Naomh Fionnbarra report:

Naomh Fionnbarra 1-12 (15)

St Brides 2-8 (14)

Grit, determination and a never say die attitude were key to Naomh Fionnbarra's come back in the Louth Intermediate Championship Quarter Final on Sunday after noon at The Grove, Castlebellingham.  The 1 point win sends the Barrs into the Intermediate Semi Finals for the first time since 2004.  

The Brides opened the scoring with a point from a free by Kevin Hearty after a minute.  The Finbarrs replied  with an excellent Jack Butterly goal struck into the bottom right hand corner of the net as the ref gave advantage after he was fouled.  The Brides replied with a 45 from Aaron Hoey as he reeled in the years with a well struck effort.  Sean Marry then swept over their first point from play to level the scores after 6 minutes.  The Knockbridge men were guillty of kicking a few wides and the next score came from the boot of William Woods with a nice score from play.  He repeated the dose 2 minutes later this time from long range.  There was no score for 4 minutes as both sides battled hard, while the Togher men felt that they were on the receiving end of a few harsh calls from the referee.  

Once again the Brides kicked a few wides and on 16 minutes an Aaron Hoey effort dropped short into the Finbarrs square.  Thereafter followed a mix up and the ball sailed over the heads of the goal keeper Andy McCann and corner back Hugh McGrane into the net.  This gave the Knockbridge men the lead for the first time.  Hoey followed this up with another long range free on 20 minutes.  The Barrs were hanging on and a William Woods free at the other end brought a reprieve.  Both sides then hit wides and it was left to Hoey to calm the nerves as he knocked another placed ball over the black spot.  A minute later Kevin Hearty struck for a well taken goal as the Finbarrs defence were caught napping with a quick free from the Brides.  Both sides excahnged wides before leaving the field for the break.  Half time score: Naomh Fionnbarra 1-3(6)  St Brides 2-5(11)

The half time break seemed to rejuvenate the Barrs as they came out all pistons firing.  Hugh Osborne burst through the middle and fired over.  This was followed up by a Bernard Osborne point a minute later.  William Woods made it 3 in a row from a 45 and suddenly it was game on.  The Brides to their credit came back and scored a duboius looking point from Mark Hoey which looked clearly wide.  The referee consulted with his umpires but the score stood.  The Barrs had a couple of goal chances as the Brides goal keeper saved a couple of times from Padraig Butterly and Conor Osborne and Máirtìn Murphy had the legs taken away from him in the box but the ref waved play on.  The next score came from a Sean Marry point on 19 minutes leaving the Knockbridge men 4 ahead.  

Darren McConnon and Hugh Osborne started to get to grips around the middle and the backs were blocking and battling hard keeping the game tight.  Conor Lenehan made a rare foray up the field and almost lobbed the ball into the net only for the keeper to make another save.  The Barrs were applying heavy pressure on the Brides short kick out and forced a turn over for a free which William Woods tapped over.  The same man scored a point 2 minutes later to reduce the lead to 2.  Bernard Osborne then scambled over a point from play after a good move as the Finbarrs turned the screw.  The Barrs had the momentum and Osborne levelled the scores on 27 minutes with his 3rd point from play.  

The next play saw the Brides break up the field only to be dispossed by Jack Butterly however a late 3rd man tackle by Paddy McGrane conceded the free and earned him a yellow card.  This was the first time he had put a foot wrong all game as along with his full back colleagues Hugh McGrane and Kieran Lenehan they dominated in front of the Finbarrs goal in the second half.  Aaron Hoey nailed the resulting free and the Knockbridge men looked good.  The Barrs lads to their credit never gave up and battled away to the end.  An excellent William Woods free from the sideline at the 21m line levelled the scores once again.  The next kick out was crucial, which the Togher men won and the ball was fed to Woods.  His avenue was blocked off and the ball was recycled by Padraig Butterly and then Conor Osborne who fed Hugh McGrane who popped the ball to captain Oisin McGee who tapped the ball over the bar for the winning score  Full time score: Naomh Fionnbarra 1-12(15)  St Brides 2-8(14).

