Special Millennium Junior A Competitions

Championship Matches

JUNIOR A FOOTBALL
County Championship

1st Round Replay Courceys V Kiskeam
Carrigadrohid Sat 11th Nov.2:30pm

1stRound Courceys 3-3 V 0-12 Kiskeam
Carrigadrohid Sat 4th Oct. 3:00pm

KISKEAM’S dreams of finally securing the Cork JAFC title are still alive but only just. In this county quarter final tie played at Carrigadrohid on Saturday they had to come from five points down with a quarter of an hour to go to and secured their draw with a free in injury time from the boot of Niall Cronin.
If the scoreline suggests Kiskeam enjoyed a territorial advantage and that Courceys grabbed their goals in breakaway attacks then it is misleading. It was Courceys who enjoyed the majority share of possession for most of the game but some excellent approach work was spoiled by poor finishing.
On a perfect day for football Courceys’ only point from play came after three minutes and it was only their facility to plunder goals at crucial times that kept their challenge afloat. If they had taken even a lowly percentage of the point scoring chances that came their way they would have been out of sight before the Kiskeam comeback began.
The game was thirteen minutes late in starting when it was discovered that there was a sizeable hole in one of the goalmouths which referee Denis Linehan sensibly ordered to be filled in. Kiskeam opened with plenty of confidence and with Maurice Angland frequently raiding up the right wing and combining with the evergreen Jimmy Dennehy they had moved into a an early 0-4 to 0-1 lead after fourteen minutes.
Courceys’ problems in attack were apparent from an early stage and Kiskeam were cruising before fate took a hand. A low thirty yard shot from Brian Hayes was spilled by Sam O’Sullivan in the Kiskeam goal and David Hayes stuck the ball in the net to equalise. All of which didn’t seem to ruffle the Kiskeam feathers much as Jimmy Dennehy pointed for the second time to reply.
But then Courceys did it again. A centre by the hard running centreforward John Murphy was punched expertly to the net by Jamie Hayes and now the rhythm of the game did change. Courceys who were very fast and mobile attacked at will but much to the chagrin of their supporters kicked wide after wide and were into double figures well before half time. Still they were able to retire at the break with a two point advantage 2-1 to 0-5.
The excellent Kiskeam centre forward Eamonn O’Mahony had reduced this deficit soon after the resumption before lightening struck for the third time. Again it was a high centre into the Kiskeam goalmouth and Vincent Hurley crashed the ball home to put Courceys into a promising five point lead.
With eighteen minutes left Kiskeam raised their game while Courceys did not score for the remainder of the game. Three pointed frees from David O’Leary left them two points adrift entering the last five minutes as the tension mounted. John Herlihy pointed to further reduce the deficit but two wides in the last two minutes seemed to signal the end for the Duhallow men. With all but three players now in the Courceys half, Kiskeam’s corner back Bernard Breen was fouled and from thirty five metres Niall Cronin bravely stroked the free over to give his relieved side a second chance.

Scorers:  V. Hurley, J. Hayes and D. Hayes 1-0 each, D. Murray 0-2 (frees), J. Murphy 0-1.
Team: G. Moloney, N. Murray, S. Hayes, T. Lordan, B. Hayes, D. Twomey, S. Hayes, S. Twomey, S. Hurley, D. Murray, J. Murphy, V. Hurley, J. Hayes, B. Hayes, D. Hayes.

South-East Championship
Final. Courceys V Kinsale
Ballygarvan Sun.14th Oct. 3:30pm

For the second time in our history, Courcey Rovers are the kingpins of Carrigdhoun football, following our convincing victory over the holders and warm favorites Kinsale on Sunday last at the Liam McCarthy Park, Ballygarvan, in the final of the South East Standard Life Junior A championship.      See full Match Report  

