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Senior Team Report AGM 16th December 2002 |
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The Senior Section of the AGM report for 2002 is broken down into the following headings - click on the relevant heading to go that section. Sunday March 17th at Riverstown Blackrock 1 - 13 V Sarsfields 3 - 8 Scorers: B. O'Keeffe 1-4, A. Coughlan 0-4, J. O'Flynn 0-1, M. O'Keeffe 0-1, Ian Walsh 0-1, D. Cashman 0-1, D. Coakley 0-1. After a very long and successful year's hurling in 2001, which only came to an end on December 8th when we beat Cloyne in the League final, it was back to business again on March 17th, 2002, when we played our first League game against Sarsfields at Riverstown. Last year when we met in the first round of the League we won by 6 pts but on this occasion Sarsfields ran out winners by the narrowest of margins after a very good and lively game. Our boys showed that the had "wintered" well though, and would be a force to be reckoned with again for the coming season Saturday March 23rd at Church Road Blackrock 4 - 19 V St. Catherine's 1 - 8 Scorers: D. Cashman 2-2, J. O'Flynn 1-4, B. Hennebry 0-4, L. Meaney 1-0, A. Coughlan 0-3, P. Tierney 0-2, B. O'Keeffe 0-2, D. Gosnell 0-1, F. Ryan 0-1. Following a slow start in the first half during which we scored 1-8 to St. Catherine's 1-5, our boys really turned on the style in the second half and added 3-11 to our score while also limiting St. Catherine's to 3 pts, two of which they scored from frees. This was the first game played on our own pitch after the winter break and the ground was in excellent condition for hurling. Tuesday April 16th at Ballinlough Blackrock 7 - 13 V Douglas 0 - 7 Scorers: B. O'Keeffe 3-2, A. Browne 2-2, P. O'Sullivan 1-3, D. Cashman 1-2, A. Coughlan 0-2, P. Tierney 0-1, J. Young 0-1. This game doubled for both the City Championship and League points, and was a very one sided affair from start to finish. We were ahead 3-6 to 0-4 at half time and added 4-7 to our tally in the second half, but Douglas could only manage a further 3 pts. Friday April 26th at Church Road Blackrock 2 - 12 V N T Shandrum 0 - 14 Scorers: A. Browne 2-5, A. Coughlan 0-5, C. O'Flaherty 0-1, J. Young 0-1. Alan Browne went on the rampage in the first half and scored a total of 2-3. Joe Young and Adrian Coughlan added a point each and we went in at half time leading by a solitary point 2-5 to 0-10. Newtown only managed to add 4 pts from frees in the second half whereas we scored a further 7 pts and ran out winners by 4 pts. Friday May 24th at Church Road Blackrock 3 - 11 V Castlelyons 1 - 9 Scorers: C. O'Flaherty 3-0, B. Hennebry 0-4, D. Cashman 0-4, C. Connery 0-1, D. Gosnell 0-1, P. Tierney 0-1. In a first half blitz during which Colm O'Flaherty rattled the Castlelyons net on two occasions, we finished the half with the comfortable lead of 2-9 to 0-4. Flaherty was on target again in the second half when he scored his hat trick. This was added to by Ciaran Connery and David Cashman who scored a point each and we went on to record a good win on the score3-11 to 1-9. Tuesday June 25th at Church Road Blackrock 1 - 15 V Erins Own 3 - 12 Scorers: A. Coughlan 1-5, B. Hennebry 0-3, J. Young 0-3, D. Gosnell 0-2, D. Cashman 0-1, P. O'Sullivan 0-1. After a very competitive first half we went in leading by a point 1-10 to 2-6 but Erins Own finished the stronger team and added 1-6 to their tally in the second half while we only managed a further 5 points. Tuesday July 16th at Killeagh Blackrock 2 - 17 V Killeagh 3 - 3 Scorers: D. Cashman 2-3, A. Browne 0-3, B. O'Keeffe 0-3, A. Coughlan 0-3, J. Young 0-2, D. Coakley 0-1, P. O'Sullivan 0-1, F. Ryan 0-1. This game was played in ideal weather conditions and our boys played superb hurling. Joe Young was quickly off the mark with a point before David Cashman rattled Killeagh with a beauty of a goal. After that our forwards proceeded to score at will, even Fergal sallied up the field and scored a point. We finished the half with a comfortable lead of 12 pts. A half time pep talk seemed to work wonders for Killeagh because they certainly were a much more determined team in the second half. Nonetheless we were equal to the task though and a further 1-02 from David Cashman plus points from David Coakley, Alan Browne and Adrian Coughlan brought our total to 2-17. Our first half lead stood us in good stead as Killeagh scored 2-8 in the second half. Sunday July 28th at Pairc Uí Chaoimh Blackrock 1 - 14 V St. Finbarrs 1 - 9 Scorers: A. Coughlan 