Bandon and C of I off the mark in style

Bandon’s ladies laid down an early-season marker today when they trounced Catholic Institute 6-0 on the opening day of the Munster Senior League Division One at Bandon Grammar School earlier today. The west Cork outfit were simply more clinical than their Limerick opponents, with the majority of their goals coming from play, and their superior fitness was also a telling factor. They will be particularly pleased that their goals were spread throughout the team, with Kate Murphy, Alison Kingston, Louise O’Flynn, Jane O’Higgins, Kate O’Sullivan and Ireland U18 starlet Olivia Roycroft doing the damage.

However, the heavy margin of defeat will be a source of concern for Institute, who are traditionally one of the strongest sides in the division outside the “big two” of Quins and C of I, running UCC close for third place last term. They will be hoping for better luck next week when they host Ashton, who went down 5-0 to Cork Church of Ireland at Garryduff this afternoon. Ashton, who finished bottom of Division One last season but earned a relegation reprieve thanks to the rule preventing second teams – in this case, last year’s Division Two winners Catholic Institute B – had no answer to C of I’s superior movement, as the hosts hit the goal trail in an emphatic fashion. C of I coach Phil Oakley won’t have been pleased with the hatful of chances his side spurned, but theere were plenty of positives too, notably the performances of rookies Hollie Sweetnam and Lauragh O’Neill. O’Neill in particular could turn out to be a precocious attacking talent – Ashton keeper Vanessa Sargent thwarted all of her drag-flicks today, but the teenager has plenty of time to harness the power needed to go with the sharp accuracy she already possesses. She came desperately close to hitting one of the goals of the season inside the first minute, crashing a volley volleying against the crossbar from the top of the circle, but C of I didn’t have to wait long to hit the front. From their first short corner in the 10th minute – they managed 11 in total – Mel Ryan’s slap was deflected home by captain Sandra Hackett. Ashton almost plundered an equaliser four minutes later, when Orla McCarthy got a block on Emma Harrington’s deflection after Eimear Connery had uncharacteristically given the ball away to Aine Cummins deep in the C of I half. Indeed, Harrington was by far Ashton’s most potent attacking threat, but her opportunities were few and far between as her side were continually thwarted by C of I’s press, and the Garryduff outfit extended their lead on 26 minutes via a Claire Hickey tap-in after good work down the left from Grace Young and Amy Roberts.

With talented Australian Michaela Mihailou pulling the strings, C of I put the result beyond doubt with two quickfire strikes before half-time. First, Ryan beat Sargent with a short corner strike on 31 minutes, before Young fired home the pick of the bunch three minutes later after she and Deirdre Casey had shredded the Ashton defence. Harrington should have pulled once back for Ashton on the resumption when she engineered a one-on-one with McCarthy, but she made a mess of her reverse effort, and the game petered out thereafter as both sides tired under a surprisingly warm September sun. Mihailou saw yellow in the 53rd minute for a deliberate breakdown foul on Harrington, but Ashton made no headway from the resultant short corner, and Roberts put the finishing touch on C of I’s victory seven minutes from time with a tap-in after Hackett’s long ball from the right somehow evaded the Ashton defence. In the men’s Division One, Paul Murray struck twice on his debut for Cork Harlequins A as they humbled Quins B 9-0. The former Belvedere man was denied a hat-trick after he saw another goal chalked off by the umpires, but David Egner stole his thunder anyway by striking three times himself.

Irish international Sean Nicholson marked his return to the Quins side after a year abroad with a 38th minute strike, while Darren Farrell and Dan Hobbs also got their names on the scoresheet in the final ten minutes, the latter’s strike his side’s only goal from a penalty corner. Elsewhere, C of I ousted Ashton 2-0 in the ladies’ Division Four, while Fermoy were held 1-1 by Mallow. In Division Five, Ashton went down 4-0 to C of I, while Bruff opened their account in Division Six with a comprehensive 6-0 defeat of Ashton, and Cobh played out a 0-0 stalemate against Belvedere. But the result of the weekend belonged to Limerick in Division Five, as they stormed Farmers Cross in spectacular fashion, defeating hosts Cork Harlequins 10-1, with Jenni Lyttle grabbing seven of their strikes. Ladies Div 1 Cork C of I 5 (S Hackett, C Hickey, M Ryan, G Young, A Roberts) Ashton 0 Bandon 6 (K Murphy, A Kingston, O Roycroft, L O’Flynn, J O’Higgins, K O’Sullivan) Catholic Institute 0 Mens Div 1 Cork Harlequins A 9 (D Egner 3, P Murray 2, L d’Alton, S Nicholson, D Farrell, D Hobbs) Cork Harlequins B 0 Ladies Div 4 Cork C of I 2 (A O’Connell, E Coyne) Ashton 0 Fermoy 1 Mallow 1 Ladies Div 5 Ashton  0 Cork C of I 4 (J Preston, K Donovan, W Heath) Cork Harlequins 1 (K O’Mara) Limerick 10 (J Lyttle 7, S O’Brien, T Whisker, S Cremin) Ladies Div 6 Bruff 6 Ashton 0 Cobh 0 Belvedere  0