Premier SFC: Avondhu come good to see off Beara

Avondhu: 3-5 (3-1-3) 

Beara: 1-7 (1-1-5) 

In the end, Avondhu had too much quality and depth for a battling Beara side in the second round of the unseeded divisions/colleges section of the McCarthy Insurance Group Premier SFC at Ovens on Tuesday evening.

Joey Hanlon’s side held the advantage of having a competitive game under their belt after defeating Seandún last week, while this was Beara’s first championship outing since 2022.

It was tight and cagey for the most part, with Beara holding a deserved two-point advantage at the short whistle. They possibly should have been further clear at the break, and that ultimately proved costly given they didn’t score again until added time in the second half, by which stage the game was effectively over.

Once the likes of Mark Lenahan and the Hanlon brothers, Conor and David, hit their straps, Avondhu simply had too much for their opposition and ran out four-point winners. They now face Imokilly in Round 3 next Tuesday.

Played in difficult weather conditions, with heavy rain throughout, Avondhu started well with a Mark Lenahan point after three minutes before the game drifted into a lull on a very slippery pitch as the rain intensified.

Beara carved out a decent attack after seven minutes which turned into a goal chance, but Ben O’Sullivan was unable to convert from an acute angle. Wides and loose passing were a theme of the opening 30 minutes for both sides.

The second score didn’t arrive until the 19th minute when James Spencer pointed, drawing a big reaction from the large Beara following. Peter O’Leary’s charges were now turning their dominance into scores, with Tomás Murphy and a Fintan Fenner free pushing them 0-3 to 0-1 ahead after 22 minutes.

Fenner was pulling the strings for Beara and then slotted over a magnificent two-point free. Avondhu were flat and ponderous in the first half, but they did strike for a goal against the run of play when Conor Hanlon finished off a neat team move three minutes before half-time.

Beara had the final say of the half, though, when Ben O’Sullivan split the posts to leave it 0-6 to 1-1 at the interval.

A Mark Lenahan two-pointer levelled matters eight minutes into the new half, followed by a David Hanlon point to edge Avondhu ahead, 1-4 to 0-6 after 44 minutes.

A superb 1-1 from the impressive Ben Twomey handed Avondhu a 2-5 to 0-6 cushion with 10 minutes remaining, his goal expertly placed into the bottom corner.

Twomey’s second goal — Avondhu’s third — was the pick of the bunch in the closing minutes, as he calmly chipped the goalkeeper to effectively wrap up the contest.

Beara did finish well, with a point from substitute Alan Elphick and a late penalty from Fenner, but they were merely consolation scores.

Scorers for Avondhu: B Twomey 2-1, M Lenahan 0-3 (1 2pt), C Hanlon 1-0, D Hanlon 0-1.

Beara: F Fenner 1-3 (1 2pt f, 1-0 pen, 0-1 f), T Murphy, B O‘Sullivan, J Spencer, A Elphick 0-1 each.

AVONDHU: R Donovan (Buttevant); L Finn (Mitchelstown), J Whelan (Buttevant), P O’Neill (Fermoy); A Trimm (Buttevant), K Bowles (Buttevant), S O’Callaghan (Liscarroll/Churchtown Gaels); R Murphy (Mitchelstown), C O’Brien (Liscarroll/Churchtown Gaels); M Lenahan (Buttevant), M O’Neill (Buttevant), E Birchall (Killavullen); D Hanlon (Buttevant), C Hanlon (Buttevant), B Twomey (Fermoy).

Subs: K Lenahan (Buttevant) for E Birchall (38), O O’Callaghan (Liscarroll/Churchtown Gaels) for S O’Callaghan (44), A Finnegan (Ballyclough) for M O’Neill (53), S Kenneally (Mitchelstown) for D Hanlon, A Horgan (Buttevant) for B Twomey (both 58).

BEARA: K Murphy (Castletownbere); Steven O’Shea (Urhan), D Dunne (Castletownbere), J Rosales-Harrington (Castletownbere); D Harrington (Glengarriff), J O’Shea (Urhan), M O’Shea (Urhan); F Fenner (Castletownbere), L Harrington (Glengarriff); T Murphy (Castletownbere), B O’Sullivan (Adrigole), J Harrington (Castletownbere); J Spencer (Castletownbere), B Terry O’Sullivan (Garnish), T O’Connor (Adrigole).

Subs: Seán O’Shea (Adrigole) for Steven O’Shea (35), A Elphick (Urhan) for J Harrington, J Hanley (Castletownbere) for T O’Connor (both 46), D Hanley (Castletownbere) for B O’Sullivan (58).

Referee: Alan O’Connor (Ballygarvan).