This was by and large an evenly contested game, but a ten minute spell in the second half in which Pearses outscored Oranmore-Maree 1-6 to 0-1, put the lads in the driving seat for this win.
Oranmore had 1-1 on the board before Pearses got off the mark in the eight minute, with Brian Sweeney free. Pearses added two more points (Paul Lally and Sweeney), to cut the margin to one. Oranmore-Maree had restored the four point gap by the 23rd minute, 1-4 to 0-3. The teams swapped points, to leave the score 1-6 to 0-5, before Eoghan Burke goaled from close range for Pearses on the 29th Minute. Half-time score: Oranmore-Maree 1-6 Pearses 1-5.
Oranmore-Maree hit the ground running in the second half, adding 0-3 in the first two minutes, 1-9 to 1-5. Shane Skehill then bagged 1-1 in the space of a minute for Pearses, to level the game. Oranmore-Maree nudged ahead again, but Gary Hennelly was now becoming more influential and landed two great points from the right wing to put Pearses in the lead for the first time. Ronan Bellew came forward from centre-back to put Pearses two up and Brian Sweeney added two points to make it four, 2-11 to 1-10.
Oranmore didn’t give up and added three frees to bring the margin back to one. A Brian Sweeney free gave Pearses some breathing space but an Oranmore-Maree response made it the minimum again, on 29 minutes. It was too late though and Pearses hung on for the narrow win. Two wins from two to date, with three teams left to play in the Group: Michael Cusacks, Carnmore and Killimordaly.
Pearses: Daniel Masterson; Keith Clancy, Tom Carr, Ronan Carr, Dermot Byrnes, Ronan Bellew (0-1), Conor Kelly, Ronan O’Neill, Brian Sweeney (0-7), Darren Naughton, Shane Skehill (1-1), Paul Lally (0-1), Eoghan Burke (1-0), Lee Murphy (0-1), Gary Hennelly (0-2). Sub used: Conor O’Neill.