Unstoppable Brian Hayes powers Barrs into Munster football final
Munster Club SFC semi-final: St Finbarr's (Cork) 3-20 (3-1-18) Éire Óg, Ennis 0-14 (0-3-8)
A weekend to savour for St Finbarr's. A first Munster camogie title collected, a ninth Munster football final appearance punched.If Saturday was enthralling from the women, Sunday was exhibition stuff from the men.Corrupting the Ennis kickout was the cornerstone of a five-point interval lead, despite having faced the elements. Overlaps and stunning kick-passing was the second-half stage on which they thrived.The Barrs' aerial dominance didn’t get as much of a look in after half-time. Hard to compete, after all, with a Brian Hayes hat-trick and multiple other goal chances that spawned from precision kicks over the top.That aerial dominance, mind, was at the root of Hayes’ second and game-ending green flag. Luke Hannigan won the Ennis restart on 44 minutes, fed Hayes inside, and the finish was there to match the build-up.At 2-13 to 0-10 ahead entering the final quarter, there would be no denying the Togher outfit a first Munster final involvement since 2021 and ninth overall. Dingle will be their opponents on December 7th.John Wigginton Barrett should have got on in on the goal act. A four-point return still represents a fine outing for the Barrs youngster.Ennis’ defensive shape collapsed in the final quarter. Wigginton Barrett and Hayes time and again ghosted inside. Time and again they were picked out with sublime passing from further out.There was none of the stress of Clonmel last weekend. Ennis’ Munster double is over, a Barrs provincial double is an hour from completion.The first half began with perfect retention. The first four Ennis restarts found a red hand, the first four from the Barrs finding a familiar blue one.It was the game’s ninth kickout, 13 minutes in, where the sequence of perfect retention was broken. Luke Hannigan, operating as a third midfield pillar along with Ian Maguire and Brian Hayes, couldn’t hold Darragh Newman’s kick. Ennis swarmed and secured possession. Gavin Murray was fouled, Mark McInerney converting for a 0-5 to 0-3 lead for the wind-backed visitors to Páirc Uí Chaoimh.That kickout steal was to prove their one and only of the first half. The point that followed was to prove their last in 18 minutes. They’d not score again in regulation time across the remainder of the half.The Barrs didn’t get a blue hand on a Cian Howard kickout until the 18th minute. Hannigan was the hand making amends. A William Buckley point followed.It was their later takeover of Howard’s restart that turned this semi-final towards the City End and contributed to an unanswered 1-8. From three in arrears to 1-10 to 0-5 in front.One sequence saw Ennis lose four out of five kickouts. The Barrs rose four white flags in the process. Along with Hayes and Ian Maguire, Hannigan and Ricky Barrett were superb spoilers off the ground.Hayes was superb full stop. His opening goal was fortuitous in that it was a point attempt Howard failed to deal with, but given he had begun the move out at midfield and continued on his run - a carbon copy of his county final green flag - we won’t take anything away from how he made his own fortune.The hurler of the year nominee also clipped a pair of first-half points, the second of which was a goal drive deflected over. Add in the Ethan Twomey saved effort at the beginning of the half and there was a blue lament for not being clinical enough in front of the opposition goal. It was about the sole criticism of their opening half display.Where the Barrs finished the half with six different contributors, their opponents were almost exclusively reliant on McInerney. He was responsible for all bar one white flag of their opening half total. He was responsible for ending their 18-minute scoreless spell with a white and orange flag in first-half stoppages.The pair cut an eight-point gap to five. It was as close as they’d come. The blue winter - in both codes - continues for another fortnight.
Scorers for St Finbarr’s: B Hayes (3-3); S Sherlock (0-6, tp, 0-2 ‘45s, 0-1 free); J Wigginton Barrett (0-4); R Barrett, E Twomey (0-2 each); W Buckley, E Dennehy, C Myers Murray (0-1 each).
Scorers for Éire Óg, Ennis: M McInerney (0-10, 2tp, tp free, 0-2 frees); G Murray (0-2); D Moroney, M Doherty (0-1 each).
ST FINBARR’S: D Newman; B Hennessy, A O’Connor, S Ryan; E Dennehy, C Doolan, C Dennehy; I Maguire, B Hayes; E Twomey, W Buckley, L Hannigan; J Wigginton Barrett, R Barrett, S Sherlock.
Subs: E McGreevy for Buckley, C Myers Murray for Barrett (both 50); T Egan for Hannigan, B O’Connell for Dennehy (52); J Burns for Hennessy (56).
ÉIRE ÓG, ENNIS: C Howard; M Doherty, A Fitzgerald, D Ryan; C Russell, G D’Auria, D Moroney; D McNamara, D O’Brien; J Collins, G Murray, R Lanigan; M McInerney, I Ugwueru, L Pyne.
Subs: J Joyce for O’Brien (42); A McGrath for J Collins (48); N McMahon for Moroney (53).
Referee: S Lonergan (Tipperary).