0-5, B. Hennebry 1-3, A. Browne 0-2, P. Tierney 0-1, J. Young 0-1. This was a Championship game but we also played for League points. There was a tense atmosphere throughout the game which prevented both teams from playing their usual free-flowing hurling. Nevertheless it was good to win it and the closeness of the scoring kept us on our toes until the end. One of the features of the game was a beautiful point from a sideline cut by Paul Tierney. Tuesday August 20th at Church Road Blackrock 0 - 17 V Midleton 0 - 5 Scorers: A. Coughlan 0-6, D. Cashman 0-2, B. O'Keeffe 0-2, J. Young 0-3, D. Dempsey 0-1, C. O'Reilly 0-1, W. Sherlock 0-1, P. Tierney 0-1. After leading by 6 pts at half time we added 0-10 to our tally whereas Midleton only managed a further 4 pts. Wayne Sherlock made his scoring debut in this game when he sent over the final point. Sunday September 8th at Church Road Blackrock 4 - 10 V Ballyhea 1 - 12 Scorers: C. O'Reilly 2-5, F. Barry 1-1, C. O'Flaherty 0-3, G. Morton 1-0, Ian Walsh 0-1. The Ballyhea mentors used this game to try out their U/21 team and while they proved to be a lively bunch of lads, our boys proved too strong for them and ran out easy winners in the end. Colin O'Reilly scored 1-2 in the first half and added a further 1-3 in the second half. Geoff Morton and Frankie Barry were also in goal scoring form in the second half. Friday September 13th at Ballincollig Blackrock 2 - 9 V Ballincollig 0 - 12 Scorers: M. O'Keeffe 0-5, C. Notley 1-0, Ian Walsh 1-2, C. Dempsey 0-1, G. Morton 0-1. This was a very important game for us as we needed the two points to qualify for the semi-final of the League. Despite the fact that we were playing the County Final in two days time, we still managed to put out a team and after a tough game we ran out winners by 3 pts. Mick O'Keeffe was in excellent form scoring 3 pts in the first half and adding 2 further pts in the second half. Sunday September 14th at Na Piarsaigh Grounds Blackrock 0 - 11 V Na Piarsaigh 1 - 14 Scorers: D. Dempsey 0-5, M. O'Keeffe 0-5, K. Falvey 0-1, B. Coakley 0-1. After starring at full back in the game against Ballincollig the previous day, David Dempsey moved to the other end of the field for this game and proved equally good at full forward scoring 3 pts in the first half and adding two more in the second half. Mick O'Keeffe was also in good scoring form with a total of 5 pts. Great credit is due to our players for turning our two days in a row and helping us to qualify for the final stages of the League. Full marks also to the Junior and U/21 selectors for ensuring that we had a full squad of players for each game. Tuesday April 16th at Ballinlough Blackrock 7 - 13 V Douglas 0 - 7 Scorers: A. Browne 1-2, B. O'Keeffe 3-2 D. Cashman 1-1, A. Browne 1-0, P. O'Sullivan 1-3, In this City Championship game we also played for League points and ran out easy winners after a very one-sided game. Alan Browne (1-2), B. O'Keeffe (2-1), were the chief scorers in the first half which saw us ahead on the score 3-6 to 0-4. In the second half David Cashman slotted over 1-1 with Alan Browne (1-0), Pat O'Sullivan (1-3) and Brian O'Keeffe (1-1), adding to their first half tally. Sunday September 3rd at Pairc Uí Rinn. City Championship Final Blackrock 1 - 15 V Na Piarsaigh 0 - 3 Scorers: A. Coughlan 0-7, A. Browne 1-2, P. Tierney 0-2, D. Cashman 0-1, D. Gosnell 0-1, B. Hennebry 0-1, L. Meaney 0-1. Na Piarsaigh offered very little resistance in this one-sided game and from the time Alan Browne scored a goal in the second minute of the game, it was plain sailing all the way. Adrian Coughlan again displayed his accuracy from frees by connecting five in total. We finished the first half with a score of 1-10 to 0-1 and added 0-5 in the second half. Man of the Match Adrian Coughlan was declared Man of the Match for the final of the City Championship and was presented with his trophy by the Officers of the Seandun Board at a function in our Club. SENIOR HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP 2002 Sunday May 12th at Pairc Uí Chaoimh Blackrock 5 - 11 V Douglas 0 - 2 Scorers: A. Browne 3-4, B. O'Keeffe 1-2, D. Cashman 1-1, L. Meaney 0-2, A. Coughlan 0-1, J. O'Flynn 0-1. Having won the Intermediate Championship, I've no doubt the last team Douglas wanted to play in the Senior Championship was the Rockies, but that's the luck of the draw. As it turned out, they were no match for our boys on the day and after scoring 2-4 to 0-2 in the first half we added a further 3-7 to our tally without a reply from Douglas. As reigning County