White’s Cross got their 2026 campaign up and running on Sunday morning with a useful challenge match away to Grange, played at their pitch between Glanworth and Fermoy. While the result was secondary on the day, a solid 2-11 to 0-11 victory marked a positive first outing under the new management team of John Paul Cotter, Edwin Buckley and Tadhg Lyons.
Despite being short a number of regulars, White’s Cross still had an impressive panel of 26 players available, with every player seeing at least 20 minutes of action. It was very much a squad exercise, and from that perspective the game served its purpose well. Interestingly, from memory, this was the first ever meeting between White’s Cross and Grange, adding a bit of novelty to the occasion.
White’s Cross settled quickly and opened the scoring through John McElhinney, who had an influential first half. He followed up with a well-taken goal following great work by Seán Delaney and debutant Conor Hennessy soon after, giving the visitors early momentum. Ronan Healy and Conor Buckley chipped in with points as White’s Cross built a steady lead, while Grange stayed in touch through a series of frees. At half-time, White’s Cross held a 1-06 to 0-05 advantage.
The second half saw wholesale changes, but the intensity and work rate remained high. Ronan Healy struck for White’s Cross’s second goal after five minutes, finishing confidently after good build-up play. Conor Buckley continued to impress from play, while Edwin Buckley and Luke Kelleher added important scores as the game wore on.
Defensively, White’s Cross were well organised throughout, with Rory Teehan producing a fine save to deny Grange a potential goal. Grange continued to pick off points, mainly from placed balls, but White’s Cross always looked comfortable enough and managed the game well to the final whistle.
Overall, it was a very encouraging first run-out for the new management team, with plenty of positives to take from a competitive, well-fought challenge.
Starting Team:
1 – Rory Teehan
2 – Richie Sherlock
3 – Barry Prendergast
4 – Luke Murphy
5 – Stephen Whooley
6 – Seamus Quinlan
7 – Chris Dunne
8 – Cathal Quinlan
9 – Sean Delaney
10 – Ronan Healy
11 – Conor Buckley
12 – Luke Mullins
13 – Conor Hennessy
14 – John McElhinney
15 – James Buckley
Interchange Subs: Evan Quain, Donncha Murnane, Sean Twomey, Fionnan Quinlan, Murt Kelleher, Ronan Quain, Edwin Buckley, Mark O’ Keeffe, Senan Ryan, Sean O’Donnell, Luke Kelleher, Brendan Quain