The Barrs get the better of John Mitchells

An early second half goal from sub Jack Regan set Naomh Fionnbarra on their way to taking a firm grip of Group 4 of the Junior Football Championship as the Togher side take the outright lead in the group standings.

Last year’s Junior Championship finalists made a bold statement in a windswept Darver with a win which was met by several punches in the air from players and supporters alike as they reminded the rest of the Junior grade of their qualities as a championship outfit, and a side still capable of making a strong bid of going one step better than last year’s showing.

The first half lacked quality in the final third with both sides guilty of being turned over in contact, with referee Fiachra Lambe willing to let a lot of physical challenges ensue.

Both sides also struggled to judge the wind when it came to shooting in front of the posts, with Naomh Fionnbarra finishing with 8 scores from 18 shots in open play, while the John Mitchells only amassed 5 scores from 13 efforts in open play, with a few missed goal chances included in those 13 strikes from the Baillybaile side, while the Barrs were also denied a goal thanks to a Mickey Quinn save from Cormac McArdle.

The first 20 minutes of this encounter saw only three scores on the board, with Trevor Matthews opening up proceedings in the 6th minute in a move which started by a fine turnover from defender Barry Kirk who can be proud with his showing for the Mitchells, before Andrew Bingham combined with Jake Gillespie, Mikey Nulty and John Gallagher to set up Matthews.

The Finbarrs quickly cancelled that out with a Ciaran Murphy mark, before tenacious tackling from Conor Osborne following a short Mitchells kickout, set up Jack Murtagh to put the Barrs ahead. Murtagh later limped off.

The next score did not arrive until the 22nd minute, but it was worth it as following another Kirk turnover, a quick transition through the hands from the Mitchells saw Aaron Keely find John Bingham whose pass saw John Gallagher accelerate past his marker before crashing the ball to the top corner to give Jimmy Murray’s side the lead at 1-1 to 0-2.

A delightful footpass from Gallagher then found Trevor Matthews who fired over from close range to give the Mitchells a three point cushion with four minutes left until the interval.

But one key feature of this contest was the tenacity of the Finbarr’s tackle on the Mitchells’ short kickout, which led to them forcing the turnover or winning crucial breaking ball.

The Barrs won 4 out of 9 of the Mitchells’ restarts in that first half, with Conor Osborne leading the front, supported by Adam Hanratty and Brendan Simms at midfield, as well as Ronan Callaghan.

This led to scores from Ciaran Murphy (free), and a brace from Hanratty, which left the tie neatly poised at the break at 0-5 to 1-2.

Second Half:

The Finbarrs took this momentum into the second half, taking to the game to the Mitchells. Springing sub Jack Regan to the edge of the square for the second half proved a masterstroke from the Togher perspective as the youngster wreaked havoc inside.

Almost straight from the throw in, Regan collected a Ronan Callaghan footpass, before crashing the ball to the net in similar fashion to Gallagher’s first half major for the Mitchells.

From this, the Barrs kicked on, with Ciaran Murphy converting two further frees either side of turning provider for Conor Osborne to give the Finbarrs a 1-8 to 1-2 lead inside 42 minutes.

John Mitchells were rocked, and chasing the game. That purple patch from the Finbarrs did also include John Gallagher firing across the goal, before Gallagher ended his side’s wait for a score via a free before the end of the third quarter.

The Mitchells sprung Robbie Coyle from the bench as they went for broke, and Coyle’s lay off saw Gallagher denied by Togher’s Fionn McQuillan with a fine save, while Coyle also slapped a Gallagher pass across the square wide.

Following another Adam Hanratty point, the Mitchells managed to stage a revival with more fine shooting from John Gallagher closing the gap to three on two occasions in that final quarter, with Andrew Bingham also grabbing a score from play.

However, on each occasion, Naomh Fionnbarra had the answers, as they held onto possession, in a long passage of play which ended with Cormac McArdle firing over from play, before the same player converted a 45 with the last score of the day to seal a four point win for the Togher side, who made a statement of intent in the race for the Christy Bellew Cup. The Finbarrs now looked like a strong candidate to emerge as winners of Group 4 and a team capable of mounting another title bid.

Naomh Fionnbarra: Fionn McQuillan; Sean Boyle, Kalum Regan, James Butterly; Kieran Lenehan, Stephen Doyle, Ronan McCreesh; Adam Hanratty (0-3), Brendan Simms; Jack Murtagh (0-1), Conor Osborne (0-1), Ciaran Murphy (0-4) (2f) (1 mark); Cormac McArdle (0-2) (one ’45), Thomas McCreesh, Ronan Callaghan.

Subs: Chris McGlynn for Murtagh (23), Jack Regan (1-0) for Thomas McCreesh (HT), Josh Crosbie for Simms (51), Dylan Hanratty for Kalum Regan (53), Michael McCardle for Murphy (55).

John Mitchells: Micky Quinn; Anthony Coyle, Aaron Kane, Barry Kirk; James Sands, John Bingham, Mikey Nulty; Aaron Keely, Andrew Bingham (0-1); Tristan Knowles, Trevor Matthews (0-2), Jamie Durnin; Jake Gillespie, John Gallagher (1-4) (3f), Alan Mackin.

Subs: Robbie Coyle for Anthony Coyle (34), Daniel Carroll for Mackin (55).

Referee: Fiachra Lambe (O’Raghallaghs).