Ethan Twomey lauds St Finbarr's work ethic as they take down champions Imokilly
Ethan Twomey, St Finbarr's. Picture: Larry Cummins
An outcome not entirely unforeseen, though the sheer margin did raise eyebrows. Few would have tipped St Finbarr’s to dismiss Imokilly with such authority. Not on the back of last year’s limp exit, not after the scratchy effort against Blackrock earlier in this campaign.
But within the Barrs camp, surprise would have been in shorter supply.
They know the calibre of their squad, the depth of their bench, the nous of their sideline. The hints were there all season. Forty-three players used through the league, 28 different scorers. A panel with the star power of the Cahalanes – Jack, Conor, Damien – with William Buckley, Ben Cunningham, Ethan Twomey.
And yet, the win over the candystripes was not built on stardust alone. It was built on the unseen graft around them.
Back in July, we flagged the off-the-ball industry of Jack O’Kelly, and his development over the course of five months.
In Midleton on Sunday, he clipped a point and teed up John Wigginton Barrett for the third goal with a blistering run. But the plaudits from manager Ger Cunningham and teammate Twomey were not for those moments; they were for the dirtier stuff.
“We fought for everything, we tackled, we hooked, we blocked,” said manager Ger Cunningham after the win over Imokilly. “Our work rate, you look at the performance of Jack O’Kelly, the work he did today, Jack Cahalane, working back, Johnny Wigginton Barrett. We’re thrilled.”
Twomey echoed him.
“We put a big emphasis on our forwards working hard, you could see the platform of that today, that was the platform of us going to get the win.
“So, our platform really, is, if they work hard, we can get scores on the board and it helps our backs.” And those backs scarcely put a foot wrong. Damien Cahalane was immense, arguably man of the match, but far from alone.
“Eoin Davis has a massive puckout, and we knew that the ball would be going long,” said Twomey. “The lads back there were extremely tight and that's all you can ask of any defender, is to be tight.
“If you’re tight you can break the ball away so we’re happy with lads like Jamie Burns, Damien Cahalane and Eoin Keane. Cian Walsh went off in the first half, but he was doing a very good job.”
The victory sets up a semi-final with Sarsfields – the reigning Munster club champions and clear standard-bearers. But if the Barrs reproduce this level, the path to a third straight final is no guarantee for Sars.
“Sars are very good, they were in the county final, All-Ireland final last year, beat Ballygunner in the Munster final, so they’ll be very hard to stop,” Twomey remarked. “We’re looking forward to that now.”
They had to come from behind to reach that stage – the concession of a freak Séamus Harnedy point attempt that slipped through Shane Hurley’s fingers handing Imokilly a brief lead. By the break, the Barrs had wrestled it back and never looked like giving it up.
“I suppose we were unlucky with Shane, like Shane's been unbelievable for us all year and there was a small little mistake there, but we had a load of chances in the first half,” he said. “But with the wind, we hit a lot of wides as well which we were unhappy about.
“But to be fair, Brian stuck the ball in the back of the net which gave us a good platform going into the second half, so we were really happy with that.”
And it’s worth mentioning that, our chat with Twomey came only after a long delay, the midfielder patiently working his way through an endless stream of children in Midleton, signing hurleys, sliotars, jerseys – even shoes – until every last one had gone home happy.
“It takes some getting used to alright!” he laughed. “But you were once that age as well and looking to fellas on the pitch, so you have to give them your time.
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