Champions it's always good to get the first round of the Championship over you, and of course the scribes were tipping us as favourites to retain our title in 2002. Sunday July 28th at Pairc Uí Chaoimh Blackrock 1 - 12 V St. Finbarrs 1 - 9 Scorers: B. Hennebry 1-3, A. Coughlan 0-5, A. Browne 0-2, P. Tierney 0-1, J. Young 0-1. This game is also listed under the league fixtures as a league game. We knew it was going to be difficult to beat the Barrs and at the end of a dour struggle we emerged winners by 3 points. Saturday August 17th at Pairc Uí Chaoimh Blackrock 3 - 21 V Muskerry 1 - 6 Scorers: A. Browne 1-4, D. Cashman 1-3, B. Henebry 1-2, B. O'Keeffe 0-4, J. Young 0-4, A. Coughlan 0-3, L. Meaney 0-1. This was a quarter-final game and our boys played really well chalking up a score of 1-10 to 0-5, in the first half. Muskerry did manage to score 1-1 in the second half but the Rockies scored a further 2-11, all from play, and ran out convincing winners by 21pts. Sunday September 1st at Pairc Uí Chaoimh Blackrock 0 - 14 V Sarsfields 0 - 11 Scorers: A. Coughlan 0-6, A. Browne 0-4, L. Meaney 0-3, B. Hennebry 0-1. Following our victory over the Barrs we were now into the semi-final and our opponents on this occasions were Sarsfields. Alan Browne 0-4 and Liam Meaney 0-1 helped to keep us on level terms at half time with the Sars, while Adrian Coughlan's unerring accuracy from frees in the second half, plus two further points from Liam Meaney and 1 pt from Barry Hennebry, gave us a hard earned victory on the score 0-14 to 0-11. Sunday September 15th at Pairc Uí Chaoimh Blackrock 1 - 14 V N.T. Shandrum 0 - 12 Scorers: A. Browne 1-4, A. Coughlan 0-4, B. O'Keeffe 0-2, C. O'Reilly 0-2, B. Hennebry 0-1, J. Young 0-1. Alan Browne's goal in the first half was the score that really set us on our way and while we never got too far ahead of Newtown, we always had the feeling that we were not going to be caught on this occasion. We achieved back to back Co. Championship titles. It was a great feeling and as someone remarked to me afterwards in the Club, it's very rare nowadays that any team wins back-to-back titles. Everybody returned to the Club after the game where the Ladies Committee had organised Michael Browne Catering to lay on a lovely meal for all and sundry. A huge crowd turned up at the Club and the celebrations continued well into the following day. Great credit is due to all concerned for bringing us not only this Co. Championship, but also for winning it on three occasions over the last four years. We are indeed fortunate in Blackrock to have such a dedicated and talented panel of players and mentors. MUNSTER CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP 2002 Saturday November 9th at Pairc Uí Chaoimh Blackrock 2 - 13 V Kilmoyley 1 - 12 Scorers: B. O'Keeffe 1-2, A. Coughlan 0-4, B. Hennebry 0-4, D. Cashman 1-0, P. Tierney 0-2, L. Meaney 0-1. We were under no illusions as to how good a team Kilmoyley was after the good, close and competitive game they gave us in their home ground last year. They came to Cork determined to make amends for their failure last year, but thanks to a flying start we managed to keep ahead of them and eventually won by 4 pts. Before they knew what hit them, Brian O'Keeffe had the ball in the back of the net and Adrian was once again unerring with his free taking. Sunday November 17th at Cusack Park, Ennis Blackrock 1 - 15 V Sixmilebridge 2 - 13 Scorers: A. Coughlan 0-5, D. Cashman 1-0, A. Browne 0-3, B. Hennebry 0-2, L. Meaney 0-2, B. O'Keeffe 0-1, P.Tierney 0-1, J. Young 0-1. Sixmilebridge got off to a dream start and soon had a goal up on the scoreboard. When they added a few points things were not looking good for us, but our lads are made of stern stuff and after some fantastic hurling by both sides, we gradually got on top and once David Cashman had beaten Davie Fitz, we were on our way. Some tenacious play by Joe Young prevented the corner back from clearing the ball and when Joe scooped the ball towards the goal, David Cashman was on hand to beat Davie Fitz to the full and we were back on track. We really hit a purple patch after that and finished the half with a nice cushion of 3 points. Sixmilebridge started the second half with quite a flourish and they not only wiped out the lead of 3 pts but they also went ahead by 4 pts, scoring 7 pts in total before we got our first score - a point by Alan Browne. It was a ding dong struggle for the remainder of the second half with Liam Meaney playing a blinder at centre forward. Coming up to the end