Ballincollig hold off unyielding St Finbarr’s to book U16 Premier 1 Hurling final spot

Ballincollig 2-18 

St Finbarr’s 1-13 

By the close it looked routine, Ballincollig eight-point winners and bound for another county final. But at the Mardyke on Monday evening in their Premier 1 U16 Hurling Championship semi-final clash with St Finbarr’s, comfort was a long time coming.

With 49 minutes gone the Barrs had it down to two. Cork U16 Liam O’Regan found the lively Alex Herlihy for one, CJ Barrett sent over a monster the next minute, and suddenly the favourites were wobbling, 1-13 to 1-11.

The pressure was theirs to carry. And yet, as this Ballincollig group have made a habit of doing, they met it head-on. 

Bobby Power steadied from a free, then clipped an effort so sweet it rivalled Barrett’s of three minutes earlier. Daithí Murphy pointed off Fionn Lordan’s delivery. 

In the space of four minutes the gap was back to five.

O’Regan’s harsh red card with time almost up snuffed out any prospect of an upset, and when Cal McCarthy buried Ballincollig’s second goal in the 64th minute, assisted by Murphy, the outcome was sealed shut.

Ballincollig’s Daithí Murphy grabs the sliotar ahead of St Finbarr’s Liam O’Regan. Picture: Eddie O’Hare

The Barrs chased a goal in the closing moments, but it never came. What they did deliver was a fight that stretched Ballincollig far deeper into the evening than the final score of 2-18 to 1-13 suggests.

Ballincollig had set the early pace, 1-2 to 0-1 after seven minutes, O’Brien rifling home after neat build-up from Éanna Lynch and Evan Stack. The Barrs struck back through Barrett’s brilliance – the catch, the swivel, the finish leaving Kaden Coomey helpless with 12 gone – and though the Village would restore that lead to five at the break, they were made work hard for it.

St Finbarr’s Alex O’Herlihy gathers the sliotar from Ballincollig’s Scott Richmond and Eoin Harris. Picture: Eddie O’Hare

Power and O’Brien did well to protect the Ballincollig lead, as the Barrs employed O’Regan as a sweeper, brought Edmund Burke into the half-back line and moved Evan Naughton to midfield, all moves from start that were key to keeping them alive and in the hunt.

They trailed by five at the break, but it took a huge double act from Josh Ahern and Ryan Dunne to keep Ballincollig from finding a second major. Éanna Ó hUrnaí had his shot repelled by Ahern, Power gathered the follow-up but Dunne saved on the line to leave it 1-9 to 1-4 at the interval.

It was tit-for-tat again in the latter half, the margin hovering around five. Coomey saving brilliantly from O’Herlihy to keep Ballincollig a touch too far ahead.

Barrett, O’Regan and Herlihy brought the margin to three, but the second goal they needed never came.

St Finbarr’s Evan Naughton is blocked down by Ballincollig’s Jack Costello. Picture: Eddie O’Hare

Instead it was Ballincollig who found theirs, and with it, another final – Midleton waiting, revenge on their mind after last year’s U15 semi-final.

Scorers for Ballincollig: B Power 0-10 (0-7 f, 0-1 65), S O’Brien 1-3, C McCarthy 1-2, D Murphy 0-2, E Lynch 0-1.

Scorers for St Finbarr’s: CJ Barrett 1-6 (0-4 f), L O’Regan (0-1 f, 0-1 65), A Herlihy 0-3 each, E McKeown 0-1.

BALLINCOLLIG: K Coomey; S Richmond, L Higgins, J O’Sullivan; J Harrington, J Costello, E Harris; J Miskella, E Ó hUrnaí; E Lynch, C McCarthy, E Stack; D Murphy, B Power, S O’Brien.

Subs: C Murphy for Richmond (HT), F Lordan for O’Sullivan (45), C McDonnell for Miskella (58-60 temp).

ST FINBARR’S: J Ahern; C Healy, R Dunne, S Cooney, A Crowley, E Burke, C Garvey; E McKeown, E Naughton; S Fleming Byrne, H McTernan, K McCabe; A O’Herlihy, CJ Barrett, L O’Regan.

Subs: F Power for Fleming Byrne (54), D Akar for McCabe (57).

Referee: PJ Dennehy (Sarsfields)