30th June 2001

Bantry Blues 4-14, Avondhu 0-12

Blues captain, Niall Twomey shakes hands with Avondhu's captain Brian O Briscoll.

Although Bantry Blues had 14 points to spare at the finish, they didn't exactly set the world on fire in this TSB county senior football championship clash with unrated Avondhu at Macroom last Saturday evening.

On the contrary, this victory was far from convincing as the issue remained in the balance until a Philip Clifford goal with 12 minutes remaining broke the back in the gutsy challenge from the North-Cork divisional side, allowing Bantry to turn on the style in the closing stages when they added 2-4 to their tally before Avondhu replied with a consolation point in stoppage time. Bantry's late purple patch undoubtedly put a very deceptive appearance on the scoreboard, but it couldn't disguise the fact that their overall performance left quite a bit to be desired, and, less than impressive also when accounting for Aghada in the opening round, it will surely provide them with plenty to ponder on ahead of their meeting with last season's semi-finalists Clyda Rovers in the fourth round.

For a team harbouring hopes of ultimate honours, this should have been a relatively easy assignment, especially since Avondhu were hit by a injury crisis going into the game, with current Cork junior players Michael Monaghan and Gene Kelleher numbered among the absentees. Yet, Bantry, despite the fact that they got off to the best possible start, courtesy of a goal from Jeremy Canty shortly after the throw-in, were given a real scare on this occasion, and, in truth, they looked a very moderate combination for most of the hour.

It could be argued, of course, that it's a good sign of a team when they can win by such a big margin while playing well below their best, but, on the evidence of Bantry's form in their two championship outings to date, it would be reasonable to conclude that they are now just a pale shadow of the side which went all the way in '95 and '98. One Bantry player who hasn't lost any of his familiar splendour, however, is Damien O'Neill, and it was primarily due to his marvellous efforts that Avondhu's brave bid to upset the odds was aborted. Oozing class and confidence, O'Neill shone like a beacon at midfield, and, apart from shooting four splendid points, his immaculate fielding and excellent distribution served as a huge source of inspiration for Bantry at critical stages of this contest. O'Neill's five-star display confirmed that he is the most talented midfielder in the county by the proverbial mile, and it was entirely fitting that he should be involved in the lead-up to the goal that eventually tilted the scales firmly in Bantry's favour. Picking up possession around midfield, O'Neill pumped a long ball in around the square where corner-forward, Declan Barron, did well to knock it down to Philip Clifford, who took his chance with typical aplomb.

Damien O Neill climbs high as Gerdie Barry looks for the breaking ball.

Clifford's strike made it 2-10 to 0-11, and there was only one team in it after that, with Clifford and Jeremy Canty firing in two more goals as Bantry mercilessly pounded their demoralised opponents into submission. Having struggled to make an impact at full forward for most of the match, Clifford certainly underlined his value to the team in the closing stages, and Jeremy Canty can feel well satisfied too with his contribution which saw him emerge as Bantry's top scorer with 2-4. In defence, Andy O'Shea was very solid at centre-back, and Tim O'Mahony and Eoin McCarthy kept their end up reasonably well in the corner-back slots, but not many of the other Bantry players will be completely happy with the way things went for them in this match.

Mark O'Connor, for instance, seldom looked comfortable at full back, and wing backs Gerdie Barry and Niall Twomey were regularly caught for pace while Padraig O'Regan, Sean McCarthy and Paul O'Rourke struggled to make their presence felt in the half forward line for long periods, as did young Declan Barron at right corner forward. In the circumstances, Bantry were fortunate that Avondhu were very slow to settle, and, after Jeremy Canty tacked on two quick points to his early goal, which resulted following good work by Paul O'Rourke and Philip Clifford, they managed to maintain an advantage until half-time.

