St Finbarr’s beat Clonakilty to reach Cork Premier SFC final

St Finbarr’s secured a 2‑12 to 0‑16 victory over Clonakilty in the Cork Premier Senior Football Championship semi‑final, keeping their dual championship bid alive.

The Barrs took the lead early with first‑half goals from Rickey Barrett and Thomas Egan, and a strong wind‑assisted burst added four points to extend their advantage. Goalkeeper Darragh Newman made a crucial save from a penalty taken by Darragh Gough and later tipped a Seán White effort onto the cross‑bar in stoppage time.

Clonakilty struggled with accuracy, recording 12 wides and half as many short scores. Their half‑time deficit stood at 2‑5 to 0‑6 after Mark White’s conversion.

In the second half, despite a brief rally that reduced the gap to two points, St Finbarr’s responded with four quick scores from Brian Hayes, Luke Hannigan and Steven Sherlock, sealing the win.

Scorers

St Finbarr’s: Steven Sherlock (0‑6, 2 points from frees, 1 free), Rickey Barrett (1‑1), Brian Hayes (0‑4), Thomas Egan (1‑0), Eoin Dennehy (0‑1).
Clonakilty: Conor Daly (1 point), Darragh Gough (0‑5, 1 point from a free), Dara Ó Sé (0‑3, 1 point), Mark White (0‑5), Chris Kenneally (0‑1), Dylan Harrington (0‑1).

The win sets up a repeat of last year’s final, with St Finbarr’s to face Nemo Rangers on Sunday, 25 October.

Source: Irish Examiner. Photo: 李 先生 / Pexels.