Cork 2-24
Wexford 1-20
CORK ENSURED THEIR stay in Division 1B of the Allianz hurling league has been a brief one as they despatched Wexford by seven points this afternoon in Páirc Uí Rinn.
After the disappointment last April of suffering relegation, Cork have bounced back immediately. It has not been a straightforward spring campaign as they drew on the opening night against Limerick and needed Offaly to do them a favour last week by pegging back Limerick for a draw.
Jimmy Barry-Murphy’s men entered today’s game knowing a victory would secure the return to Division 1A that they coveted. First-half goals from Patrick Horgan and Conor Lehane were the springboard for their success and ensured they finished top of the table.
But they had to endure a nervy second-half as Wexford cut the gap to a single point by the 52nd minute. Cork upped the ante once more and closed out the game with Horgan bringing his overall tally for the afternoon to 1-10. Conor Lehane finished with 1-3 while Seamus Harnedy excelled throughout as he picked off five points from play.
Alan Cadogan caught the eye off the bench as well with the Douglas youngster shooting over three points from play during a bright cameo.
Cork were in front 2-10 to 1-8 at the interval but they were rocked in the 8th minute by a Jack Guiney goal. It was a superb effort by the Rathnure man as he seized on a delivery by Shane Tomkins and raced around Stephen McDonnell before billowing the net.
Cork bounced back midway through the half when a dramatic spell of play saw them hit the net twice in quick succession. The first came from a 20-yard free from Horgan after Mark Fanning was penalized for over carrying.
Then a long ball by Anthony Nash prompted a goal mount scramble which culminated with Lehane getting the last touch to get the ball over the line.
After holding a five-point interval advantage, Cork went seven clear by the 42nd minute. But then Wexford took over to enjoy their best spell of the game as they strung together six points without reply. Paul Morris and Diarmuid O’Keeffe were especially prominent to bring the visitors within touching distance.
However Cork stood up when the questions were asked of them and benefitted from the impact of their substitutes with Cadogan and Paul Haughney both very impressive. Wexford’s day was compounded when they were reduced to fourteen men after Bobby Kenny was sent-off.
Scorers for Cork: Patrick Horgan 1-10 (1-5f, 0-2 ’65), Conor Lehane 1-3, Seamus Harnedy 0-5, Alan Cadogan 0-3, Brian Hartnett, Paul Haughney, Stephen Moylan 0-1 each.Scorers for Wexford: Paul Morris 0-10 (0-7f), Jack Guiney 1-1, Diarmuid O’Keeffe 0-3, Liam Og McGovern, Podge Doran 0-2 each, Lee Chin, Harry Kehoe 0-1 each.
CORK: Anthony Nash; Shane O’Neill, Stephen McDonnell, Killian Murphy; Stephen White, Christopher Joyce, Lorcan McLoughlin; Daniel Kearney, Patrick Cronin; Brian Lawton, Patrick Horgan, Conor Lehane; Brian Hartnett, Seamus Harnedy, Stephen Moylan.
Subs: Paul Haughney for Lawton (51), Alan Cadogan for Hartnett (54), Damien Cahalane for White (54), Rob O’Shea for Kearney (69).
WEXFORD: Mark Fanning; Keith Rossiter, Matthew O’Hanlon, Bobby Kenny; Liam Ryan, Lee Chin, Willie Devereux; Diarmuid O’Keeffe, Harry Kehoe; Shane Tomkins, Conor McDonald, Paul Morris; Rory Jacob, Jack Guiney, Liam Og McGovern.
Subs: PJ Nolan for McGovern (half-time), Podge Doran for Tomkins (half-time), Eoin Moore for Ryan (half-time), Eanna Martin for Devereux (65), Conor Devitt for Kehoe (65).