of the game we were behind by a point and Liam left his marker for dead and scored a fantastic point, we really thought we had salvaged a draw. However, sixmilebridge scored a further point well into extra time and we were denied the opportunity of a replay. Without doubt this was the best performance our team has produced in the last two years, the pity of it was that it should be a losing one. SENIOR HURLING CHALLENGE GAMES 2002 Saturday April 6th at Church Road Blackrock 1 - 13 V Blarney 1 - 10 Scorers: P. O'Sullivan 1-8, A. Coughlan 0-3, P. Tierney 0-1, I. Walsh 0-1. Thursday April 11th at Riverstick Blackrock 2 - 14 V Ballymartle 1 - 20 Scorers: A. Coughlan 0-5, D. Cashman 1-1, P. O'Sullivan 1-0, P. Mills 0-2, M. O'Keeffe 0-2, C. Hurley 0-1, P. Tierney 0-1, I. Walsh 0-1, J. Young 0-1. Sunday April 14th at Church Road Blackrock 2 - 12 V De La Salle 1 - 13 Scorers: A. Browne 1-5, D. Gosnell 1-0, D. Cashman 0-2, B. O'Keeffe 0-2, B. Hennebry 0-1, M. O'Keeffe 0-1, I. Walsh 0-1. Thursday July 4th at Church Road Blackrock 1 - 20 V Tracton 2 - 12 Scorers: J. Young 1-4, L. Meaney 0-6, D. Gosnell 0-4, D. Cashman 0-3, D. Coakley 0-2, B. Hennebry 0-1. Friday July 5th at Dungourney Blackrock 5 - 3 V Dungourney 1 - 22 Scorers: C. O'Reilly 2-1, Jim Cashman 1-1, A. Creagh 1-0, P. Mills 1-0. This game was part of the Dungourney Centenary Celebrations and the organisers presented lovely plaques to both the players and the club after the game. Tuesday July 9th at Bandon Blackrock 2 - 13 V Carbery 1 - 14 Scorers: J. Young 1-2, L. Meaney 1-1, D. Gosnell 0-3, B. Hennebry 0-3, D. Cashman 0-1, D. Coakley 0-1, P. O'Sullivan 0-1, I. Walsh 0-1. Wednesday August 7th at Semple Stadium, Thurles Blackrock 1 - 9 V Tipperary 7 - 13 Scorers: B. O'Keeffe 1-0, A. Browne 0-3, A. Coughlan 0-3, D. Cashman 0-2, B. Hennebry 0-1. Even though we failed to win any of the competitions at junior level, some progress was made during 2002. Our league campaign ended at the end of October when we were defeated by Mayfield in the semi-final, after having a comfortable victory over Na Piarsaigh in a 'play-off' game. We also qualified for the semi-final of the MacCurtain cup, but were beaten in that game by Passage. After recording victories over Nemo Rangers in both the first and third rounds of the city championship we were subsequently beaten by Mayfield, who went on to win the competition. The complete list of results is as follows, League MacCurtain Cup Championship Mayfield - Draw Mayfield - Won Nemo - Won Bishopstown - Won Douglas - Won (wo) Nemo - Won Shamrocks - Won Passage - Lost Mayfield - Lost St. Finbarrs - Won Glen Rovers - Won Douglas - Won ( MacCurtain cup) Passage - Lost (MacCurtain cup) Nemo - Won (c'ship) Na Piarsaigh - Won Lough Rovers - Lost Ballinhassig - Lost St. Vincents - Won Whitechurch - Lost Delaneys - Won Brian Dillons - Won Na Piarsaigh - Won (play-off) Mayfield - Lost (semi-final) The most encouraging aspect of this season's activities was the level of commitment and interest demonstrated by the players. Despite the fact that 8 of the junior panel eventually played senior championship and subsequently 'weakened' the junior team, the spirit within the panel never diminished. The players who were part of the junior panel and eventually played senior championship, and could therefore no longer play with the junior team, were, Declan O'Sullivan, David Dempsey, Barry Hennebry, Joe Young, Stephen O'Keeffe, Ciaran Connery, Sean Murphy, Colin O'Reilly. The promotion of players from the junior panel to the senior team is something that was encouraged by the junior selectors at all times. The fact that so many members of the junior panel were capable of playing a part in winning the Senior County Championship, regardless of the effect it had on the junior team, was viewed as something in the best interest of the club. There was many people who helped & supported the junior selectors, who were Ger Coughlan, Tom Ahern, Kieran O'Keeffe, Paddy Barry jnr. & Donal Downey, during the year. In particular I would like to thank the following: - Committee members - Jim & May O'Brien - Senior team selectors - Noel O'Flaherty - John O'Driscoll - Donal Fleming - Ladies Committee Despite the efforts made by the people mentioned above, the overall level of support for the junior team in the club is very low and extremely disappointing. We played a number of games this year where the only Blackrock members in attendance were those directly involved, i.e. players & selectors. As any player will tell you, support is a vital