Barrs cruise into semis as late Hartnett goal spares Douglas early exit

A play-off will be required in the group between Douglas and St Michael's to see who faces Duhallow in the quarter-final

CLOSE CALL: Douglas' Sean Powter leaves St Finbarrs' Reese McInerney in his wake during Sunday's Cork Premier SFC tie in Pairc Ui Rinn. Pic: Howard Crowdy

Cork Premier SFC: St Finbarr’s 1-15 Douglas 1-8

A LATE Brian Harnett goal secured Douglas the lifeline of a play-off with St Michael’s to keep their Cork Premier SFC campaign alive in the most dramatic of circumstances.

While St Finbarr’s sealed the top seed and a bye to the semi-finals with a minimum of fuss, even without the injured Steven Sherlock, the late dramatics concerned their beaten opponents.

With St Michael’s beating Mallow by a point, Douglas needed to lose by a max of seven to stay alive. Harnett’s quickly taken free, which found its way past Darragh Newman via the post, brought the gap back to six but a final Cillian Myers Murray free brought about a deadlock.

In the three-way tie, Douglas and Michael’s were level on points (2), score difference (-7), and total scored (34), meaning a play-off will be required to decide who faces Duhallow in the quarter-final.

While the Barrs were without Sherlock, Douglas were forced into a change of goalkeeper, with 2019 All-Ireland minor winner Cian O’Leary an able replacement for Eoghan O’Brien.

The first half could have done with Sherlock’s presence as both sides failed to make the most of their chances. From the Barrs’ 13 shots and Douglas’s 11, they both converted just four. The 0-4 apiece scoreline was trumped by the six-all wide tally, while the Barrs dropped a further three kicks short.

Douglas went a full 25 minutes without a score after a promising opening. Shane Kingston injected a spark into their two-man full-forward line, winning a free for his partner in crime Conor Russell to tap over before Russell added another from play after Kevin Flahive’s lung-bursting run from corner-back. Another from Kingston put them three ahead.

But any early urgency slowly dissipated as they struggled to supply those inside attackers. The Barrs inched their way back into it with points from William Buckley and Enda Dennehy after a short kick-out went awry.

It took 14 minutes of aimless football for the next score to arrive, a leveller from Buckley after Billy Hennessy had turned over Russell at the other end. A Reese McInerney free gave the Barrs their first lead but Russell snapped Douglas’s scoreless streak to send them in level.

There were three half-time changes but it was the switch to corner-forward of Seán Powter that was the first switch to pay dividends with a garryowen point followed by another from Conor Kingston.

But the Barrs were able to call on experienced returnees Myers Murray and Eoin McGreevy and they helped to change the game in a 1-3 burst.

Myers Murray (0-6) took over frees to good effect before a Douglas turnover allowed McGreevy’s brilliant pass to carve open the Douglas defence for Brian Hayes to goal.

Hayes then assisted the next two points for Ethan Twomey to push them 1-7 to 0-6 clear.

Douglas kicked a pair in response from a Russell free and Shane Kingston but the Barrs had their wind in their sails and added seven in a row from Myers Murray (0-4), Twomey, McGreevy, and Ian Maguire as Douglas went 17 minutes without hitting the target.

But the final act saved them from a third group-stage elimination in four years.

Scorers for St Finbarr’s: C Myers Murray (0-6, 5 frees); B Hayes (1-0); E Twomey (0-3); W Buckley (0-2); I Maguire, E Dennehy, R McInerney (free), E McGreevy (free) (0-1 each).

Scorers for Douglas: C Russell (0-4, 2 frees); B Hartnett (1-0 free); S Kingston (0-2); S Powter, C Kingston (0-1 each).

ST FINBARR’S: D Newman; B Hennessy, S Ryan, C Scully; C Lyons, J Burns, A O’Connor; I Maguire (capt), B Hayes; E Dennehy, M Donovan, R McInerney; W Buckley, E Twomey, J Wigginton-Barrett.

Subs: B O’Connell for Lyons (16 inj), C Myers Murray for McInerney (h-t), E McGreevy for Wigginton-Barrett (36), C Barrett for Donovan (48), C McCarthy for Burns (59 inj).

DOUGLAS: C O’Leary; K Flahive, C Kenny, K Hayes Curtin; S Powter, C Kingston, S Wilson; K Shanahan, B Hartnett; C O’Keeffe, A O’Hare, A Cantwell; Darragh Kelly (capt), S Kingston, C Russell.

Subs: B Lynch for O’Hare (h-t), E Nash for O’Keeffe (h-t), D Ward for Shanahan (45), R Hanley for Cantwell (53), N Lynch for Hayes Curtin (56 inj).

Referee: J Ryan (Macroom).