Division 1 HL: Blackrock dominate second half to beat understrength St Finbarr's
Fionn Coleman , Blackrock fires in a goal just seconds before the half time break in the league game against St Finbarr's at Church Road, Blackrock. Picture: Larry Cummins
Heading into this one without so many key players, St Finbarr’s were always going to be up against it taking on Blackrock at Church Road. But the Rockies made it look easy in this RedFM Division 1 HL clash on Saturday.
Blackrock did well in the first half against the wind, but were struggling to pull away from their opponents – at least until Fionn Coleman bagged his first of two goals.
It was a beautifully worked finish. The move began from their own half, Gavin Connolly picking out Ryan Sweeney with a long-range pass. Sweeney switched the play to Dan Meaney, and he played a clever one-two with Ollie McAdoo.
Coleman made the run in. All Meaney had to do was get it to Coleman – and he did. The Blackrock full-forward finished the one-on-one opportunity with ease.
That was the end of the first half action, with Blackrock now 1-11 to 1-8 in front. The three-point margin a positive given they were against the wind. It created the platform to push on in the second.
The hosts landed four unanswered on the resumption. The Barrs’ only score in the latter half would follow, a free from Sam Cunningham in the 49th minute.
As the Rockies emptied their bench the closing stages of the game became shooting practice. They finished the game with 1-5 unanswered and a total of 22 scores from 43 attempts. Niall Cashman and John O’Sullivan worked the ball to Coleman for the second goal on 55 minutes.
That stretched the Rockies lead to 12. They would add one more point in added time to finish comfortable winners.
It was disappointing for the Barrs, who scored a couple of early points with the wind, before quickly falling behind. PJ Linehan was the Rockies’ biggest threat in the first half, and he finished the opening period with four from play.
Tadhg Deasy, Niall Cashman and Meaney had all been a constant presence in and around the middle, and Cashman would set up Deasy for the Rockies’ fifth score in the 10th minute.
Shane Kennedy replied with a long-range free for the visitors, Kevin O’Keeffe added two from play for the hosts. The Barrs tried to make use of the wind, but couldn’t deal with Blackrock’s midfield dominance. The visitors were left trailing 0-10 to 0-6 after 25 minutes.
Nonetheless they put up a fight, and all it took was one moment of magic to draw level. Sam Cunningham’s brilliant run allowed him to open up the space and squeeze home the finish.
His goal levelled the contest for a fourth time before minor graduate Conor McCarthy added his only point in the 28th minute to put the Barrs back in front for the first time in 24 minutes.
The hosts would close out the half with 1-1 to get back in front, but with the wind in the second half they were always going to pull away.
Without Ciarán Doolan, William Buckley and Jack Cahalane – St Finbarr’s needed to be in front at the interval if they wanted any chance at victory. Coleman’s first goal ultimately decided the game, even if their southside rivals were still within reach on the scoreboard.
F Coleman 2-2, R Sweeney 0-6 (0-3 f), PJ Linehan 0-5, T Deasy 0-3, K O’Keeffe 0-2, D Cormack, L O’Sullivan 0-1 each.
S Cunningham 1-4 (0-3 f, 0-1 65), A Buckley, S Kennedy (f), J O’Brien, B O’Connell, C McCarthy 0-1 each.
G Connolly; J Ryan, G Norberg, J Golden; A O’Callaghan, J Cashman, T Deasy; N Cashman, O McAdoo; D O’Farrell, K O’Keeffe, D Meaney; R Sweeney, F Coleman, PJ Linehan.
S Murphy for Golden, Cathal Cormack for Ryan (both 40), L O’Sullivan for Deasy, D Cormack for O McAdoo (both 46), I O’Keeffe for Meaney, Ciarán Cormack for K O’Keeffe (both 48), J O’Sullivan for Sweeney (51), T Granger for Linehan (57), E Cantwell for O’Callaghan (60).
S Hurley; J Kennefick, J Burns, S Kennedy; E Keane, A Barry, T Egan; C Steele, C Crowley; C McCarthy, S Cunningham, A Buckley; J O’Brien, J O’Kelly, B O’Connell.
L Hannigan for O’Kelly (HT), D Murray for Steele (40), E Hallahan for O’Brien (58), L O’Shea for Buckley, M Ahern for Kennedy (both 60).
Colm Lyons (Nemo Rangers)
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