty), Patrick Horgan 0-8 (7fs), Brian Hayes 0-2, Ciarán Joyce, Seamus Harnedy, Robert Downey, Patrick Collins, Tommy O’Connell, Shane Kingston (free), Conor Lehane, Luke Meade, Shane Barrett 0-1 each

Scorers for Wexford: Seamus Casey 1-9 (7fs), Mark Fanning 0-3 (3fs), Darragh Carley 0-2, Conor Foley 0-1

Cork: Patrick Collins; Eoin Downey, Damien Cahalane, Seán O Donoghue; Ger Mellerick, Ciarán Joyce, Robert Downey; Tommy O’Connell, Darragh Fitzgibbon; Declan Dalton, Seamus Harnedy, Brian Hayes; Patrick Horgan, Alan Connolly, Shane Barrett.

Subs: Luke Meade for Fitzgibbon (49), Brian Roche for Harnedy (49), Conor Lehane for Dalton (54), Shane Kingston for Horgan (59), Tim O’Mahony for R. Downey (66).

Wexford: Mark Fanning; Eoin Ryan, Conor Foley, Simon Donohoe; Darragh Carley, Damien Reck, Matthew O’Hanlon; Conor Hearne; Charlie McGuckin, Kevin Foley, Joe O’Connor; Cian Byrne, Seamus Casey, Cathal Dunbar.

Subs: Mikie Dwyer for Dunbar (HT), Liam Óg McGovern for Dunbar (HT), Conor McDonald for Byrne (49), Tomás Kinsella for O’Connor (54), Jack Doran for Foley, temp. (56-61), Niall Murphy for Carley (69).

Referee: Liam Gordon (Galway).

Cork footballers win in Meath

Allianz Football League Division Two

Cork 1-15 Meath 1-11

By Paul Keane at Páirc Tailteann VIA www.gaa.ie.

Fresh off their recent warm weather training camp, Cork finished strongly in Navan to secure their third Allianz Football League win on the trot and secure their Division 2 status for another season.

John Cleary’s side trailed by three points with eight minutes to go following a burst of Meath scoring and with only two wins picked up beforehand they looked to be in a difficult position.

The Munster men reeled off seven points in a row from there, however, to secure an impressive win that has allowed them to breathe out with a game to go.

Top scorer Conor Corbett, who struck 1-3 overall, Luke Fahy, Steven Sherlock, Matty Taylor and Mark Cronin were all on the mark late on as Cork perhaps showed the fitness benefits of that training camp.

They will play Armagh in Round 7 at SuperValu Pairc Ui Chaoimh and while safety isn’t a concern at this stage, Cork will chase another win to guarantee their place in this year’s race for the Sam Maguire Cup.

Meath will be disappointed with tossing away that three-point lead and failing to score in the final 20 minutes or so, resulting in their second defeat of the campaign.

The Tailteann Cup holders will return to action against Donegal in the final round.

Meath manager Colm O’Rourke made a number of intriguing points beforehand in his match programme notes.

He described their Round 5 display against Cavan as their best of the campaign, despite drawing and scoring just 0-11, while he acknowledged that ‘we need to score more and especially goals’.

He pointed to the inexperience of his young team too, stating that ’10 of the 20 players who performed in Cavan are in their very first league campaign’, promising that ‘this Meath side will not now change significantly over the next few years’.

With all of that in mind, he will have had mixed feelings about their first-half display which left Meath tied at half-time on 0-7 to Cork’s 1-4.

Meath did strike half a dozen wides and their first three were all from scorable positions with Shane Walsh driving a shot at goal wide from an acute angle in the ninth minute.

Cork were more efficient at the other end, initially at least, and by the 26th minute opened up a 1-4 to 0-3 lead.

Their opening score was a Corbett goal in the fifth minute. Brian O’Driscoll was a busy performer in the Cork attack and set Corbett away for the goal though the Carrigaline man still had to shrug off Adam O’Neill before slotting left footed to the bottom right corner.

Brian Hurley, who later went off with an apparent injury, clipped a couple of points off his left foot despite being under pressure in a crowded area and Cork were good value for their lead.

Boss John Cleary was frustrated with the number of turnovers that went against them in the 10 minutes or so before half-time, allowing Meath to gain a foothold in the game.

The Royals reeled off four points in a row with Eoghan Frayne drilling over two excellent points, Walsh converting and goalkeeper Sean Brennan converting his second 45′ of the half.

The Corbett-O’Neill head-to-head was the game’s most entertaining battle and Corbett twice found space after the restart for two Cork points to put daylight between the teams.

Meath had previously responded well to adversity throughout the campaign and once again conjured their strongest form when the need was greatest.

