Original Report: The Corkman, Saturday, October 17th, 1970.

By John Joe Brosnan.

Newmarket were never in trouble

NEWMARKET qualified to meet either Grange or Douglas in the semi-final of the county junior football championship when they scored an easy win (1-11 to 0-5) over Valley Rovers at Coachford on Sunday. The Duhallow champions were in control right through the game and their margin would have been far greater if it hadn’t been for very erratic shooting.

In the first quarter Newmarket scored two points and chalked up eleven Wides. Valley Rovers had one point and one wide. This gives a fair picture of the extent to which Newmarket controlled the play.

They were the better team right through the field, with midfielders Billy Daly and Nelius Collins getting the better of Dave McCarthy and Fintan Hurley and the backs proving quite adequate when called into action. The forwards were also able to win possession at will but were often over-elaborate in their passing movements and hopelessly off target in their shooting.

Michael Flanagan had Newmarket s first point almost from the throw in and Billy Daly added another in the seventh minute. Two minutes later Jim Fitzgerald opened the Valley Rovers account with a point from a free.

GOOD LUCK

The valley Rovers players must have been delighted with their good luck in finishing the first quarter only a point behind after having been well beaten on the play, and they may have entertained hopes of making a close game of it when they drew level with a point from a free by Jim Fitzgerald in the 17th minute.

However, Newmarket settled down in the second quarter to take their scores with far less effort. They scored 1-4 during this period to a point for Valley Rovers thus moving into a six-point lead (1-6 to 0-3) before the interval.

The Newmarket goal came in the 25th minute when full-forward Ben Eardley slammed home a great drive from an angle on the right of the posts.

The second half saw Newmarket maintain their grip on the play but the Valley Rovers backs defended stoutly and the shooting of the Newmarket forwards still left a good deal to be desired. They had eleven more wides bringing their total to 22 against the Valley Rovers total of 4.

It was just as well that Newmarket did not avail of all their chances for the game would have developed into a very one-sided affair. As it was, interest was maintained until the closing stages with the South East Cork champions battling gamely for the breaks that might have brought them back into the picture with a chance.

But it was quite obvious that they were up against a better team and they never had a real hope of turning the tide.

If one overlooks the erratic shooting Newmarket’s display was quite impressive with the team as a whole playing with considerable dash and skill. The experience gained in their three successful campaigns in Duhallow gave them a decisive advantage over opponents who had come through in their division for the first time.

The match was played on 11th of October in Coachford, Final score was Newmarket 1-11 to Valley Rovers 0-5. The team on the day was as follows:

Jim Culloty
Tony Forde		Ted Feehan		Paudie Feehan
Jack Collins		Seanie Daly		Con Collins
	Neilus Collins (0-1)		Billy Daly (0-5, Capt.)
Donal Burke (0-1)		Michael Flanagan (0-1)		Jim Deasy
Donal O’ Gorman		Ben Eardley (1-2)		T. D. Cronin (0-1)

Referee P. Cronin, St Finbarr’s.