Newmarket went down to a very disappointing defeat as they made their exit from the Premier Intermediate Football Championship following a heavy loss against Mallow by 2-14 to 1-5 in Kanturk on Sunday evening.

Newmarket were on the backfoot from the throw in and early Mallow pressure yielded a goal in the third minute. A point followed as Newmarket were pinned into their own half for long periods of time. John Ryan had Newmarket on the scoreboard as he pointed an eleventh minute free but Mallow added three points as they held a lead of 1-4 to 0-1 by the nineteenth minute. John Ryan had his second point of the evening as Newmarket struggled to establish a platform from which to make a challenge. Mallow added their fifth point of the half but Newmarket enjoyed somewhat better fortune close to half time. Unfortunately a Paddy O’Toole point was all that was added to the scoreboard and despite struggling, Newmarket entered the break with a retrievable five point deficit, 1-5 to 0-3.

John Ryan added a free within two minutes of the restart but hopes of a revival were dashed by a second Mallow goal moments later. Mallow added their first point of the half as scores proved sparse in the third quarter. The highlight for Newmarket was a superb individual solo goal from Michael Cottrell who evaded several defenders as he darted through the Mallow defence and finished brilliantly to the net. Mallow reacted in devastating fashion as they hit five points in a row to take a ten point lead. T.J. Brosnan scored a point for Newmarket but Mallow closed out victory with three further points as Newmarket’s misery was compounded on seeing a late penalty saved by the Mallow goalkeeper.

The Newmarket team and scorers…
John Ryan (0-3), Michael Cottrell (1-0), Paddy O’Toole (0-1), T.J. Brosnan (0-1).

David Quinlan
Alan Ryan		Brian O’Riordan		Paudie Allen
Gavin Forde		Paddy O'Toole		T. J. Brosnan
	Bart Daly		Kevin O'Sullivan
John Lane		John Ryan		Eddie Allen
Michael Cottrell		Tony O'Keeffe		Barry O'Connor
Subs: Colin O’Sullivan, Pa O’Brien, T.J. Bodie.