Semi Final Replay. Courceys 2-9 V 1-5 Ballinhassig
Ballygarvan Sat.30th 3:30pm

The Rovers Return in glorious triumph ! While millions of eyes were on Sydney during Saturday last, Courcey Rovers were moving nearer South East millennium gold at home in picturesque Ballygarvan when, thanks to two glorious goals, one in each half, they administered a dose of the ‘Blues’ to Ballinhassig, and moved smoothly past this penultimate stage replay and into the Junior A Standard Life football championship decider and a meeting with Kinsale at the same venue on October 15 next.
Decidedly lucky to survive in the drawn game, it was a shaky beginning by the Ballinspittle lads to say the least. Ciarán O’Sullivan, Donal Lombard and Michael Higgins all combined effectively to bring a magnificent double save out of Gary Maloney in the very first minute of play. But once Courcey found their feet and with Denis Twomey, Brian Hayes, Seamus Hayes and Sean Hayes all defending stoutly, more pressure was on the Ballinhassig citadel. It fell as early as the third minute when the outstanding Declan Murray, whose pace had Ballinhassig in all sorts of trouble, floated in a forty meters free and rising in a crowded goalmouth, able midfielder Seamus Twomey flicked it to the net. With a nice point by Denis Twomey added, Courceys had got off to a good start. But thanks to the alertness of James Ahern, and with Brendan Lombard, Damien McCarthy and Adrian Foley motoring well, the Ballinhassig forward machine began to create the chances, but, sadly, the shooting in front of goal was terrible. But then in the space of three minutes, it all came right for the losers. Firstly Adrian Foley came with a great burst and his drive just skimmed the bar to open the scoring after seven minutes. Then Dave Mullaney, Paul Lombard and Ciarán O’Sullivan all combined well only for the latter to be fouled and a penalty ensued. Coolly, Damien McCarthy stepped up to knock the spotter along the turf to the right of Gary Moloney. Suddenly it was all square, but quickly Jamie Hayes changed that scenario as he converted a close in free. Then, a minute later, drama at the other end as John Murphy and Dave Hayes combined to produce a bit of magic, and the latter won the second penalty of the day. But to the horror of the big Courceys following, Declan Murray’s rasper was brilliantly saved by Michael Keohane, the rebound fell kindly to a Courcey forward who blasted wide of the target. The pattern continued as both teams squandered glorious opportunities, but thanks to the enterprising play of Brian Hayes (Kilkerran) and the lightning thrusts of Murray, John Murphy and Vincie Hurley, Courceys opened up a three-points interval lead of 1-4 to 1-1 as two Murray frees, and a great upfield sally by Brian Hayes (C) yielded a mighty score.
Ballinhassig, now aided by a slight breeze, resumed in determined fashion as Damien McCarthy, Martin Cussen and Martin Coleman all upped the tempo. A McCarthy free brought a brief respite, but soon the winners settled into their pattern again, with Brian Hayes (Kilkerran) now in devastating form, and Jamie as well as Dave laying off great ball, Declan Murray shot a couple of beauties. In between came a good reply by Michael Higgins, but then with twenty minutes remaining, the losers were left with an Everest to climb as Courceys goaled for a second time. Great play by Seamus Twomey and Seamus Hurley saw Murray find Vincent Hurley in splendid isolation at the edge of the square, and he fairly blasted the leather past the reliable Michael Keohane.

2-7 to 1-3 now, a bridge too far for Ballinhassig as Declan Murray again obliged. Paul Lombard narrowed the gap, but it was a case of running out the time now, the match petering out, as two more scores punctuated the final minutes. Vincent Hurley crashed a rocket over off the crossbar, and Brendan Lombard brought down the curtain with a cute point seven minutes from time. So, having been given a second bite of the cherry, Courceys ate the fruit with some relish, to qualify for a tilt with favorites Kinsale in the final. It should make for a rip-roaring local derby.
Ger Harrington, Carrigaline, had an easy afternoon with two sporting sides at a well manicured Ballygarvan pitch.

Team: Gary Moloney, Nelius Murray, Sean Hayes, Timothy Lordan, Seamus Hayes, Denis Twomey(0-1), Brian Hayes (Castlepark)(0-1), Seamus Twomey(1-0), Seamus Hurley, Declan Murray(0-5), John Murphy, Vincent Hurley(1-1), Dave Hayes, Brian Hayes (Kilkerran), Jamie Hayes(0-1).

