Ben Cunningham shines as St Finbarr’s and Carrigtwohill share spoils in last league game
St Finbarr's Ben Cunningham catches the sliothar ahead of Carrigtwohill's Sean de Burca. Picture: Howard Crowdy
St Finbarr’s and Carrigtwohill rounded off their Red FM Division 1 Hurling League campaigns with an entertaining draw at Togher on Sunday.
In the context of the league table, the result doesn’t carry much significance. Carrigtwohill sealed their survival last time out, while the Barrs have been comfortable the entire campaign.
Cork stars Ben Cunningham and Ethan Twomey were influential in the St Finbarr’s performance, showing their quality.
It was a tale of two halves, with the hosts fighting back in the second thirty to snatch a point late on.
Carrigtwohill seized the initiative in the opening stages, with Cian O’Riordan, James Mulcahy and star man Seán Walsh all contributing within the first five minutes.
James Murray and John Wigginton Barrett responded for the home team to leave the score at 0-2 to 0-3 in favour of the visitors after nine minutes.
Having seen Sam Cunningham come off for St Finbarr’s due to a hamstring tweak early on, there was another casualty as Carrigtwohill lost Seán Walsh to a nasty injury. The full forward turned and went down, audibly in agony.
A stretcher was called, and Denis Walsh will now sweat over the fitness of the Division’s top scorer ahead of the club Championship.
Carrigtwohill stretched their advantage even more upon the restart.
In the absence of Walsh, Matthew Barrett stepped up to impressive effect. Four scores in a five-minute period, either side of an effort from Cillian Barry, went a long way towards the Carrigtwohill cause.
Determined to remain in the contest, the Barrs more than played their part in an entertaining first half.
Between the 18th and 30th minutes, they registered six scores of their own, courtesy of substitute Jack O’Kelly, Wigginton Barrett, Ethan Twomey, Ben Cunningham and a brace from Jack Cahalane.
In the same period, Patrick Walsh and Cillian Barry each raised the white flag for Carrigtwohill, while there were also two scores for James Mulcahy and Matthew Barrett.
The first green flag came for Carrigtwohill in the third minute of additional time, when Matthew Barrett finished into the net.
A score for each side followed before the whistle was sounded for the break, leaving the score at 0-9 to 1-15 in favour of Carrigtwohill.
St Finbarr’s came out battling in the second half, rattling off five scores in the opening ten minutes, four of which came from Ben Cunningham. However Carrigtwohill would not be budged, and they themselves grabbed a second goal thanks to Liam O’Sullivan, alongside three other scores.
From there, the Barrs took control. Carrig only managed five more scores throughout the remainder of the game, three of which were from Matthew Barrett, alongside contributions from Cian O’Riordan and Patrick Walsh.
Five scores and a goal from Jack Cahalane between the 41st and 45th minutes brought the Barrs back into contention, before the comeback was accelerated when the two inter-county stars, Ben Cunningham and Ethan Twomey, scored 0-4 and 0-1 each in the final 10 minutes to bring the hosts within touching distance.
The comeback was completed in stoppage time.
Cahalane added one more point, before the game was brought level with another Ben Cunningham free, to end a dramatic morning. 1-26 to 2-23 the final score.
Both outfits will turn their attention towards August and the Championship.
B Cunningham 0-12 (0-11 f), J Cahalane 1-3, E Twomey 0-4, J O’Kelly 0-3, J Wigginton Barrett 0-2, J Murray, R Barrett 0-1 each.
Matthew Barrett 1-10 (0-5 f, 0-1 65), P Walsh 0-4, L O'Sullivan 1-0, J Mulcahy 0-3, C Barry, J Oke 0-2 each, S Walsh (65), C O'Riordan 0-1 each.
S Hurley; C Walsh, J Burns, E Keane; C Crowley, E Twomey, C Cahalane; S Daly, J Murray; R Barrett, J Cahalane, E Finn; J Wigginton Barrett, B Cunningham, S Cunningham.
J O’Kelly for S Cunningham (3 inj), K O’Flynn for R Barrett (59).
S Devlin; B Twomey, S De Burca, D Joseph; S Brennan, J Horgan, D Murnane; J Oke, D Nolan; P Walsh, M Barrett, C O’Riordan; J Mulcahy, S Walsh, C Barry.
L O’Sullivan for S Walsh (12 inj), T Hogan for B Twomey (h-t).
Niall Fahy (Brian Dillon’s).
App?
