P2 MFC: Donoughmore cling on against Mallow as both teams finish with 14 players

Donoughmore 2-8 (2-1-6)

Mallow 1-9 (1-0-9)

Donoughmore had Mallow beaten at the break, only to spend the second half hanging on for dear life at the Mardyke on Wednesday night. By the end, they had survived a storm, booked a Premier 2 minor semi-final against Clonakilty and earned every bit of it.

Having trailed by eight at the interval, it took Mallow only eight minutes of second half football to bring that gap down to four. While Donoughmore answered with badly needed scores, including a two-point free from Scott Barrett to leave it 2-7 to 0-6, their opponents ensured a nervy final quarter.

With three quarters of an hour gone, Paddy Murphy came to the fore for Mallow, getting one back after a good pass from Cathal Murphy, before a brilliant team move delivered the major they desperately needed.

Conor O’Shea moved it to Conor Daly, who offloaded to Cathal Murphy before he set Paddy Murphy up for the finish, 2-7 to 1-7 with 14 still to play.

Aaron Murphy, Mallow, is pursued by Liam Honohan, Donoughmore. Picture: Jim Coughlan.

But after five minutes with no score, the game changed after an off-ball incident saw Ben Noonan shown a straight red, while Daniel Holland received a second yellow and departed, leaving both teams down to 14 players.

Paddy Murphy landed the next effort for Donoughmore from a free, Ben O’Shea answered in kind for Mallow to leave the same margin of three between them with 56 elapsed.

Mallow came close at the end, O’Shea’s two-point free trailing just wide, and so the deficit stood. Mallow’s Paddy Murphy had a shot touched over by Cian O’Sullivan in the 64th minute to cut it to two, but Donoughmore kept the ball well and hung on for victory.

Eoin Sheehan, Mallow, and Daniel Golden, Donoughmore, contest the breaking ball. Picture: Jim Coughlan.

The first half was ruthless. Donoughmore struck for goals when Mallow struggled and that was the separation.

Scott Barrett buried the first after five minutes, plucking Daniel Honohan’s dropping ball over Diarmuid O’Riordan and blasting home. Honohan snaffled the second just before the water break, alive to O’Riordan’s palm-down from Paddy Murphy’s dropping shot in the 16th minute.

From there, the lead only stretched. Barrett and Murphy clipped points, Honohan added another, and with Mallow coughing up seven first-half wides, the game seemed all but decided at 2-4 to 0-2.

The whole picture shifted after the break. Mallow found rhythm, O’Shea and the two Murphys pulling them back into the fight. The gap shrank, the belief grew. But once the cards came, so did the end of the rebellion.

Scorers for Donoughmore: S Barrett 1-3 (1 tpf), D Honohan 1-1, P Murphy 0-3 (0-1 f), D Holland 0-1 f.

Scorers for Mallow: P Murphy 1-2, B O’Shea 0-3 (0-2 f), C O’Shea (1 f), C Murphy 0-2 each.

DONOUGHMORE: C O’Sullivan; D Walsh, T Murphy, B O’Connor; L O’Sullivan, DJ Foley (c), J McCarthy; D Golden, J Murphy; C Lawton, S Barrett, L Honohan; P Murphy, D Holland, D Honohan.

Subs: J O’Sullivan for L Honohan, C Honohan for Lawton (both 48), C O’Connell for D Honohan (52).

MALLOW: D O’Riordan; S Callanan, D Fleming, T Britton; P Murphy, B Noonan, A Murphy (c); B O’Shea, E Sheehan; N Bowler, C Murphy, D O’Connell; C O’Shea, O O’Sullivan, A Kenny.

Subs: C Daly for O’Connell (44), A McMahon for Kenny (60+1).

Referee: A O’Regan (Kilbrittain)

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