Stand-in captain Mathew Costello, in the absence of Ronan Jones, and Brennan struck scores to level the game again at 0-9 to 1-6 and they were tied again at the three-quarter stage when Costello conjured Meath’s goal, just their second of the campaign.

He’d just scored a point following a Walsh delivery and the pair repeated the act for Meath’s goal, Costello fetching high and brushing off full-back Daniel O’Mahony before blasting beyond the goalkeeper from close range.

Meath led 1-11 to 1-8 following a Ruairi Kinsella point but surprisingly didn’t score again as Cork turned the screw in impressive fashion.

Scorers for Cork: Conor Corbett 1-3, Steven Sherlock 0-3 (1f), Brian Hurley 0-2, Luke Fahy 0-2, Chris Og Jones 0-1, Brian O’Driscoll 0-1, Sean Powter 0-1, Matty Taylor 0-1, Mark Cronin 0-1.

Scorers for Meath: Mathew Costello 1-2 (1f), Eoghan Frayne 0-3 (1f), Sean Brennan 0-3 (3 45s), Ruairi Kinsella 0-2, Shane Walsh 0-1.

Cork: Christopher Kelly; Kevin Flahive, Daniel O’Mahony, Tommy Walsh; Luke Fahy, Sean Meehan, Matty Taylor; Ian Maguire, Colm O’Callaghan; Paul Walsh, Sean Powter, Brian O’Driscoll; Chris Og Jones, Conor Corbett, Brian Hurley.

Subs: Ruairi Deane for Walsh 44, Steven Sherlock for Hurley 48, Mark Cronin for Jones 60, Killian O’Hanlon for O’Driscoll 60, Eoghan McSweeney for Deane 65.

Meath: Sean Brennan; Donal Keogan, Adam O’Neill, Brian O’Halloran; Cairan Caulfield, Darrag Campion, Sean Coffey; Cian McBride, Daithi McGowan; Mathew Costello, Cathal Hickey, Jack O’Connor; Ruairi Kinsella, Shane Walsh, Eoghan Frayne.

Subs: Michael Murphy for Campion 27, Danny Dixon for O’Connor 50, Adam McDonnell for Kinsella 56, Diarmuid Moriarty for McBride 70, Keith Curtis for McGowan 71 – f/t blood, Harry O’Higgins for Caulfield 72.

Referee: Thomas Murphy (Galway).

Allianz Football League | Cork vs Meath | Round 6

Cork will travel to Meath on Saturday in Round 6 of the Allianz Football League.   

Find out all you need to know about the game below.

Where? Páirc Tailteann, Meath

When? Saturday 16 March at 2:00pm

Match Referee Thomas Murphy, Galway

Team News Cork Team

 

Meath Team: 

Ticket information This is a ticket game. Tickets can be purchased below

Buy Match Tickets

Allianz Hurling League | Cork vs Wexford | Round 5

Cork will travel to Wexford on Saturday in Round 5 of the Allianz Hurling League.   

Find out all you need to know about the game below.

Where? Chadwicks Wexford Park

When? Saturday 16 March at 3:00pm

Match Referee Liam Gordon, Galway

Team News Cork Team

Wexford Team:

Ticket information

This is a ticket game. Tickets can be purchased below

Buy Match Tickets

The Cork Senior Football Team to play Meath has been announced;

(1) Christopher Kelly (Eire Og)
(2) Kevin Flahive (Douglas)
(3) Daniel O’Mahony (Knocknagree)
(4) Tommy Walsh (Kanturk)
(5) Luke Fahy (Ballincollig)
(6) Sean Meehan (Kiskeam)
(7) Matty Taylor (Mallow)
(8) Ian Maguire (St Finbarrs)
(9) Colm O’Callaghan (Eire Og)
(10) Eoghan Mc Sweeney (Knocknagree)
(11) Mark Cronin (Nemo Rangers)
(12) Brian O’Driscoll (Carrigaline)
(13) Chris Og Jones (Iveleary)
(14) Conor Corbett (Clyda Rovers)
(15) Brian Hurley (Castlehaven) Captain
(16) Micheal Aodh Martin (Nemo Rangers)
(17) Maurice Shanley (Clonakilty)
(18) Darragh Cashman (Millstreet)
(19) Sean Powter (Douglas)
(20) Thomas Clancy (Clonakilty)
(21) David Buckley (Newcestown)
(22) Paul Walsh (Kanturk)
(23) Killian O’Hanlon (Kilshannig)
(24) John O’Rourke (Carbery Rangers)
(25) Ruairi Deane (Bantry Blues)
(26) Steven Sherlock (St Finbarrs)