Naomh Fionnbarra: Andy McCann; Hugh McGrane, Kieran Lenehan, Patrick McGrane; Conor Lenehan, Oisin McGee 0-1, Pádraig Butterly; Hugh Osborne 0-1, Darren McConnon; Máirtìn Murphy, Conor Osborne,Chris McGlynn; Jack Butterly 1-0, Bernard Osborne 0-3, William Woods 0-7(4fs).  Subs:  Nicholas Butterly forChris McGlynn.

St. Brides: Darren Breen; Ronan Bailey, Killian Kirk, Padraic Mackin, Michael Keane, Andrew Smith, Conor Deane, Mark Hoey 0-1, Alan Dunne, Sean Brennan, Aaron Hoey 1-4(4fs), Shane Devin, Sean Marry 0-2,Patrick Reilly, Kevin Hearty 1-1(1f).

St. Brides report:

Intermediate Championship Quarter Final

Naomh Fionnbarra 1-12 St. Brides 2-08

Ref: Colin Halligan

TOGHER MEN RAISE 'THE BARR' IN SECOND HALF TO SNATCH LATE VICTORY

Naomh Fionnbarra scored two points deep in added time to snatch victory over Division 2 Leaders, St. Brides, in this scrappy affair in The Grove on Sunday afternoon.

St. Brides opened the scoring in the third minute with a well taken point from Sean Brennan. From the resulting play The Barrs got the game's first goal when Jack Osborne made no mistake following some defensive errors from The Reds.

St. Brides levelled matters by the seventh minute with scores coming from Aaron Hoey and Brennan again. A brace of well taken points from tight angles from William Woods edged his side ahead before St. Brides got their first goal of the game on eighteen minutes. This occurred when a long range effort from Aaron Hoey appeared to be travelling over the crossbar. However it dropped into the net and put the Knockbridge outfit in the lead again. The same player followed up with a pointed free.

Woods slotted over on twenty three minutes but this score concluded the Togher men's scoring for the half.

Just below the interval Sean Marry dissected the uprights before Kevin Hearty found the net after he finished a great move by his team mates.

This left St. Brides well in the driving seat going in at half time with a five point cushion. 2-05 to 01-03

The Barrs moved up a gear after the restart with two quick-fire points on thirty four minutes. The scores coming from Hugh Osborne and Bernard Osborne.

Shortly after Woods reduced the deficit to two with a well taken '45.

The match became scrappy after this and became a stop/start affair with many injuries coming from robust challenges. This resulted in three yellow cards for the men in green and gold.

A Mark Hoey effort on forty one minutes was adjudged to be a point when it was clearly wide and left a goal between the sides again. The next score of the game came on fifty minutes from Marry and left St. Brides sitting pretty for the last part of the match.

Not to be undone, Naomh Fionnbarra replied in style with a brace from Woods and a further brace from Bernard Osborne to level proceedings with time almost up.

On the stroke of full time A. Hoey slotted over a free kick to give his side the edge with added time fast approaching.

With many stoppages during the match, it was believed a further five minutes would be added. However the referee only played three additional minutes. Deep into this added time Woods again slotted over from a free kick. This time from the side-line.  Not happy with just an equaliser, Oisin Mc Gee stepped up to send over the winner just before the final whistle blast to snatch victory for his side, amid jubilant celebrations from his players and supporters who earlier believed they would be exiting the championship.

St. Brides Team: Darren Breen; Ronan Bailey, Laurence Steen, Conor Deane; Michael Keane, Andrew Smyth, Padraic Mackin; Mark Hoey (0-1), Alan Dunne; Sean Brennan (0-2), Aaron Hoey (1-3), Shane Devin; Sean Marry (0-2), Patrick Reilly, Kevin Hearty (1-0).

Subs: Cillian Kirk for L. Steen, David Kettle for P. Mackin, Cathal Mc Kenna for A. Dunne.

Naomh Fionnbarra Team: Andy Mc Cann; Hugh Mc Grane, Kieran Lenehan, Patrick Mc Grane; Conor Lenehan, Oisin Mc Gee (0-1), Padraig Butterly; Hugh Osborne (0-1), Darren mc Connon; Martin Murphy, Conor Osborne, Chris Mc Glynn; William Woods (0-7), Jack Butterly (1-0), Bernard Osborne (0-3).

Sub: Nicholas Butterly for C. Mc Glynn.

Tweet

Most Read Stories