Surprise packets Barna do it again

BARNA  0-13

ST MICHAEL’S 0-11

Mark Walsh at Pearse Stadium

THE sun wasn’t universally shining in August. That didn’t stop Barna from reaping a plentiful month’s harvest of three wins from three, culminating in Sunday’s narrow derby victory.

Barna would have been quietly fancied in some quarters to make the quarter-finals, but not to do so with a 100% record. If anybody was seen to be coming out of Group 1 with a trio of victories, it would have been their neighbours Salthill-Knocknacarra. Hat-tip to Seán Conlon and his players on that front.

A cliché in all essence, it is uplifting to see a ‘new’ team put a stamp on the SFC, even if it is in its early stages. Conlon has given licence for youth to flourish, and a quarter-final meeting with Tuam Stars will not overawe Barna. Starlet Cian Hernon, Jack Keady, Oisín Gormally, Donal Ó Cualáin, top scorer with 0-6 against St Michael’s, and Padraic Lenihan, excellent off the bench and shooting 0-2 on Sunday, have responded in kind over the course of three separate weekends.

St Michael’s could have scuppered Barna’s perfect record though. While Barna were good value for the win in their own right, had Michael’s caught them in the finish, it wouldn’t have been undeserved either.

Seven St Michael’s wides from the 52nd minute until the seventh minute of time added on depicts a story. Eamon Brannigan was unlucky to see the first wide come from a shot that hit a post at the Arus Bóthar na Trá end.

The second through to the sixth, any of which were converted, would have taken the teams level. The fifth wide from Ethan Fiorentini in the 60th minute was a clear example of a missed opportunity, rushed in nature when more composure was required. Barna had four wides in comparison to St Michael’s final total of 11.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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