Semi Final. Courceys 1-10 V 1-10 Ballinhassig
Innishannon Sun. 17th Sep. 7:00pm

2nd Rd. Courceys 1-10 V 1-9 Ballymartle
Kinsale Sat.5th Aug 8:00pm

1stRd.Courcey Rovers V Shamrocks
Innishannon Sunday May 14th 7:45pm

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JUNIOR B FOOTBALL
1stRd.Courcey Rovers 0-1 V 2-18 Kinsale
Kinsale Tuesday  May16th 8pm

The least said about this match the better I think

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U21 A FOOTBALL
1st Rd. Courcey Rovers V Carrigaline
Ballygarvan Saturday April 1st 6:30pm

For the second year running Courceys have bowed out to Carrigaline in the first round of the U21 Football Championship

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MINOR  B FOOTBALL

Courcey Rovers 1-7 V 0-2 Carrigaline

In control for most of the game, Courcey Rovers proved to be worthy winners of the South East Minor B Walsh’s Pharmacy Football Championship at Kinsale on Saturday last. Carrigaline appeared to be always fighting an uphill battle, and their second string in this 13-a-side contest was under extreme pressure after 40 minutes when their captain, Tony Houlihan, was red carded. The heavy pre-match rain and the constant drizzle during the game made life difficult for the players and full credit must go to them in their efforts to play positive football. The greasy conditions did not help with the target practice, but Courceys were indeed fortunate to have in their side one Brian Lordan, whose contribution of five points from play was vital in the destination of the title.
The Rovers got off to a great start, when after 30 seconds they had the ball in the back of the Carrigaline net, when Johnny White finished a great movement, involving Billy Lordan, Terence Collins and Brian Lordan, and when the latter tacked on a point one minute later, they had laid the foundations for their victory. By the fifth minute, Eoin Murphy pointed for Carrigaline, following good work by Billy Houlihan. They were not to score again, despite the best efforts of Kevin O’Driscoll, Mark Sheridan, David Moore and Tony Houlihan, as the Courcey defense, especially Kevin Deely, Kevin and David Murphy, responded with tenacity and determination. In the 12th minute, Philip Murphy extended Courceys lead and with Brian Lordan in great kicking form, they had opened up a 1-4 to 0-1 lead by the 23rd minute. But were it not for the defensive efforts of ’keeper Martin O’Sullivan, the excellent Cian O’Mahony, Kevin Curran at centre back, together with Tony O’Keeffe, the gap would have been wider, while, at the other end, their shooting was off target and a goal chance was missed in the 26th minute, when Mark Sheridan was unlucky not to get a fist to a Kevin O’Driscoll delivery.
Having weathered an early Carrig attack after the break, Courceys were to miss a number of scoring chances and after Carrig were reduced to 12 players, ironically enough, they came more into the game and had their second score in the 43rd minute, through Barry Houlihan. But with Vincent O’Donovan in control of a very solid Rovers rearguard, they steadily sailed to safety with scores from Lordan and sub John Duggan and indeed Philip Murphy should have really sealed it had he finished off his good work in front of an open goal in the 52nd minute. As it was, they could still afford the luxury of further wides before Brian Lordan once again showed his shooting skills in the 58th minute, and in a final flurry Carrig worked their way through for a close-in free, but Eoin Murphy’s effort for goal was capably dealt with.

Following the game, Mr. John Twomey, chairman of the SE Board, presented the cup to the Courcey Rovers captain, Brian Lordan.

