Cork Senior Hurling Championship Final

BLACKROCK 4-26 GLEN ROVERS 4-18 (aet)

By Denis Hurley at Páirc Uí Chaoimh

Blackrock claimed the Cork senior hurling title for the first time in 18 years after they got the better of Glen Rovers after extra time in a pulsating decider at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday afternoon.

Scoring power from the bench was key for the Rockies, who extended their tally at the top of the roll of honour to 33, with substitutes accounting for 3-5 to augment the 13-point tally for Alan Connolly, who scored the equalising point to send the game to extra time after the Glen looked to have overhauled a five-point half-time deficit.

Despite Blackrock playing with the wind in the first half, Glen Rovers had a great start, with Liam Coughlan pointing inside 30 seconds, with Patrick Horgan and Adam O’Donovan joining him on the scoresheet before the Rockies began to find their rhythm.

Niall Cashman and Daniel Meaney both had points, set up by David O’Farrell, with Alan Connolly adding a pair of pointed frees to put them ahead.

Connolly then might have added a goal, as Shane O’Keeffe and David O’Farrell combined to give him a chance but his effort from a tight angle hit the near post and flew across goal. Soon after that, O’Farrell looked to have played Connolly in but David Noonan pulled off a piece of superb defending to dispossess him.

Connolly and Niall Cashman, with a long-range effort, extended the Rockies’ advantage, and though Patrick Horgan and Dean Brosnan had points for the Glen just before and just after the water-break, Shane O’Keeffe’s 24th-minute point made it 0-9 to 0-5.

By half-time, they were 0-12 to 0-7 ahead, with Connolly getting his fifth point of the game in injury time, but the Glen struck a blow on the resumption as Stephen McDonnell made a mazy run from deep and fed Simon Kennefick, who doubled to the net.

While Connolly replied for Blackrock, Kennefick struck for another goal to level, with McDonnell again the provider, and Horgan’s fifth point, a 65, had them ahead again.

Blackrock responded well though as sub Tadhg Deasy marked his arrival with a superb individual goal and Michael O’Halloran and Connolly had them four in front.

In keeping with the nature of the game, the Glen again had a strong reaction as Horgan’s free was followed by a goal from Mark Dooley, who reacted quickest when Liam Coughlan’s shot came back off the crossbar.

Down the stretch, the sides traded points, with the Glen pushing ahead only for Blackrock to level and that’s what happened in injury time as Horgan’s eighth point was answered by Connolly’s ninth.

It was the first drawn final since 1996 but no replay and instead the sides had to face into an additional 20 minutes. With the wind again, Blackrock made it count and reeled off an unanswered 2-4. Shane O’Keeffe got the first of those goals, touching home a Connolly delivery, and then he was the creator for sub Robbie Cotter to make an immediate impact.

Horgan pulled two points back for the Glen, who trailed by 3-24 to 3-16 at half-time in extra time but when he was fouled for a penalty early in the second period, he fired home to cut the gap to five.

Two more points had Blackrock wavering slightly but their nerves were eased as Cotter pounced on defensive uncertainty before getting a fourth goal and Connolly added two late points to spark the celebrations.

Scorers for Blackrock: Alan Connolly 0-13 (0-11 frees), Robbie Cotter 2-2, Tadhg Deasy, Shane O’Keeffe 1-1 each, Michael O’Halloran 0-3, Daniel Meaney, Niall Cashman, Alan O’Callaghan 0-2 each.

Scorers for Glen Rovers: Patrick Horgan 1-12 (1-0 penalty, 0-6 frees, 0-2 65), Simon Kennefick 2-0, Mark Dooley 1-2, Adam O’Donovan 0-2, Dean Brosnan, Liam Coughlan 0-1 each.

BLACKROCK: Gavin Connolly; Richie Laide, Gary Norberg, Jamie Ryan; Stephen Murphy, Cathal Cormack, Niall Cashman; David O’Farrell, Daniel Meaney; Mark O’Keeffe, Ciarán Cormack, John O’Sullivan; Michael O’Halloran, Shane O’Keeffe, Alan Connolly. Subs: Tadhg Deasy for Mark O’Keeffe, John Cashman for Laide (both 37), Robbie Cotter for Ciarán Cormack, Alan O’Callaghan for Ryan (both 51), Kevin O’Keeffe for O’Sullivan (60), Eoin O’Farrell for David O’Farrell (68, injured), Mark O’Keeffe for O’Halloran (75, injured), Dave O’Shea for Gavin Connolly (80).

GLEN ROVERS: Cathal Hickey; David Dooling, Robert Downey, Stephen McDonnell; Adam Lynch, Brian Moylan, David Noonan; Donal Cronin, Adam O’Donovan; Mark Dooley, Patrick Horgan, Dean Brosnan; Conor Dorris, Simon Kennefick, Liam Coughlan. Subs: David Cunningham for Dorris (41), Calvin Healy for Dooling, Dale Tynan for Brosnan (both 55), Luke Horgan for Cronin (58), Glen Kennefick for Coughlan, Brosnan for Tynan (half-time in extra time), Daniel Morris for O’Donovan (75, injured).

Referee: Cathal McAllister (Aghada).