ingredient for success. I would like to take this opportunity to ask you to come along to as many games as you can in the future and offer whatever support possible. You will be playing your part in building and maintaining this great club and I'm sure you will also enjoy it. The extremely poor standard of refereeing, and lack of referees, in the Seandun division was again highlighted this year. We had a situation where there was no referee appointed to one of our league games (v. Lough Rovers) as there was 'inter-firm' games on that evening and some of the Seandun referees were officiating at these games. The lack of referees, and people interested in becoming referees, is having a direct impact on the standard of refereeing at most levels within the organisation, particularly in the Seandun division. This is a very serious situation and is one that needs to be addressed immediately. On behalf of the junior selectors I would like to congratulate everyone involved with the senior team, especially the 8 players mentioned above, on winning the county senior hurling championship for the 32nd time in our club's history. You were all a credit to yourselves, your families and your club. You made many people, including myself, feel very proud to be a 'Rockie'. In summary, while the junior team was not successful in winning any competitions, good progress was made. We fulfilled all our fixtures and qualified for the semi-final of the league. The junior team supported the senior team well during the year, particularly during the senior league campaign. Even though the junior team is probably not yet good enough to make the transition to the intermediate grade, the amount of players available and the commitment shown by those players is very encouraging. We need to set our ambition, and put a plan in place, to compete at intermediate level. Having an intermediate team would have an enormous benefit for all players and would also help us to achieve our ultimate goal of winning senior County, Munster & All-Ireland titles. Donal Downey. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our senior hurling panel on retaining the Sean Óg Murphy Cup, winning back to back County titles and bringing the Senior Hurling Championship back to Blackrock for the 32nd time. I wish to highlight the importance of the roles played by our inspirational captain, Wayne Sherlock, and vice captain Liam Meaney. Their contribution both on and off the field were major contributory factors in the teams success. I would also like to put on record my disappointment in not succeeding in the Munster Club Championship but want to sincerely thank our supporters who gave us great encouragement on the day. Behind the Senior team our management structure is composed of very genuine people working together for the common purpose of making Blackrock the best. Aidan Long is always available to open or close doors whether it's early in the morning or late in the evening. May O'Brien always has the gear in immaculate condition. Noel O'Flaherty, a genius with the hurleys, has made a significant contribution to the Club over many years. Our Ladies Committee of Maureen O'Keeffe, Helen Ronan and Mary Caplis always cater for our players very well. Our medical advisors Dr. Paddy Hayes, physiotherapist Carol Nyhan and first aid man John Finbarr O'Driscoll always ensure the best of treatment and attention in an era when players must be properly looked after. Our trainer Richard O'Flynn ensures the fitness of the panel. I also want to thank the Senior Hurling Committee for their support and in particular Roger Ryan, our Club Secretary, who puts a huge amount of work into the Senior team as well as all other elements of the Club. I also want to record my thanks to the Senior team selectors Jim O'Brien, Maurice Duggan, Alan Russell, Pat Deasy and Jim Cashman for the enthusiasm, wisdom and calmness they bring especially on the big occasion and to Tom Cashman (jnr.) for his invaluable assistance during the year. His contribution to team preparation and analysis of the opposition players helped us greatly to succeed. In conclusion let me say that though disappointed by our Munster Campaign, we are nonetheless delighted to be County Senior Hurling Champions of Cork for 2002. We are also happy to have emulated one of the feats of the team of the 70's by winning back to back titles. The Club should now set its sights on winning 3 in a row, a feat last achieved by this Club in 1931. Tadgh Ó'Murchú
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