Very entertaining game last night. Very close all the way through and the finishes in normal time and extra time made for great excitement. Ultimately though I was very disappointed with the standard. Maybe allowances need to be made for the late timing of this competition but given the big names on the pitch I was expecting a lot better. Midleton fully deserving winners. I thought they were marginally the better team for most of the game. They had 21(yes, 21) wides over the course of the game. Barr's themselves had 15 wides, 7 of which came from the stick of Ben Cunningham (6 from placed balls). Mind you he got one truly outstanding individual score towards the end which shows the potential. But ultimately he's not the player of 2 years ago. Needs to refind his true form. William Buckley for the Barrs was well marshalled and didn't have his usual influence. The Barrs best and most influential player last night was Ciaran Doolan. Fro Midleton, Smyth at centre back on Cunningham was quietly effective and Mikey Finn had a huge influence from midfield. Both sets of forwards disappointed overall with the Midleton top 6 plus subs getting 6 from play in 80 mins by my reckoning. The equivalent from play for Barr's was 5. All in all though, a good night's entertainment on a bitterly cold night on mid December. Now on to 2025.
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