Beara outclass Bantry Blues to move into U21 A football last four

Beara 0-15 Bantry Blues 0-6 

Beara are through to the last four of this year’s McCarthy Insurance Group Cork U21AFC thanks to a comprehensive defeat of Bantry Blues in Kealkill on Sunday.

Having seen off Ibane Gaels to capture their first Carbery U21 championship in over a decade, Bantry were unable to recapture that form against a hungrier and more clinical opponent.

The eventual winners enjoyed a 0-6 to 0-4 interval advantage despite having missed a plethora of chances.

Far more accurate in the second period, Beara added nine points and restricted Bantry to just two scores en route to qualifying for the U21A county semi-finals.

Consecutive Ben O’Connor and Fintan Fenner white flags handed Beara an early advantage.

Sean O’Shea was tasked with marking Bantry danger man Dara Sheedy and was doing a fine job until the Blues gained a foothold.

Bantry wasted a goal chance and dropped a close-range free short before Paddy Cronin (free) got them off the mark. Then, the Carbery representatives capitalised on poor Beara shooting to move 0-3 to 0-2 ahead courtesy of excellent Jack Sheedy and Dara Sheedy scores.

That’s as good as it got for Bantry for the remainder of the half however, as their opponents took control in midfield.

A brace of Fintan Fenner efforts and a Ben O’Connor score turned a one-point deficit into a merited two-point lead. Paddy Cronin responded with a free prior to a Tommy O’Sullivan score handing Beara a two-point interval cushion.

Jack Sheedy reduced the deficit to single point on the resumption but Beara found another gear and completely dominated the third quarter.

Tommy O’Sullivan (two), Fintan Fenner (two), Lee Kelly, Tommy O’Connor (free) and Ben O’Sullivan unanswered scores saw the rural division stretch their lead, 0-13 to 0-5, by the three-quarter mark.

Another Paddy Cronin free was a misfiring Bantry’s solitary response and not even a black card from Beara’s Mark Downing could alter the outcome of a one-sided second period with 10 minutes to go.

A scrappy conclusion to the quarter-final, dotted with heavy tackles and yellow cards, saw Tommy O’Sullivan and Tom O’Connor (free) add to Beara’s total and complete a thoroughly deserved victory.

The rural division will face Valley Rovers in this year’s U21 A football county semi-finals and deservedly so following such a commanding performance.

Scorers for Beara: F Fenner, T O’Sullivan 0-4 each, B O’Connor 0-3, T O’Connor 0-2 f, L Kelly, B O’Sullivan 0-1 each.

Bantry Blues: P Cronin 0-3 (0-3 f), J Sheedy 0-2, D Sheedy 0-1.

BEARA: K Murphy (Castletownbere); M Downing (Adrigole), D Harrington (Glengarriff), D Harrington (Urhan); N O’Shea (Urhan), S O’Shea (Adrigole), D O’Sullivan (Adrigole); L Harrington (Glengarriff), F Fenner (c, Castletownbere); G O’Shea (Adrigole), L Kelly (Castletownbere), J Hanley (Castletownbere); T O’Sullivan (Adrigole), B O’Connor (Adrigole), T O’Connor (Adrigole).

Subs: A O’Sullivan (Urhan) for L Harrington (ht), D Crowley (Urhan) for L Kelly (53), S Power (Castletownbere) for T O’Sullivan (58).

BANTRY BLUES: E O’Donoghue; B Clancy, C Cronin, R O’Shea; E Reynolds, M Óg O’Sullivan, D McCarthy (c); J Crowley, M O’Donovan; D Sheedy, L Salter-Townshend, J Sheedy; P Cronin, D Kingston, S O’Donovan.

Subs: F Barry for J Crowley (35), C Cronin for D Kingston (42), F O’Donovan for L Salter-Townshend (46), J Crowley for K O’Brien (53).

Referee: Niall Hayes (Carbery Rangers).