Declan Dalton offers a reminder of his class to power Fr O'Neill's to victory over St Finbarr's

St Finbarr’s 0-17 Fr O’Neill’s 2-21 

A masterclass from Declan Dalton ensured Fr O’Neill’s gained their first win in the RedFM Division 1 Hurling League against high-flyers St Finbarr’s at Togher.

Dalton, one of Cork’s top performers in recent seasons, hasn't featured in championship in the Ben O'Connor era but some of the points he struck in this game were off the charts.

The Barrs fielded their weakest team of the campaign so far but battled to the wire. Dalton's 12 points meant they fell to defeat.

Fr O’Neill’s were on a mission in the opening exchanges and surged into a three-point lead. The Barrs were flat but Conor McCarthy opened their account in the fifth minute.

Getting quality possession was a major problem for the Togher outfit and some poor defending allowed O’Neill’s register, the opening green flag. A high ball into the square wasn’t dealt with and corner-forward Jason Hankard was on hand to drill a low shot to the corner of the net.

Sean Daly joined the Barrs this season from Randal Óg and he is showing some serious form in defence but had to go centre-field in this game.

He split the posts in the 17th minute but the hosts could only amass was a mere three points for the remainder of the half.

In this 13-minute period, the Ballymacoda outfit shot points for fun and with Dalton finishing the half with seven white flags as they commanded a 1-14 to 0-7 lead at the break.

On the restart, Mark O’Keeffe only took two minutes to extend O’Neill’s lead with a stunning point. We then witnessed a class sideline cut from Dalton and there was never going to be a way back for the Barrs.

Credit to them, they stuck at it and in the final quarter, with Conor McCarthy finding his range, they managed to reduce the deficit to six points with 12 minutes remaining. Young players James Murray and Ricky Barrett also clipped some good scores.

They wasted four possessions after and O’Neill’s responded with substitute Jack Finn putting the game beyond doubt in the final minute.

The Barrs management will not be happy with this home defeat but credit to Fr O’Neill’s and, in particular, Dalton, their will to win from start to finish ensured them the crucial points.

Scorers for St Finbarr’s: C McCarthy 0-6 (0-1 sl), J Murray 0-3, C O’Connor 0-2 f, J O’Reilly, R Barrett 0-2 each, S Daly, C Buckley 0-1 each.

Fr O’Neill’s: D Dalton 0-12 (0-6 f, 0-1 sl), J Hankard, J Finn 1-0 each, P McMahon, M O’Keeffe, T Millerick, R Cullinane 0-2 each, John Millerick 0-1.

ST FINBARR'S: S Hurley; S Kennedy, J Burns, C Walsh; A Barry, C Doolan, T Egan; S Daly, J Murray; C Buckley, S Cunningham, C McCarthy; R Barrett, J O’Kelly, C O’Connor.

Sub: J Kennifick for T Egan (h-t).

FR O'NEILL'S: P O’Sullivan; M Millerick, D Harrington, R Kenneally; M O’Neill, T Millerick, E Motherway; K O’Sullivan, J Millerick; R Cullinane, D Dalton, M O’Keeffe; P McMahon, M Wall, J Hankard.

Subs: T Brennan for P McMahon (45), O Steele for E Motherway (47), B Dunne for J Hankard (45), J Finn for R Kenneally (50), D O’Keeffe for T Millerick (52).

Referee: Ian McCarthy (Bandon).