St Finbarr’s 2-12 

Clonakilty 0-16

NOEL HORGAN REPORTS

IT was easy to appreciate Clonakilty’s frustration after they fell to title holders St Finbarr’s in the county premier senior football championship semi-final at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Saturday evening.

Despite enjoying the better of matters territorially, and creating far more opportunities than the winners, they came up short, paying the price for erratic shooting that saw them accumulate 12 wides, six more than the Togher side.

Add in the fact that they failed to grab a goal from a penalty in the first half when one of the two they conceded might have been disallowed, and it goes without saying this was an agonisingly painful defeat for the Carbery men. 

Selector Eoin Ryan agreed, suggesting that Clon were largely the chief architects of their own demise.

‘It’s a very hard one to take, I thought we were by far the better team. Our game-plan worked perfectly, but the only thing that didn’t was our finishing.

‘We missed a load of chances, including a penalty in the first half, and it would have made a huge difference if we had nailed it.

‘I thought their second goal was questionable. Mark (White) had caught the ball, but the forward came in and knocked him and the ball over the line.

‘You have to be clinical at this level, we weren’t and they were tonight, but we dominated them all over the field and just didn’t make it count on the scoreboard,’ Ryan insisted. 

Clonakilty's Conor Daly takes on St Finbarr's Dylan Quinn. (Photo: George Hatchell)

Although Clon drew first blood through Conor Daly inside a minute, it took them all of 12 minutes to add to their tally, despite applying a fair share of pressure in the interim.

Daly, picked out by a precision cross by Ross Mannix, was again Clon’s marksman to make it 1-3 to 0-2, with the Barrs’ goal coming from Ricky Barrett after Ian Maguire had done the spadework.

Maguire was quick to make his presence felt at midfield, winning a free converted by Steven Sherlock before the rangy Brian Hayes stretched the gap to six in the 21st minute. 

Shortly after his introduction, substitute Darragh Gough pulled a point back for Clonakilty, and he continued to catch the eye up for the rest of the first half.

So too did Colin Daly, Dara Ó Sé and especially Ross Mannix, but the Clon forwards as a unit promised more than they achieved before the break.

Still, a point from Ó Sé brought them back within striking range before disaster struck in the 29th minute when an Ian Maguire effort for a point was gathered by Clon goalkeeper Mark White, who was dispossessed by a challenge from the in-running Thomas Egan.

After Egan netted from point-blank range, Clon’s first-half tale of woe was completed when Ross Mannix did well to win a penalty only for the Barrs’ goalkeeper Darragh Newman to foil Darragh Gough’s attempted conversion at the expense of a 45.

A Mark White point from the resultant chance was scant consolation for a Clon side that trailed by 2-5 to 0-6 at half time.

They began brightly on the resumption, bagging points through wing-back Chris Kenneally and Darragh Gough before the Barrs replied with a Steven Sherlock two-pointer from a free in the 35th.

Clonakilty's Ross Mannix lines up a shot as Fionn Crowley, St Finbarr's, comes to challenge. (Photo: George Hatchell)

That was the only score registered during the third quarter by the champions, whose lead was cut to two, 2-7 to 0-11, after Gough landed a two-pointer in the 39th minute.

Primarily due to faulty finishing, Clon struggled to make further inroads on the deficit, whereas the Barrs’ more economical and efficient use of their possession enabled them to move six ahead after Sherlock and Brian Hayes pointed in quick succession approaching the last ten minutes.

That was Sherlock’s only score from play, testimony to the excellent policing job done by Clon full-back Dan Peet on the Barrs’ ace sharpshooter. 

Chris Kenneally, Jack O’Mahony and especially David Lowney were others to perform heroically at the back as Clon made a determined bid to pull the game out of the fire on the run-in.

Aided by scores from Dara Ó Sé, who notched a two-pointer, and Conor Daly they were 2-12 to 0-14 in arrears when a fisted effort for a goal by substitute Sean White struck the crossbar, denying them a major breakthrough at a crucial stage of the proceedings.

Dan Peet smartly dispossessed Sherlock to instigate an attack that yielded a two-pointer from Daly deep in stoppage time, but it was a case of too little, too late, for the gallant losers.

So, the curtain came down on an encouraging campaign by Clonakilty, but, not surprisingly, Eoin Ryan said to lose a semi-final by just two points to the team that won the title last year provided little in the way of consolation.

That the Barrs rode their luck to a certain extent is beyond dispute. Considering they are back in the final having lost two of their three games in the group stage, they could be forgiven for thinking their name is on the trophy again this year.

OUR STAR: Brian Hayes was at his most elegant best at midfield for the Barrs, serving as a reminder of how invaluable an addition he’d be to John Cleary’s Cork squad were the dual performer not obsolete at inter-county level nowadays.

Scorers - St Finbarr’s: S Sherlock 0-6 (2 2ptf, 1f); B Hayes 0-4; R Barrett 1-1; T Egan 1-0; C Dennehy 0-1. Clonakilty: D Gough 0-5 (1 2pt, 1f); C Daly 0-5 (1 2pt); D Ó Sé 0-3 (2pt); M White (45), C Kenneally, D Harrington 0-1 each.

St Finbarr’s: D Newman; D Quinn, F Crowley, S Ryan; C Scully, A O’Connor, C Doolan; I Maguire, B Hayes; T Egan, R Barrett, E Dennehy; J Wigginton-Barrett, S Sherlock, W Buckley. Subs: C Dennehy for O’Connor (inj, 23), J Burns for Quinn (ht), L Hannigan for E Dennehy (43), C Myers-Murray for Wigginton-Barrett (56).

Clonakilty: M White; D Darragh; D Peet, D Lowney; C Kenneally, J O’Mahony, S White; T Clancy, M Shanley; D Kenneally, D Ó Sé, B Ridgeway; S McEvoy, R Mannix, C Daly. Subs: D Harrington for S White (23), D Gough for McEvoy (23), K O’Driscoll for Kenneally (49), S White for Ridgeway (54).

Referee: C Lane (Banteer).