Four-goal Barrs restart championship assault with convincing win over Valleys

For the second game in succession, the Barrs would play the final 20 minutes with a man less.

Sun, 15 Sep, 2024 - 18:03

Eoghan Cormican, Coachford

Cork Premier SFC: St Finbarr’s 4-12 Valley Rovers 0-11

The Barrs began the day third in Group C and on the brink of first-ever group stage elimination. They finished the day top of Group C and headed for a quarter-final against Ballincollig. Crisis very much avoided.

The key score of the opening half and indeed the game as a whole was very easily located. It arrived right on the half hour mark. It was made and finished by the Barrs’ Cork contingent. It’s a score Valley Rovers were furious with as it came from a needless turnover while they were in the process of chasing a fifth consecutive point to narrow the gap to three.

The Barrs broke swiftly, Ian Maguire transferring possession to Steven Sherlock out on the sideline. Maguire continued his run, took the return pass in front of goal and immediately offloaded to Brian Hayes for the simplest of tap-ins.

The Barrs’ second green flag of the afternoon wiped out the previous eight minutes of work and enterprise from Valley Rovers in halving an eight-point deficit to four.

The Barrs’ opening goal of the day arrived 12 minutes in. It arrived from the boot of Steven Sherlock. The Cork forward was responsible for 1-3 of his team’s opening 1-4.

Sherlock bagged his second and the Barrs' third four minutes into the second half. Cork senior hurler Ethan Twomey with the inviting delivery and assist, Sherlock with the palmed finish. An interval lead of 2-7 to 0-6 shoved out to 3-7 to 0-7.

Another four minutes further on, Barrs defender Colm Scully would receive his marching orders for the second game in succession. Where it was two yellows that did for him against Mallow, it was a yellow and black here.

For the second game in succession, the Barrs would play the final 20 minutes with a man less. No inroads could Valley Rovers make, though. They’d kick only three points, from Johnnie Kiely, Fiachra Lynch (free), and William Hurley, in the final 20 minutes.

With Mallow losing to Douglas in the other group fixture, the men from Innishannon didn’t need to completely peg back the Barrs, they just needed to get two points closer to them than Mallow trailed Douglas by.

With Mallow eventually falling by five, a three-point loss would have been sufficient for Valleys to progress. As it was, they came up well short of that figure.

Enda Dennehy, on 49 minutes, supplied the Barrs’ fourth and final goal to restart their championship assault.

Scorers for St Finbarr’s: S Sherlock (2-5, 0-3 frees); B Hayes, E Dennehy (1-0 each); J Wigginton Barrett, C Myers Murray (0-2 each); E McGreevy, W Buckley, B O’Connell (0-1 each).

Scorers for Valley Rovers: C McCarthy (0-4, 0-1 mark); F Lynch (0-2, 0-1 free), A Walsh Murphy (0-2, 0-2 frees); J Kiely, E O’Sullivan (0-1 free), W Hurley (0-1 each).

ST FINBARR’S: D Newman; F Crowley, J Burns, B O’Connell; E Dennehy, A O’Connor, C Scully; C Doolan, I Maguire; E Twomey, B Hayes, W Buckley; C Myers Murray, J Wigginton Barrett, S Sherlock.

SUBS: C Lyons for Myers Murray (46); E McGreevy for Wigginton Barrett (54); D O’Brien for Twomey (56); T O’Keeffe for Maguire, M Shields for Sherlock (both 58).

VALLEY ROVERS: E O’Sullivan; C O’Keeffe, E Delaney, D Muckian; A Walsh Murphy, M Woods, G Farrell; J Kiely, D Murphy, R O’Sullivan, A Kenneally, W Hurley; C McCarthy, F Lynch, A Casey.

SUBS: E Guinane for Woods (18 mins, inj); E O’Reilly for A Casey (46); T McGrath for G Farrell (54).

REFEREE: C Murphy.