Premier SFC: Questions answered as Clonakilty secure status

To all intents and purposes, Sunday’s McCarthy Insurance Group Premier SFC Group 2 clash between Clonakilty and Carbery Rangers was a semi-final – albeit one with a difference.

With both clubs having lost to Carrigaline and St Finbarr’s, a win would guarantee third place and a positive note on which to end the season; by contrast, the losers would be condemned to the relegation play-off against the losers of the Mallow-Valley Rovers clash.

It was Clonakilty’s day in Ballinacarriga, as an 0-8 to 0-4 half-time lead was built upon thanks to Liam O’Donovan’s goal early in the second half. It finished 1-17 to 0-6 and selector Eoin Ryan paid tribute to how his players dealt with the challenge.

“Look, obviously, we didn't want to be out of the championship, but we are,” he said.

“To be honest, there was a lot of questions asked of us before today. Inside in Bandon against Carrigaline, we didn't show up at all.

“It was a huge question-mark about us and I think, in fairness to the lads, even at half-time there after playing with the wind, we were only four points up.

“We just asked the lads inside at half-time, just let's make the second half about the ball and let's just keep the ball and play football the way we can play it.

“And I think you saw there what we can do and we can play it like.

“If you gave us a draw coming in the gate and we stayed up, we’d have taken the hand off you, but we're delighted to win, we're in the draw again next year anyway.”

Having reached the final of Division 1 of the McCarthy Insurance Group Football League, Clon lost to St Finbarr’s in the decider. Their championship opener was against the same opposition and a one-point defeat was no disgrace but then they lost their second outing against Carrigaline, too.

“To be honest with you, I thought the preparation for that game was not good,” Ryan said.

“I felt like we were better prepared for every league game than we were for that one.

“We hadn't played a game of football in a month since we played the Barrs because we don't have enough players to play challenge games when they're hurling. Every year, the second game is a tough game for us.

“Now, we went out of our way since to play challenge games since then and you see what happens.”

After Carbery Rangers won the Premier IFC in 2005, their first year up at senior saw them face Clon, who beat them. However, since then, the side from the Brewery Town had failed to emerge victorious from seven encounters against their neighbours.

“At the end of the day, this is a big monkey off our back because I'm reading all week about how we hadn’t beaten Ross since 2006.

“There's other monkeys we have to get off our back now as well and that's up to the lads and I think they've dealt with that well today and hopefully going forward they can deal with it well again now.

“It's a club with a big tradition in football and we've been senior for so long. If we didn't win on Sunday, you’re into a game that anything could happen, you don’t know what the conditions will be like or anything.

“So we're just delighted with the win.”