Thanks in the main to Damien O'Neill's promptings at midfield, where Graham Canty showed up well merely in patches, Bantry were 1-6 to 0-3 ahead with seven minutes to the interval, but it was obvious that Avondhu had found their feet at that stage. And the North-Cork men grew in stature approaching half-time, bagging three points on the trot before threatening an equalising goal in stoppage time. But a golden opportunity was allowed to go abegging when impressive full forward, Niall Noonan, with just substitute Bantry custodian, Alan Farrelly, to beat, played a poor pass to corner-forward, Elton Pierce, who was standing in splendid isolation at the edge of the square.

Almost immediately, Damien O'Neill pointed at the other end to give Bantry a 1-7 to 0-6 interval advantage, but they came under strong pressure again on the resumption, and an upset appeared to be on the cards after Avondhu erased the deficit inside 38 minutes. Avondhu were certainly motoring nicely at that stage, with Brian O'Driscoll outstanding at the heart of a dominant defence, Paul Hickey and Niall O'Sullivan both beavering away effectively at midfield, and Jonathan O'Callaghan, Alan O'Driscoll and Niall Noonan all showing up well in attack.

A misdirected ball out of defence, however, allowed Damien O'Neill to set up Declan Barron for Bantry's opening score in the second-half a minute later, and, as things turned out, they weren't to be hauled back to equality again. Eoin McCarthy's switch on to Avondhu's flying wing forward, Jonathan O'Callaghan, helped to strengthen Bantry's hand in the half-back line for the last quarter, but it was Damien O'Neill who did most to prevent Avondhu from snatching the initiative before Philip Clifford finally exploded into action at full forward. After landing a fine point to push Bantry into a 1-10 to 0-11 lead, Clifford pounced for the goal that served to shatter Avondhu's confidence, and allowed the South-West side to cruise home.

In any event, Bantry enjoyed total control in the last ten minutes when McCarthy and O'Shea in defence, O'Neill and Graham Canty at midfield, and Declan Barron, Philip Clifford and Jeremy Canty in attack were particularly prominent. Points from O'Neill and Paul O'Rourke stretched the gap before Clifford found the net again, pouncing to score after a high ball from Jeremy Canty had rebounded off the upright in the 56th. minute. O'Neill and Declan Barron chipped in with two more points, and, after Alan Farrelly - a replacement for the injured Des McAuley before half-time - brought off two fine saves from Avondhu's Niall O'Sullivan and Alan O'Driscoll in turn, Jeremy Canty, taking a pass from Philip Clifford, fired in another goal to complete Bantry's late flourish.

Scorers - Bantry Blues: J. Canty 2-4, 0-2 frees, P. Clifford 2-1, D. O'Neill 0-4, D. Barron 0-2, S. McCarthy, P. O'Regan and P. O'Rourke (0-1 each). Avondhu: J. O'Callaghan and N. Noonan 0-3 each, E. Pierce 0-3, 0-2 frees, A. O'Driscoll 0-2, B. O'Driscoll 0-1.

Bantry Blues: D. McAuley, T. O'Mahony, M. O'Connor, E. McCarthy, G. Barry, A. O'Shea, N. Twomey, D. O'Neill, G. Canty, P. O'Regan, S. McCarthy, P. O'Rourke, D. Barron, P. Clifford, J. Canty. Subs, A. Farrelly for McAuley (injured), S. O'Neill for S. McCarthy, P. Cremin for D. O'Neill.

Avondhu: K. Walsh (Kilworth), D. Lynch (Mitchelstown), M. Geaney (Kilshannig), B. Hayes (Killavullen), R. Ryan (Kilshannig), B. O'Driscoll (Killavullen), L. Dorgan (do.), E. O'Sullivan (Kilshannig), P. Hickey (Fermoy), J. O'Callaghan (Castletownroche), N. O'Sullivan (Kilshannig), A. O'Driscoll (Killavullen), E. Pierce (Kilworth), N. Noonan (Kilshannig), T. Sheehan (Doneraile). Subs, M. O'Donovan (Fermoy) for Geaney (injured), A. Hyland (Kilworth) for E. O'Sullivan, G. Howard (Grange) for Ryan (injured), N. O'Callaghan (Kilshannig) for O'Callaghan. Referee - R. Murphy (Lyre).