Premier SFC: St Finbarr's back in business with dominant derby win against Douglas

St Finbarr’s: 3-16 (3-0-16) 

Douglas: 1-11 (1-1-9) 

Holders St Finbarr’s are back on track in the McCarthy Insurance Group Premier SFC after they swatted away the challenge of city neighbours Douglas at Páirc Uí Rinn on Friday evening.

The pressure was on the Barrs coming into this Group 1 Round 2 encounter after their surprising loss to Carrigaline three weeks ago. It wasn’t a classic, with very little flow to the southside derby.

It took a bit of time, but this was a much more rounded display from St Finbarr’s as they now move level on points with Douglas following this 11-point win.

Brian Roche’s side led by six points at one stage in the first half, but that advantage was soon wiped out as they briefly trailed.

A key moment arrived on the stroke of half-time when the Barrs grabbed a settling goal to lead by two points heading into the dressing rooms. They never looked back after that.

It wasn’t vintage St Finbarr’s, but they will be content to get the win. They dominated the second 30 minutes, albeit against a Douglas side who failed to fire after the short whistle.

St Finbarr’s looked like a side on a mission from the throw-in, landing the first two points through Brian Hayes and William Buckley.

It was a long way back — or so it seemed — for Douglas after just seven minutes when Hayes fisted the ball into the net after a darting run from Fionn Crowley resulted in the defender playing the ball across to the Cork hurler.

Steven Sherlock then pointed, with Douglas yet to create a meaningful scoring chance, but they sprung into action after nine minutes with a goal from Joe Mouret after a sweeping team move, with Luis Dwan-Fogarty heavily involved early on.

Cork U20 footballer Seán Coakley then cut the gap to just two.

The game settled after a frantic start, with St Finbarr’s enjoying more possession but finding it tough to break down the Paudie Kissane-coached Douglas side.

Luke Hannigan did sneak his way in for a goal chance, but Douglas goalkeeper Andrew Cotter spread himself well.

A pair of Shane Kingston efforts drew parity, 1-3 to 1-3 after 23 minutes.

David Buckley and Kevin Shanahan were aggressive around the middle as Douglas enjoyed a purple patch, with Adam Cantwell completing the turnaround to lead for the first time with four minutes to the break, 1-4 to 1-3.

Cork U20 player Rickey Barrett got St Finbarr’s first score in 19 minutes, but Shane Kingston, who was hugely influential, kicked a two-pointer to push Douglas two points clear.

But in a first half where neither team could gain a firm foothold, St Finbarr’s finished with 1-1 without reply.

Sherlock slotted over a free before Barrett and Ian Maguire combined to set up Thomas Egan for a beautiful finish into the top corner just before the break, leaving it 2-5 to 1-6 at half-time.

St Finbarr’s started the second half like the first, with a quick score courtesy of Sherlock. They added two further points to lead 2-8 to 1-6 after 37 minutes.

A Coakley free was required for Douglas as they looked to regain some control. Jamie Burns and Ian Maguire’s experience was telling for the winners.

The sides traded points before Barrett restored the five-point buffer.

The Barrs were showing their quality now, even if it remained a fairly tame affair.

They held a 2-12 to 1-8 advantage with 14 minutes to go. A straightforward Sherlock free extended the lead to eight.

The sides swapped scores as the game petered out, 2-14 to 1-9 after 53 minutes.

Hayes and substitute Cillian Myers-Murray pointed to further buttress their side’s healthy lead.

Douglas did land two quick points, but they were merely consolation scores.

It was fitting that Sherlock had the final say when he netted a goal right at the end after Maguire set him up — the latter could easily have gone himself.

The Barrs are back on the horse.

Scorers for St Finbarr’s: S Sherlock 1-6 (0-3 f), B Hayes 1-2, T Egan 1-0, R Barrett 0-3, W Buckley, I Maguire 0-2 each, C Myers-Murray 0-1.

Douglas: S Kingston 0-4 (1 2pt), J Mouret 1-0, D Ward, S Coakley (0-1 f) 0-2 each, J Burke, C Russell (0-1 f), A Cantwell 0-1 each.

ST FINBARR’S: D Newman; F Crowley, A O’Connor, E Dennehy; C Scully, J Burns, C Doolan; I Maguire, T Egan; L Hannigan, S Sherlock, B O’Connell; W Buckley, B Hayes, R Barrett.

Subs: C Myers-Murray for B O’Connell (46), J Wigginton-Barrett for L Hannigan (49), M Ahern for T Egan (55), B O’Connell for F Crowley (58, inj).

DOUGLAS: A Cotter; J O’Callaghan-Maher, C Kenny, D Ward; S Aherne, D Buckley, C Mac Pháidín; N Hartnett, C Kingston; K Shanahan, L Dwan-Fogarty, A Cantwell; S Coakley, S Kingston, J Mouret.

Subs: J O’Brien for C Kingston (h-t), J Burke for K Shanahan (44), C Russell for A Cantwell (48), D Mác Pháidín for D Buckley (61).

Referee: Alan O’Connor (Ballygarvan).