P2 Minor HC: St Finbarr's lead from start to finish to sink Killeagh in final replay
Joy for St Finbarr's. Picture: Noel Sweeney
St Finbarr’s needed a last-ditch goal and point last week in Páirc Uí Rinn just to get this second chance. But how they made the absolute most of this replay with Killeagh.
Killeagh could feel hard done by the previous night, but they can have no qualms here after this Cork ETB Premier 2 Minor Hurling Championship Final Replay at Carrigtwohill.
The Barrs are the Premier 2 kings again.
The Barrs led uninterrupted from start to finish. Only once in the second period did the St Finbarr’s lead ever look to be under threat, and that was with five minutes to go.
The city side pushed their advantage out to five after 53 minutes, 0-16 to 0-11.
For much of this second half, they had gone in pursuit of goal chances when a point would have sufficed, particularly when Liam O’Regan took up a sweeper role in the third quarter and was only happy to hoover up any danger. But Killeagh finally found rhythm.
Cormac Deane took a white flag option on 54 after a clever line ball from Cathal Brennan. Ben Geary tacked on two frees. He would finish with 0-8, bringing his championship total to 6-67 in six games.
At 0-16 to 0-14, Killeagh were in with a chance. Deane struck another point attempt in the 57th minute, but this one crashed off the post and the Barrs cleared the danger. Alex O’Herlihy, who came to life at the death last week, did so again here.
He slotted over to put them three up and celebrated with CJ Barrett, the other forward in blue to shine on Wednesday night.
That three-point deficit still gnawed at Killeagh with the clock in red. They could not conjure the major they needed.. Then, to put it all to bed, O’Herlihy nailed his fifth and put the Barrs four clear.
Killeagh had one last chance. Andrew Brenner – Killeagh’s best performer on the night – sent one across goal to Ben Geary, who was hauled down for a free. Ben took it himself and went for the goal they needed, but it was saved. The rebound too, from his brother Jay, was repelled.
There would be no stopping the Barrs. When the whistle finally went, blue shirts raced to one another in joy, savouring their back-to-back triumphs.
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The fast start is what gave the Barrs the platform here, as they raced into an early 0-4 to nil lead. Killeagh spent the entire opening half trying to restore parity, but they would never get closer than one.
Both teams had their share of wides throughout this contest – 10 apiece – but St Finbarr’s were deserving of their lead, as Barrett and O’Herlihy found ample space to shoot and punish their opponents.
O’Herlihy notched two of the Barrs’ last three points in the first half – as he would too in the second – giving them a half-time lead of 0-11 to 0-7. Brenner had kept Killeagh in touch with his runs from deep, orchestrating two points and scoring two in that first period.
On the restart, the scoring was limited to frees as the third quarter followed the cagey nature of the first two, but when the first white flag from play, well taken by Charlie Kelleher, had the Barrs five up, they were looking good.
Their control could have been shattered two minutes later when Jay Geary forced a big save from David Clarke-O’Mahony, but the Barrs preserved their clean sheet, and saw the victory out.
CJ Barrett 0-7 (0-4 f), A O’Herlihy 0-5, C Kelleher 0-3 (0-2 f), J Martin 0-2, K McCabe 0-1.
B Geary 0-8 (0-6 f), A Brenner 0-2, C Deane, R O’Riordan, John Farquhar, J Geary 0-1 each.
D Clarke-O’Mahony; S Gabriel, C Garvey, L O’Regan; R Dunne, D McGuirk, E Burke; K McCabe, C Herlihy; C Kelleher, J Martin, H McTernan; E O’Shea, CJ Barrett, A O’Herlihy.
E Murphy-McKeown for Herlihy (59).
E Deane; P Dineen, R O’Connor, A Howey; D McCarthy, A Fogarty, C Brennan; A Brenner, C Delaney; John Farquhar, R O’Riordan, C Deane; Jack Farquhar, B Geary, J Geary.
P O’Mahony (Kilbrittain)
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