Louth GAA club | Barrs see off Lannléire in local derby
Naomh Fionnbarra 1-12 Lannléire 0-12
A late cameo from William Woods helped Naomh Fionnbarra see of Lannléire in a hard-fought local derby in Darver on Monday night last.
In what was his first championship appearance for the Finbarrs since the 2020 Louth Junior Championship final against the same opposition, Woods’s sweetly struck two pointed free sparked a scoring spurt in that final 10 minutes which saw them prevail by three points.
Prior to that, it was Lannléire who led by 0-12 to 1-7 after 45 minutes, thanks mainly to Colin Murphy and Darragh Malone.
Early on, Naomh Fionnbarra were off to the perfect start when Stephen O’Reilly who finished with 23 possessions, got on the end of a flowing move involving Colin McGrane, before slipping the ball under Dunleer keeper Conor Dunne and into the net.
This game saw the Finnbarr dominate kickouts, winning 14 out 18 Dunleer restarts, with Josh Crosbie, Jack Regan, and Conor Osborne effective under the breaking ball throughout.
However, Lannléire defended resolutely, with Paul McGeough, Jason Torris, Alex Carroll, and Darragh Goodman standing firm, supporting the hard-working midfield of Kyle Van Rijn and Mark Grogan.
Colin Murphy and Darragh Malone also treated those in attendance to some impressive score taking from outside the scoring arc, which left just two points separating the sides by the end of the first quarter at 1-3 to 0-4, with Ciaran Murphy and Matthew O’Reilly (2pf) finding the range for the Barrs.
In transition, Lannléire were eager to move the ball through the hands to navigate the Finbarrs press. Such moves saw Ian Mulroy, Pierce Hawkins and Colin Murphy combine effectively when on the ball. One such attack saw youngster Brendan Cassidy flash one effort wide from close range.
While Ciaran Murphy and Darragh Malone traded efforts, Killian Gregory pointed for Lannléire, before Brendan Cassidy treated us to arguably the score of the game with a marvellous two pointer, which left Dunleer ahead by 1-4 to 0-9 after 24 minutes.
The Finbarrs had to patient to break down a compact Dunleer defence, but late strikes from Ciaran Markey, Jack Butterly and Jack Murtagh (f) left the Togher side ahead by 1-7 to 0-9 at the break in an expectedly tight and physical local derby.
Second Half:
Lannléire did continue to cause havoc when they ran at the Finbarrs defence, and just three minutes into the second half, they were awarded a penalty after the marauding Darragh Malone was dragged down.
However, in what you felt would be a key moment in this game, Colin Murphy saw his penalty saved by Finbarrs’ keeper Fionn McQuillan. Despite this, a fine strike by Colin Murphy did level things up at 1-7 to 0-10.
Two further Murphy frees left Lannléire ahead by two approaching the last quarter with the Barrs’ defence guilty of some needless fouling, conceding 7 scorable frees in that second half, with Lannléire getting noticeable joy from the early ball down the flanks for Ian Mulroy to chase.
Naomh Fionnbarra only managed 0-7 from 17 shots in open play and failed to register on the board for the first 20 minutes of the second half.
This forced them to act, introducing Padraig Butterly and William Woods from the bench, moving Jack Regan from the half forward line into the middle area.
These changes worked a treat, as they won nine kickouts on the bounce in that last quarter, with Butterly effective on the breaking ball, alongside Conor Osborne, Stephen O’Reilly, and Jack Regan.
A huge two pointed free from sub William Woods levelled things up, before he turned provider for Conor Osborne to put the bars ahead after 55 minutes. Osborne finished with 24 possessions over the hour.
Jack Butterly then found the range from play, and after Lannléire had a point chalked off for a 3v3 breach, William Woods landed the final score of the day to seal a three point win for the Barrs who take home bragging rights from this derby.
Naomh Fionnbarra: Fionn McQuillan; Máirtín Murphy, Kieran Lenehan, Ronan Callaghan; Chris McGlynn, Colin McGrane, Josh Crosbie; Matthew O’Reilly (0-2) (1 tpf), Jack Butterly (0-2); Jack Regan, Stephen O’Reilly (1-0), Conor Osborne (0-1); Jack Murtagh (0-1) (1f), Ciaran Markey (0-1) Ciaran Murphy (0-2) (1f).
Subs: William Woods (0-3) (1 tpf) for Markey (42), Adam Hanratty for McGlynn (45), Sean Boyle for Callaghan (46), Padraig Butterly for Matthew O’Reilly (51), Andy McCann for Murtagh (61).
Lannléire: Conor Dunne; Jason Torris, Paul McGeough, Laurence McEntee; Caoimhin Maher, Darragh Goodman, Alex Carroll; Kyle Van Rijn, Mark Grogan; Colin Murphy (0-5) (1 tpf) (2f), Ian Mulroy, Darragh Malone (0-4) (1 tp) (1f); Brendan Cassidy (0-2) (1 tp), Pierce Hawkins, Killian Gregory (0-1).
Subs: Caimin Kirwan for McEntee (45), Luke Dunne Boylan for Goodman (53).
Referee: Stephen Murphy (Naomh Mairtin).