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QUARTER FINAL
After easily beating Castlemartyr in the first round Bantry Blues Intermediate Team took on Valley Rovers from Innishannon. In the quarter final in a game played at Dunmanway. This game was drama packed as in the 1st half alone Bantry had 3 goalscoring chances ,2 of which was converted by the awesome 19 year old Kevin Harrington. Valley Rovers ,in the same period had a penalty saved by Des McAuley and hit the crossbar and the upright to compound their woes. Liam O Brien also scored after a good Alan Farrelly pass had set him up.
Late in the game Harrington completed his hat-trick. Frank Delaney and a Rovers player were sent to the line just before time was up in what was an ill-tempered game.
FINAL SCORE : Bantry Blues 4-7 Valley Rovers 0-5.
BANTRY : Des Mc Auley, Brian Kearns, Timmy O Mahony,Barry Spillane; Fr. Sean O Sullivan,Mark O Connor (capt) Padraig O Regan;Damien O Neill, Frank Delaney;Jeremy Cotter, Mick Moran, Sean Mc Carthy;Alan Farrelly, Liam O Brien,Kevin Harrington. SUB: Dinny Goggin.
SEMI FINAL
In the Intermediate County Semi Final Bantry faced Clyda Rovers at Kilmurray on the 7th of August 1993.Bantry were overwhelming favourites but seemed to be burdened by this tag as they never got going against a tough, determined North Cork outfit. Bantry over relied on the brilliant Kevin Harrington as he scored 10 of Bantry’s total (3 from frees). At half time it was 6-5 to Bantry but it was Clyda who were leading going into the last few minutes after they had scored a goal from the penalty spot. However with time up Bantry had a free, 50 yards out against the wind but cool as a breeze up stepped Harrington to dissect the posts to save Bantry.
FINAL SCORE : Bantry Blues 0-13 Clyda Rovers1-10.
BANTRY : Des Mc Auley, Brian Kearns, Timmy O Mahony,Barry Spillane;Geiroid Scully ,Mark O Connor (capt), Padraig O Regan(0-1);Damien O Neill, Frank Delaney;Jeremy Cotter(0-1), Mick Moran, Dinny Goggin;Alan Farrelly, ,Kevin Harrington(0-10), Paddy Goggin,. SUB: Sean Mc Carthy(0-1).
SEMI FINAL REPLAY
Three weeks later on the 28th of August 1993, Bantry made no mistake when beating Clyda Rovers with quite a bit to spare. Bantry changed around their team a lot and the results were very evident. The centre of the Bantry team were rock solid with Mark O Connor, Damien O Neill, Paddy Goggin and Frank Delaney all using their strength to great effect. The 1st half was still a close match and Timmy O Mahony was lucky to stay on the field when he upended Tom McGlinchey of Clyda close to the goal. However, O Mahony pleaded injury and was substituted. Fifteen minutes later , after being treated by Dr. Denis Cotter made a miraculous recovery and returned to the play!! Bantry led by 0-8 to 0-5 at the break. Paddy Goggin scored 2 goals in the 2nd half to set Bantry up for an easy last 10 minutes.
FINAL SCORE : Bantry Blues 2-12 Clyda Rovers 0-08.
BANTRY : Des Mc Auley, Brian Kearns, Timmy O Mahony,Barry Spillane;Geiroid Scully ,Mark O Connor (capt), Padraig O Regan ;Damien O Neill (0-1), Mick Moran,;Jeremy Cotter, Paddy Goggin(2-1), Sean Mc Carthy(0-2);,Kevin Harrington(0-06), Frank Delaney, Liam OBrien(0-2)SUBS: Niall Twomey for Timmy O Mahony; Timmy O Mahony for Geiroid Scully.
THE FINAL
The player profiles in the West Cork News section of the Cork Examiner leading up to the final were as follows :
DES MC AULEY : goalkeeper – Spectacular at times but always reliable, Mc Auley figured in the Cork Minor Team last Sunday which won the All –Ireland Minor Title.
