I was in Cappamore today for the relegation battle between Murroe/Boher and Caherline. Itâs Caherline who will be facing Kilmallock 2 in that decider as they were pretty much obliterated by M/B this evening.
A real âwhat ifâ campaign for Murroe/Boher: absolutely shocking performances in their first two games, turned it around after the break but were unfortunate to lose to Na Piarsaigh in a game where they were probably the better side. They have now racked up two massive scores in the final two games and just seems like an awful waste.
Their resolve was tested early in the first half when James Enright did rattle in an early goal. But where those kind of setbacks seriously rocked them back in the first few games, they responded excellently today and banged in two goals of their own before half-time. Their inside forward line had the Caherline full-backs on toast all throughout; Mikey Ryan (M) has had a great season, and he roasted his marker and finished well on the angle before Eoin Hourigan, the only change from last week, did similar and batted home.
Andrew Brennan caught some great ball for Caherline but they were struggling to get scores from play. Murroe/Boher were slick and popped over some great team scores; Mikey Ryan Ned was on fire and Dylan Sheehan also popped over three points from play in that first half. It was two of the younger lads who really stood out for me: Euan Sheridan at corner-back (although he found himself all over the pitch) and Brian OâKeeffe at wing-forward who put in a huge shift. They led 2-14 to 1-07 at half-time
It pretty much continued in the second half, Eoin Hourigan got their third goal, his second and they just continued to pop over the scores. Caherline began to hunt scores and James Enright did bat one home after a Brennan 20m free was saved, and Brennan himself finished well from close range on the turn. Paudie Wixted had started inside in the full-forward line alongside Brennan but they probably didnât get enough ball inside to them, and Sheridan did a job on Wixted when he moved onto him. They just couldnât get past the M/B half-back line of Byrnes, Kennedy & Hourigan and you would think that they could be looking at a quarter-final place if Sheridan & Hourigan had been available earlier in the year.
A relegation play-off for Caherline just after coming up. Theyâll be a little sickened, as they drew with Croom the first day, possibly should even have won and Croom are now in a county quarter-final. If it wasnât for the Sham Flan hat-trick, maybe they could have got a win there now. I think they probably have enough in them to beat Kilmallock, but will depend on confidence levels and how they respond to a fairly hefty defeat today.
Murroe/Boher 3-26
Aaron Kennedy 0-11 (0-9 frees)
Eoin Hourigan 2-0
Michael Ryan (Ned) 0-5
Mikey Ryan (M) 1-1
Dylan Sheehan 0-3
Cillian Byrnes 0-2
Jack Nicholas 0-1
Finn Hourigan 0-1
Brian OâKeeffe 0-1
Diarmuid Byrnes 0-1
Caherline 3-10
James Enright 2-1
Kevin Wixted 0-5 (all frees)
Andrew Brennan 1-1
Conor Martin 0-2
Eoin Nelligan 0-1