Winning Team: M. Walsh, B. Minihane, K. Deely, K. Murphy, V. O’Donovan, D. Murphy, B. Lordan, S. Moloney, T. Collins, P. Murphy(0-1), J. White(1-0), K. Moloney, B. Lordan(0-5). Subs, J. Duggan(0-1) for J. White, M. Ryan for P. Murphy, O. Brennan for K. Moloney.
— ‘Carrigdhoun’

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JUNIOR A HURLING

Final. Courceys 1-10 V 0-14 Ballinhassig
Crosshaven Sun. 2nd Sep. 4:00pm

Semi-Final. Courceys 2-14 V 1-8 Shamrocks
Minane Bridge Sat.21st Aug. 7:30pm

2nd Rd. Courceys V Ballymartle
Minane Bridge Sun.23rd July 8:00pm

1st Rd. Courcey Rovers 0-9 V 1-9 Carrigaline
Kinsale Saturday July 1st 8:00pm

THE sheer physical presence and the power hurling of the Murphy brothers, Nicholas and Peter, at midfield, proved to be a major factor in Carrigaline’s surprise defeat of last year’s county runners-up, Courcey Rovers in the opening round of the South East junior ‘A’ Super Valu hurling championship at Kinsale on Saturday evening last. Carrigaline, in atoning for last year’s heavy defeat at the hands of the same opposition, have certainly emerged as a major force in the destination of this year’s title, for so long dominated by the two big guns of Ballinhassig and Courceys. While Courceys will re-enter the championship via the back door and no doubt re-group in a bid to retain their title, they now know that the day of the two-horse race in the South East is past. On Saturday last they battled bravely to the end and almost stole a share of the spoils in the last minute when John Murphy and Seamus Hayes, who tried his heart out, put Brian Hayes through but he just could not get the vital touch. One sensed from the start that Carrig were totally committed for this clash, as they harried and challenged in their search for supremacy in this low-scoring contest when after ten minutes play, Courceys led by two points to nil from Jamie Hayes frees, before Carrigaline’s Peter Murphy grabbed a puck-out from outstanding keeper Donie Hennessy and struck it over the bar. He was to repeat the dose two minutes later to make it 0-3 to 0-2 in Rovers favour. On top at midfield and half back line thanks to the strong play of James Murphy, the winners struck for their golden goal in the 18th minute when they were 0-5 to 0-3 in arrears. From another well-placed puck-out Anthony Kelly made a great catch before delivering into the experienced Ger Cooney, who rounded his marker before billowing the net and put his side in the lead, 1-3 to 0-5, which they never lost thereafter. Courceys were indeed lucky that some of Carrig’s shooting was not on target as they struggled to contain a very lively half forward line and also did not have to bolster their midfield, where they were in real trouble as Carrig continued to add to their tally with scores from Brendan Hogan and Ger Cooney to stretch their lead, 1-5 to 0-5 after 22 minutes.
The switch of Tommy Lordan to wing back and the introduction of Niall Murphy to midfield helped somewhat in their narrowing of the gap through a brace of points from Jamie Hayes and David Hayes by the 57th minute, but Carrig’s commitment was again exemplified by a superb score in the last minute by Anthony Kelly to leave the tally at the break 1-6 to 0-7. Courceys re-organised after the break, had Denis Twomey and Seamus Hayes at midfield and they also introduced Connie O’Regan to the 40 but after both sides had early misses, Carrig still continued to dominate matters, with Victor Cooney strong at wing back and by the 40th minute they had stretched their lead 1-8 to 0-7, thanks to a superb strike with his back to the posts from 45m out, by Kevin O’Driscoll. Battling Courceys claimed back a point entering the last quarter through Denis Twomey following good work by Timmy Lordan and John Murphy. Despite losing the services of Peter Murphy with an arm injury, Carrig were in no mood to surrender and after Brendan O’Driscoll’s well struck 65 had sailed over in the 56th minute, for the last score of the game, we had a terrific final five minutes before the referee, Edward Cotter called a halt to an enthralling contest, which, hopefully, will set the scene for further excitement and exhilarating hurling in the weeks ahead.

