Leahy hails battling Barr’s

DRAMA and excitement in equal measure in Dunmanway on Saturday when St Finbarr’s survived a courageous O’Donovan Rossa challenge in this Evening Echo Cork SFC fourth round clash.

There was a dramatic end to the tie when Conor McCarthy was presented with the impossible task of trying to goal for the Skibbereen side from a close-in free three and a half minutes into injury time.

Predictably, kicking into a packed goalmouth, his shot was deflected over the bar, leaving team-mates and supporters to bemoan not just the consequence of their poor start, but the loss of chances late in the game after Paul Crowley’s 55th minute goal brought them back into contention. And McCarthy himself, who played a significant role after being shifted off star Cork defender Michael Shields, missed a great goal chance not long before.