Division 1 HL: Ethan Twomey and William Buckley star as St Finbarr's sink Carrigaline
St Finbarr’s Kevin O'Flynn gets his pass away under pressure from Carrigaline's Dan Greene and Billy Cronin. Picture Chani Anderson
With Cork senior Ethan Twomey and the dynamic William Buckley available, St Finbarr’s always looked like favourites — and so it proved as they powered past Carrigaline in Thursday evening’s RedFM Division 1 Hurling League clash in Togher.
Carrigaline, last year’s beaten Premier Intermediate finalists, were without the majority of that side — only six of them lined out — and the gulf in class eventually told.
They kept the game competitive early on and trailed just 1-12 to 0-11 six minutes into the second half. But a relentless third-quarter surge from the hosts put the result beyond doubt and pushed Carrigaline deeper into relegation danger.
They’re now reliant on a big scoring difference swing and a win over Charleville, while Carrigtwohill must lose both of their remaining games.
The Barrs hit six points in succession from the 37th to 43rd minutes — two apiece from Buckley (frees) and Kevin O’Flynn, with Twomey and Scott Callanan also on target. Twomey was immense at centre-back, dominating the second half and forming a formidable unit alongside Ciarán Doolan and Billy Hennessy that shut down Carrigaline’s forwards.
Brian Kelleher, well-marshalled by Eoin Keane in the first half, found a little more joy after moving further outfield in the second half. His 44th-minute score was just Carrigaline’s second of the half, making it 1-18 to 0-12.
Twomey continued to influence proceedings, assisting Callanan for a point before linking again with the same player again to set up Buckley for a stunning score from distance, just before he was shouldered over the sideline by Dan Greene, who was booked for the offence.
Buckley added another soon after, set up by David Murray, before Callanan notched his third, pushing the score to 1-22 to 0-13 by the 53rd minute. Though Carrigaline regained their footing late on, the outcome was beyond doubt — a 13-point win for the Barrs.
The first half had been more balanced, as Carrigaline enjoyed the wind. The sides were level three times in the opening seven minutes until Murray nudged the hosts ahead 0-5 to 0-4. He might have had a goal soon after, but Cian McCarthy did well to deny him, conceding a 65 that Buckley converted.
Buckley was electric throughout and struck 1-2 in the space of three minutes to open up a six-point lead. His goal was a superbly struck effort that left McCarthy helpless.
With the wind, Carrigaline played long, targeting Kelleher, but Keane dominated the breaking ball. Kelleher did register his first from play in the 24th minute to reduce the gap to 1-10 to 0-8. At the break, it was 1-12 to 0-10 – a manageable gap – but the third-quarter blitz ended their challenge.
W Buckley 1-12 (0-4 f, 0-1 65), C Crowley, S Callanan 0-3 each, C Keane, K O’Flynn 0-2 each, D Murray, B Hennessy, E Twomey, L O’Shea 0-1 each.
B Kelleher 0-9 (0-4 f), C Kearney 0-2, P Mellett, N O’Keeffe, I O’Donoghue, D Greene, C Vaughan 0-1 each.
E Kelleher; E Keane, J Kennefick, S Kennedy; B Hennessy, E Twomey, C Doolan; A Buckley, C Crowley; J O’Kelly, W Buckley, S Callanan; K O’Flynn, C Keane, D Murray.
L O’Shea for O’Flynn (48), R Doyle for O’Kelly, J Ryan for Kennedy, S McCarthy for Kennfick (all 55), J McCarthy for Kelleher (57).
C McCarthy; J Torpey, S Williamson, B Cronin; D Greene, D King, C Vaughan; H Andrews, N O’Keeffe; C Kearney, T Vaughan, P Mellett; B Kelleher, I O’Donoghue, S Buckley.
D McBarron for Andrews (26 inj), L Ahern for Buckley, C O’Donovan for King (52).
Cathal McAllister (Aghada)
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