O'Donovan leads the way as Effin see off Blackrock in Limerick premier intermediate hurling championship

PATRICK O'Donovan shone with a huge personal tally of 1-10 as Effin made it three wins from four, thanks to a hard-fought five-point win, 2-22 to 3-14, over near neighbours Blackrock in Round 4 of the Lyons of Limerick County Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship in a sun-drenched Kilmallock on Saturday evening.

In a cracking game of hurling, during which both sides were level on four separate occasions, it was Effin, who trailed by three points at half time, 2-9 to 1-9, that pulled away in the second, despite being reduced to 14 when substitute Conor Kearney was sent off with 10 minutes to go.

Boosted by a flawless second half performance from Limerick hurler Patrick O'Donovan, Effin outscored their Kilfinane counterparts by eight points, 1-13 to 1-5, in the final half hour

This is Blackrock's third loss of the championship ahead of their meeting with basement side Glenroe next week. Effin, on the other hand, will play Granagh-Ballingarry in their next fixture.

Both sides exchanged points in the early stages, before a goal from a Paudie Leahy penalty midway through the opening half put Blackrock ahead for the first time.

Aided by a breeze, the Kilfinane side slotted over eight unanswered scores including a superb Jimmy Quilty goal which the Limerick hurler drilled into the far corner to open up a eight-point lead heading into the half-time break.

However, Adrian Barrett's determined Effin side started to slowly claw their way back into the game and 1-3 without response from the impressive O'Donovan narrowed the deficit to just two points before a Martin Farrell point made it 2-9 to 1-9 in favour of the Rockies at the break.

With the momentum behind them at this stage, as well as the breeze, Effin scored another five unanswered points, four of which were from O'Donovan, after the interval to take a well-deserved two-point lead just 10 minutes into the second half.

When half-time substitute Conor Kearney saw red for a high tackle, few would have predicted against a Rockies comeback, given the numerical advantage.

However, it was Effin who scored 1-7 compared to 1-3 from Blackrock to run out five-point winners.

A late Jack Quaid goal secured the win for Effin, while an even later Paudie Leahy penalty goal - his second of the evening - proved to be a mere consolation for Blackrock.

SCORERS: Effin: Paddy O'Donovan 1-10 (four frees); Jack Quaid 1-2; Ewan Dillon 0-4; Thomas Quaid, Fergal O'Connor, Cillian O'Riordan, Ruairí O'Connor, Conor Kearney, Ryan O'Neill 0-1 each. Blackrock: Paudie Leahy 2-2 (2-0 penalties); Colm O'Keeffe 0-6, (five frees, one '65); Jimmy Quilty 1-1; Seán O'Neill 0-2; Dáithí Heffernan, Ruairí O' O'Shaughnessy, Martin Farrell 0-1 each.

EFFIN: James O'Leary: Mark Mullins, Alan Byrne, Sean Canning: Michael Rea, Clive Doherty, Fergal O'Connor: Nickie Quaid (joint-captain), Cillian O'Riordan: Ruairí O'Connor, Jack Quaid, Ewan Dillon: Patrick O'Donovan (joint-captain), Thomas Quaid, Pierse O'Kelly. Subs: Conor Kearney for O'Kelly (half time), Enda Kelly for Rea (53), Ryan O'Neill for Thomas Quaid (55).

BLACKROCK: Richie Murphy: Ian O'Brien (joint-captain), Liam Walsh, Callan Ensor: Marthy Farrell, Dáithí Heffernan, Killian Aherne: Jimmy Quility, Aidan Gilligan: Fionn Heffernan, Paudie Leahy, Colm O'Keeffe (joint-captain): Ruairí O'Shaughnessy, Richie McCarthy, Seán O'Neill. Subs: Shane Lyons for Gilligan (half time), Barry O'Shaughnessy for Farrell (40), Sean O'Dwyer for O'Brien (blood sub 46-52).

REFEREE: David Deady (Bruree).