Castlehaven 0-18
St Finbarr’s 0-14
NOEL HORGAN REPORTS
BRIAN Hurley turned on the style as Castlehaven remained on course for a second consecutive county premier senior football championship success.
A highly-polished semi-final performance from the Haven last Sunday at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh saw them comfortably account for St Finbarr’s, and set up a repeat of last season’s final against Nemo Rangers.
Meeting for the fifth semi-final in a row, this was Castlehaven’s most convincing win of their
Haven’s win was highlighted by a virtuoso display from Brian Hurley, who scored six breathtaking points from play, and eight in total, in the first half, at the end of which the winners led unflatteringly by 0-11 to 0-7. Hurley finished with 0-11, including seven from play.
Castlehaven's Jack Cahalane gets in his kick despite the strong challenge from St Finbarr's Colm Scully during the McCarthy Insurance Group Premier SFC semi-final at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.(Photo: George Hatchell)
As they continued to dictate matters for much of the second half, there was seldom any real doubt about the outcome, although Castlehaven manager Seanie Cahalane was quick to point out they endured a little anxiety in the closing stages.
‘We had a few panicky moments there in the second half, so there’s certain stuff we’ll have to work on before the county final, but we’re obviously delighted with the result today,’ Cahalane said.
He agreed Castlehaven will probably start as favourites in the showpiece, adding it would be nice if they could replicate last year’s win over Nemo Rangers.
‘We obviously believe we can get over the line again, but we know what Nemo are going to bring, they have massive tradition, they know how to win county finals, so we’ll be taking nothing for granted,’ he stressed.
Cahalane’s reluctance to get carried away by their smooth dismissal of the Barrs was understandable, but at the same time he’s bound to be encouraged by a Haven performance that was riddled with positives.
They got the key match-ups spot on, with corner-backs Jamie O’Driscoll and Johnny O’Regan keeping a tight rein for the most part on Steven Sherlock and John Wigginton-Barrett – both of whom excelled for the Barrs in the quarter-final win over Ballincollig – respectively.
Similarly, Rory Maguire limited the influence of the Barrs’ talismanic midfielder Ian Maguire, while Cathal Maguire filled his customary foraging role to perfection from centre-forward against seasoned defender Jamie Burns.
Jack Cahalane was another to sparkle in attack, but it was primarily the Haven’s vibrant and assured performance as a unit that leaves them with solid grounds for optimism ahead of Sunday week’s showdown with Nemo.
That their convincing win over the Barrs was achieved despite such stalwarts as Damien Cahalane and Conor Cahalane being unable to start due to injury is testimony to their squad-depth, which was further underlined by the sharpness shown by Micheál Maguire following his introduction early in the second half.
Brian Hurley was the jewel in the Haven’s glittering crown on the day, of course, and the Barrs’ refusal to entrust anyone other than Alan O’Connor with the task of policing him during the hour amounted to an acknowledgement that he’s simply unstoppable when firing on all cylinders.
After Cathal Maguire placed Sean Browne for a point that was followed by another from a Brian Hurley free he had won himself, the Haven hit the front, 0-4 to 0-3, in the 12th minute where they remained for the rest of the match.
It’s a measure of how supremely confident they were that goalkeeper Darragh Cahalane was heavily involved in a move inside the Barrs half that led to Brian Hurley making it 0-11 to 0–6 in the 29th minute before Steven Sherlock pulled a point back from a free in stoppage time.
Castlehaven manager Seanie Cahalane.A superb diving save by Barrs custodian Darragh Newman denied Jack Cahalane a goal within three minutes of the restart, but the West Cork men, oozing class and conviction, continued to hold the whip-hand during the third-quarter.
Trailing by 0-13 to 0-8, the Barrs strung a brace of points together, courtesy of John Wiggngton-Barrett and Brian Hayes, raising hopes they might be ready to get a bit of momentum going as the last quarter dawned.
In keeping with the general pattern of the play, the Haven held their composure, confirming their ability to respond tellingly at the merest hint of danger on the run-in.
The bottom line is they never relinquished the initiative in the second-half when the Barrs created just one clear-cut goal chance, which Steven Sherlock blasted wide in the 57th minute.
The Haven were 0-15 to 0-11 up at the time and Brian Hurley, fed by substitute Conor Cahalane, brought his personal tally to 0-11 shortly afterwards.
Thanks to sheer perseverance, the Barrs did manage to get back within striking range in stoppage time when it took a diving block by Johnny O’Regan to foil a goal attempt by Brian Hayes before Jack Cahalane landed the insurance score for the Haven at the death.
Scorers
Castlehaven: B Hurley 0-11 (3f, 1m); J Cahalane 0-3; C Maguire 0-2; S Browne, A Whelton 0-1 each.
St Finbarr’s: S Sherlock 0-6 (3f); E Twomey, E Dennehy, B Hayes 0-2 each; J Wiggington-Barrett, C Myers-Murray 0-1 each.
Castlehaven: Darragh Cahalane; J O’Driscoll, J Walsh, J O’Regan; S O’Neill, T O’Mahony, M Collins; A Whelton, R Maguire; R Minihane, C Maguire, S Browne; M Hurley, B Hurley, J Cahalane.
Subs: M Maguire for M Hurley (38), C Cahalane for Minihane (44), C O’Driscoll for Browne (55), Damien Cahalane for Walsh (56), S Bohane for Whelton (60).
St Finbarr’s: D Newman; E Dennehy, A O’Connor, B O’Connell; C Lyons, J Burns, C Scully; I Maguire, C Doolan; E Mcgreevy, W Buckley, E Twomey; J Wiggington-Barrett, B Hayes, S Sherlocl.
Subs: E Finn for McGreevy (ht), C Myers-Murray for O’Connell (54).
Referee: D Murnane (Macroom).
