Glen Rovers and St Finbarr's proved championship hurling is a marathon not a sprint

St Finbarr’s and Glen Rovers did not look a likely county final pairing on the opening weekend of the Cork Premier Senior Hurling Championship in early August when losing to Midleton and Blackrock.

The old powerhouses of Cork hurling showed their resilience with two brilliant showings ensuring they will fight it out for the Sean Óg Murphy Cup later this month.

Kanturk really put it up to the Barrs in the first semi-final, in what was a thriller, but all of the big guns stood up when the game was in the melting pot.

Ethan Twomey’s 49th-minute goal swung the momentum their way, while Ben Cunningham and Brian Hayes were lethal in those crucial last ten minutes, and both were extremely prominent throughout. The switch of Damian Cahalane onto Kanturk dangerman Alan Walsh was also key as the experienced defender curtailed his fellow Cork panelist down the home stretch.

It takes two to tango and a lot of credit has to go to Kanturk as they played their part in the classic, with the final five-point deficit not reflecting their efforts and how close they came to reaching that first Premier Senior final. 

They will probably feel that one or two decisions just did not go their way when the game was in the melting pot, which will no doubt add to the frustration.

They really tore into the Barrs from the get-go leading 0-10 to 0-5 inside the opening quarter. Obviously, the scoring burst at the end was where the match was won, but the five unanswered points that the Barrs got to level matters in the opening half, while playing against the wind, was the platform to use the elements to lunge for home late on.

While the Walsh brothers were doing wreck down one end, Ben Cunningham and Brian Hayes were doing similar into the City End goal. This was merely par for the course for Hurler of the Year nominee Hayes, but for Cunningham it was a welcome return to form, as he resembled the player that inspired Cork to All-Ireland U20 glory in 2023.

He scored 0-10, was an effective ball-winner and was able to drive at the heart of the Kanturk defence as well.

Ethan Twomey also showed the form that saw him start at midfield for Cork not too long ago. Kanturk were unable to keep tabs on him and his goal ultimately swung the momentum. He ended the game with 1-4 from play in a dazzling performance.

In the second semi-final, for Midleton to go well, they needed a big showing from their talisman Conor Lehane but Rob Downey won everything that was sent in around the Glen goal in the opening quarter which meant the Magpies struggled for scores early on.

Downey’s performance certainly provided food for thought to the conversation around who should be Cork’s full-back in 2027. 

He was deployed there for Cork previously and may be a candidate once more, although you would expect Cork would want to compact their half of the pitch if they were going to explore that option.

Ross O’Regan scored a worldie of a point from under the South Stand in the 22nd minute, for what was only Midleton’s third score, and Cormac Walsh added another within seconds to really settle Midleton. A third Walsh score from downtown and scores from Lehane, who was now being much more influential in a deeper role, meant they got the score to 0-10 to 0-9 by half-time to trail by just the one.

Regrets

Midleton had two chances for a goal in the 27th minute, but Cathal Hickey brilliantly denying O’Regan, who was on an advantage. From the resultant free Lehane blazed wide. They would live to regret these misses.

The first half felt flat in comparison to the Barrs-Kanturk but Micheál Mullins kickstarted matters with a superb goal on the run in the 33rd minute, only for Paul Connaughton to reply almost immediately with a major of his own.

After storming back into the tie Midleton lost impetus and they really needed two huge scores from Lehane from play to keep them in touch, only for Simon Kennefick to capitalise on a loose clearance from Brion Saunderson to push the gap back out to three.

When Mullins sent his goal effort under the despairing dive of Saunderson in the 53rd minute, the Glen were out the gap, which means we now get the first Glen Rovers v St Finbarr’s Little All-Ireland since 1988