Sunday’s Well 26 Clonakilty 0
Sunday’s Well secured the first trophy of the season, with a hard fought victory in front of a jam packed crowd on the back-pitch at Musgrave Park. The ‘Well had to withstand some early pressure; and a mixture of power, strength and composure in the second-half saw them pull away for the win against a fired-up West Cork outfit.
It was a 9-0 lead to the ‘Well at the break after what was an evenly contested half. Clonakilty ihad their moments and applied pressure but the ‘Well defence hit hard and remained disciplined. Henry Logan was imperious at full-back throughout and kicked the three penalties he took on. The first quarter of an hour in.
The ‘Well had some moments in attack as well. Alex Lane in the centres caught the eye with some excellent breaks and a couple of openings saw the final pass just go astray. In the pack, Shane Whelan Carey and Cormac Kelliher also had big impacts on the game.
Sunday’s Well pressed hard early on in the second-half, and the pack, backed up by a strong bench began to take control of the game. Conor O’Brien; who had another barnstorming game got the try that relieved a bit of pressure; at least in the crowd with Logan adding the extras.
Two replacements then managed to force their way over, with Shane Desmond and Finn MacFhlannchadha to finish the scoring in the final quarter of the game.
A jubilant Evan O’Connell; who led from the front throughout; received the silverware to the joyful cheers of the ‘Well faithful.
It has been a nice start to the season; with Ken O’Connell and Keith Murphy and their staff building a strong squad, for the long campaign ahead. All focus will now go on to the start of the League campaign. It starts with a home game against Charleville on Sunday October 15th at Musgrave Park.
Scorers: Sunday’s Well:; Conor O’Brien, Finn MacFhlannchadha, Shane Desmond tries; Logan Henry 3 pens, con.
Sunday’s Well: Logan Henry; Ian Casey, Jamie O’Leary, Alex Lane, Emeka Asiegbu; Harry McHenry, Fabien Loughrey; Evan O’Connell, Shane Whelan-Carey, Michael McCarthy; Shane O’Neill, Reece Mintern; James Mulcahy, Cormac Kelliher, Conor O’Brien. Replacements: Eoin Carmody, Ian Murphy, Kevin Holland, Shane Desmond, Finn MacFhlannchadha, Peter Arigho, Gary Downey, Rob Egar.
Clonakilty: Darragh O’Connor; Olan Feehily, Ben Lovell, Craig Bateman, Jim Twomey; Eoin Downey, Rory Fletcher; Gearoid O’Donovan, Tom Doyle, David Jennings; Michael Deegan, Gerard McCarthy; Paul Murphy, Matthew McCarthy, Cathal O’Regan. Replacements: Conor Murphy, Christopher Walton, Maurice Downey, Eoin Murphy, William Tyner, Luke McCarthy, Patrick McCarthy.