BRIAN KEARNS ; A former Cork Minor. A hard tackling solid performer who can play in any position of the defence.
TIMMY O MAHONY : Another Cork Minor – A solid player with tremendous positional sense. A player with a great future.
BARRY SPILLANE : Toured Austrailia with the County U-16 team a few years ago. Unspectacular but highly effective. His opponent will have to work hard to get a score.
PADRAIG O REGAN : One of the most promising wing backs in the county. Hard work is his forte which makes him an invaluable member of the squad.
MARK O CONNOR : Team captain and county senior full back.. Playing some of his best football this year, his leadership qualities come to the fore when the going is at its toughest.
GEIROID SCULLY : Impressed at U-21 level which gained him a regular spot. Was a former dual player at Carraig na bhFear and continues to improve at every outing.
DAMIEN O NEILL : A midfielder out of the top drawer – will be looking to produce his semi final form again and if he does Ballincollig will have to be on the alert.
MICHAEL MORAN : Another player with a tremendous work rate, links up well with O Neil and has happy memories of playing against Ballincollig.
SEAN MC CARTHY : An elusive attacker who creates and takes scores. His 1st year playing at this level with his best yet to come.
PADDY GOGGIN : A Player with vast experience. Former Carbery Senior player who scored 2 invaluable goals against Clyda in the semi final.
JEREMY COTTER : A tireless worker and a player the whole team look up to. The playmaker in most of Bantry’s attacks, he has been a loyal servant to the Blues serving for over 14 years in Bantry’s frontline.
KEVIN HARRINGTON : Has tormented many a defence. His performance could have a big bearing on the outcome of this final . In short, a man to be watched.
FRANK DELANEY : A revelation this season. His powerful play will give Ballincollig plenty to worry about no matter what position he takes up in attack.
LIAM O BRIEN : Another player with a wealth of experience and is running into form at the right time as he proved with a splendid semi final display.
THE COUNTY INTERMEDIATE FINAL
1993 INTERMEDIATE COUNTY WINNING TEAM
Frontrow – left to right :K.Harrington,P.Spillane,M.McCarthy,D.O Shea,B.Kearns,J.Cotter,T.OMahony,B.Spillane,D.Goggin, P.O Driscoll,S.McCarthy. Mascot:Brian Barron.
Bantry 0-12 Ballincollig 0-10
Bantry had to make a late change and brought in Fr. Sean O Sullivan (who co-incidentally was priest in Ballincollig) who had a marvellous game. From early on the Bantry backs were well on top with Tim O Mahony, Mark O Connor and Padraig O Regan excelling.O Neill and Moran dominated things at midfield while Liam O Brien and Paddy Goggin were playing mighty stuff in the forwards.
In the first half Ballincollig were moving well and led at half time by 6 points to 4.On the resumption, Bantry scored 4 straight points . After that it was tit for tat and Bantry scored the last 2 points to win. Padraig O Regan got the man of the match award . This game was played before a huge crowd in Dunmanway.
Celebrations went on long into the night at the Bantry Bay Hotel who were the team sponsors
BANTRY : Des Mc Auley, Timmy O Mahony,Sean O Sullivan, Barry Spillane;Brian Kearns,Mark O Connor (capt), Padraig O Regan ;Damien O Neill , Mick Moran(0-1),;Jeremy Cotter(0-1), Frank Delaney(0-2), Paddy Goggin(0-1), Sean Mc Carthy(0-2);,Kevin Harrington(0-04), Liam OBrien(0-1).
BALLINCOLLIG : S. McCarthy, K.O Mahony, P.Coomey,D.Burke,F.Smith,A.McCarthy,G.McCullagh, J.Ring, C.O Connell, F. Keohane, J. Kelleher, D.Murphy, T. O Reilly, J. Kelly, G. Glavin. Referee : Niall Barrett.
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