Room to improve but Bride Rovers dig out victory against Fermoy..

Cork SAHC Round 3: Bride Rovers 0-17 Fermoy 0-12 

It was far from spectacular and there’s a lot Bride Rovers can work on – but they showed their mettle and finished five-point winners against Fermoy in the Senior A Hurling Championship on Saturday evening in Ballynoe. Fermoy put up a stern challenge but Rovers survived the physical battle and escaped with the two points, and have ensured a place in the semi-finals as a result.When Brian O’Sullivan’s free for Fermoy in the 54th minute left the minimum between the sides, it could have gone either way.The sweeper had spearheaded Fermoy with an excellent performance but that would be their final score, and the Rathcormac side hit four-in-a-row to close out the win. First to hit the target was Patrick O’Flynn in the 56th minute, before Adam Walsh landed a superb effort to put Rovers three points up. 

The following puckout went straight to O’Flynn, and the centre forward returned it to Shane Coughlan with a point, 0-16 to 0-12 with three minutes to go.Tempers flared for the third time between the teams, and with little surprise given what was at stake between the two rivals.Cork senior Brian Roche impressed at centre back and showed his class as he came out with the sliotar from a throw ball – before dashing forward and popping it over.Heading into added time Fermoy almost netted a goal through Darragh Daly, but an outstanding block from Jamie Peters on the line preserved Rovers’ lead and they held on for a crucial win.

The defeat means Fermoy are out, but they can hold their heads high. In a fiery and physical first half, Bride Rovers started stronger, and led 0-6 to 0-2 after the first 19 minutes.Rovers’ had two half chances at goal go to waste and Fermoy came back at them, first through Martin Brennan.Three frees from O’Sullivan and one for Walsh meant it was 0-7 to 0-5 after 26 minutes, but Fermoy would draw level for the first of two times after O’Sullivan and Peter Murphy hit the target.Bride Rovers got their lead back to two by half time, but Fermoy would come back again.They drew level again after 48 minutes, 0-11 apiece – but Fermoy would have been in front were it not for a crucial hook from Denis Cashman to deny Shane Aherne a shot on goal in the 38th minute. Two minutes after levelling the contest James Molloy forced a save from Cian Hogan, and they raised the tempo late on to snatch a victory.