Dr Crokes soar through to football senior club final with 21-point win over St Finbarr's
A massacre at Lewis Road. 5-20 from Crokes, each one of their 25 scores arriving from play.
The winning margin, which wound up at 21 points, was perfectly reflective of their unstinting dominance throughout, as well as the ruthless nature showed by every one of the 11 players who wrote their names onto a fairly lengthy scoresheet.
For St Finbarr’s, it was a harrowing afternoon. The contest was beyond them from relatively early in the opening period, but instead of the opposition easing off in the second period, the arrival of Colm Cooper and Jordan Kiely off the bench saw Crokes continue to punch holes in the visiting defence at every opportunity.
Between them, Kiely and Cooper contributed 1-4. From the starting team, the six forwards two midfielders and centre-back Gavin White all made scoring contributions.
It was relentless from a side who booked their third straight provincial appearance and seventh this decade with remarkable ease.
It was game over at half-time as the hosts held an unassailable 2-11 to 1-3 lead. The writing was on the wall as early as the first quarter for the visitors as Crokes charged into a 0-6 to 0-1 lead.
The Cork champions did open brightly and pressed the Crokes defence early on, but all they had to show for their early attacks was a single Stephen Sherlock free.
At the other end, the Barr’s defence was in all sorts of bother.
Crokes’ corner-forward pair of Tony Brosnan and David Shaw were causing endless problems for Glen O’Connor and Dylan Quinn, with Ross O’Dwyer, who was pulled off after just 16 minutes, finding the going particularly tough against Kieran O’Leary.
Gavin O’Shea and a beautiful Brosnan kick off the left sent the Kerry champions 0-8 to 0-1 clear by the 17th minute.
The Barr’s, to their credit, fought gamely to wrestle back a game which was quickly moving away from them.
Sherlock kicked his second free and then Eoghan McGreevey, after a fine Colm Scully block back the field to instigate the move, lobbed Shane Murphy for a much-needed goal.
Looney and Conor Dennehy swapped points in the subsequent passages to leave three between them, 0-9 to 1-3, but in the closing eight minutes of the half, the home side kicked 2-2 without reply to end this game as a contest.
Johnny Buckley delivered their first, with his midfield partner Daithi Casey, after a truly brilliant Kieran O’Leary pass, bagging their second in first-half stoppages.
The second-half was even more brutal from a Barr’s perspective. Micheál Burns, David Shaw and Kiely all rose green flags, whereas the Cork side was time and again left frustrated as they chased goals.
T Brosnan (0-4); D Shaw (1-3); M Burns, D Casey, J Kiely (1-1 each); B Looney, C Cooper (0-3 each); G White, J Buckley, G O’Shea, K O’Leary (0-1 each).
S Sherlock (0-6, 0-3 ‘45s, 0-2 frees); E McGreevey (1-0); R O’Mahony (0-2); I Maguire, C Dennehy, D O’Brien (0-1 each).
S Murphy; J Payne, M Moloney, F Fitzgerald; D O’Leary, G White, S Doolan; J Buckley, D Casey; M Burns, G O’Shea, B Looney; D Shaw, K O’Leary, T Brosnan.
A O’Sullivan for Moloney (30); C Cooper for Brosnan (42); J Kiely for D Shaw (44); M Potts for Doolan (49); P Clarke for Buckley (52); J Lyne for Burns (53)
J Kerins; D Quinn, R O’Dwyer, G O’Connor; C Lyons, C Scully, C Dennehy; I Maguire, E Comyns; D O’Brien, M Shields, E Dennehy; E McGreevey, C Keane, S Sherlock.
C Barrett for Shields (13 mins, inj); J Burns for O’Dwyer (16); R O’Mahony for Keane (HT); A O’Connor for McGreevey (34, inj); A McCarthy for O’Connor (49); A Lyne for O’Brien (56).
D O’Mahoney (Tipperary).
