The joy at the final whistle in Carrigtwohill following the quarter final victory over Cloyne was in stark contrast to the utter heartache experienced by this White’s Cross side seven days later in Rathcormac. The games were coming thick-and-fast and it was Glanworth was the opposition for the County Semi-Final. This proved to be a hugely entertaining game of football, at least for the neutrals, in the very large attendance. Glanworth got off to a blistering start and raced into a 1-5 to 0-2 lead after 15 minutes. However the White’s Cross lads did not panic, and had brought themselves level at the half-time break at 0-8 to 1-5. Paul O Sullivan pair of scores were the pick of the best from this White’s Cross onslaught.
However Glanworth started the second half well also and tacked on two points. White’s Cross fought their way back again, with some fine scores from Stuart Kiely and a huge effort from Murt Kelleher. With five minutes to go White’s Cross actually took the lead for the first time with Conor Buckley putting over a neat score. However it then began to all go horribly wrong for the Cross, as Glanworth benefited from a number of relatively soft frees, one leading to an equalizer and another a lead point. With a further point from play they found themselves leading by two. Murt Kelleher did flash a late free at the Glanworth goal but it ended up over the bar, and the North Cork lads held out for a one point lead – 1:12 to 0:14.
Thus for the second year in a row White’s Cross have seen their County ambitions thwarted by one point defeats. With little time to reflect on this latest loss as yet, it is unlikely to rest easy with the White’s Cross boys. When one considers that more than 80 sides enter this competition each year it is a long and arduous road back to being one of the final four. Here’s hoping however that in 12 months or so we will be rummaging out that green and white bunting once again!