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JUNIOR B HURLING
Final. Courceys 2-13 V 1-10 Ballinhassig
Minane Bridge Sat. 17th Aug 8:00pm

Courcey Rovers collected the South-East 'B' junior hurling championship title when they shaded the issue in a hard-fought final clash with Ballinhassig at Minane Bridge last Saturday evening. It was a victory which appeared to be very much on the cards after an early second-half goal from centre forward, Peter O'Neill, earned the wind-backed Courcey men equality at 1-2 to 0-5.But Ballinhassig made light of that body-blow to push Courceys all the way, and there would probably have been a different outcome had they not conceded a very soft goal with 20 minutes to play. That allowed Courceys to hit the front, 2-3 to 0-7, for the first time, but again Ballinhassig refused to lose heart, and it wasn't until Billy Lordan landed a splendid point in injury-time that the winners could afford to breathe easily. With both sides showing admirable commitment, the exchanges were always tough and uncompromising, and the tightness of the marking, particularly during the first-half, left little room for frills. Defences generally held sway throughout the opening period when Ballinhassig applied the bulk of the pressure, thanks primarily to the strong play from Cathal O'Reilly, Con Coughlan and Ciaran O'Sullivan in the half-back line. Ivan O'Connor stood out too at full back for Ballinhassig before the break, but they weren't without their problems in other sectors. They never functioned with any real authority, for instance, at midfield where the hard-working John Murphy earned the main plaudits for Courceys. And the Ballinhassig forwards struggled to create openings against a resolute Courceys rearguard in which Padraig Coholan caught the eye most often in the right corner. As a consequence, Ballinhassig were unable to build up a worthwhile lead when favoured by a stiff breeze, although it took a great save by Courceys 'keeper, Kevin Murphy, to deny corner-forward, Adrian Hickey, a goal in the 20th. minute. Christy Corcoran had opened Courceys account a minute earlier, in reply to Ballinhassig points by Victor Twohig, Eddie McCarthy, from a free, and John Coughlan. Midfielder Dave Mullanney and McCarthy, from another free, stretched the gap before John Murphy finished a strong run with a good pass to Vincent Hurley, who completed the first-half scoring in the 28th. minute. Given the strength of the wind, Courceys must have been fairly satisfied to be just 0-5 to 0-2 behind at the break. And their prospects took on a very rosy hue after Peter O'Neill blocked down an attempted clearance by Ballinhassig corner back Martin Looney to pick up possession and billow the net from close-range within three minutes of the resumption. It was Ballinhassig who raised the tempo in the wake of that score, however, but they were rocked back on their heels again when a harmless-looking lob from corner-forward, Shane Lordan, yielded a second goal for Courceys in the 40th. minute. Undaunted, Ballinhassig continued to battle earnestly, and Victor Twohig had them back in front, 1-8 to 2-4, when he got the vital touch in a goalmouth scramble resulting from a probing cross by Eddie McCarthy midway through the second-half. With both sides giving their all, a gripping struggle for supremacy began to unfold in the last quarter. Courceys were looking good after John Murphy scorched through the heart of the Ballinhassig defence to boot over a point and inch them ahead, and substitute Michael O'Donovan tacked on another with under five minutes remaining. But Ballinhassig weren't finished yet, and they could well have turned things around had they availed of the opportunities which came their way in the closing stages. With Eddie McCarthy failing to find the target from a free, and Adrian Hickey shooting narrowly wide with a goal chance, however, Ballinhassig effectively allowed Courceys off the hook, although their hopes continued to flicker when Victor Twohig cut the gap to the minimum in the final minute. But Billy Lordan, fed by Michael O'Donovan, had the last word for Courceys, who were best served over the hour by Padraig Coholan, Michael Roche, Ken Daly and Niall O'Donoghue in defence, and John Murphy at midfield. Billy Lordan did well too at midfield for Courceys in the second-half when Christy Corcoran and Michael O'Donovan were the pick of the forwards.

Team: K. Murphy, P. Coholan, M. Roche, K. Daly, E. Hayes, N. O'Donoghue, C. Lawton, J. Murphy(0-1), V. Hurley(0-3), D. Murray, P. O'Neill(1-0), B. Lordan(0-1), C. Corcoran(0-2), D. Corcoran, S. Lordan(1-0). Subs, M. O'Donovan(0-2) for D. Corcoran, G. Coholan for Lawton, B. Kiely for Murray.