Cillian Myers-Murray's late point steers St Finbarr's past Nemo after a cracking final

St Finbarr’s: 1-14 (1-2-10) 

Nemo Rangers: 1-13 (1-2-9) 

After a four-year wait, St Finbarr’s are back as the kingpins of Cork football after a thrilling one-point triumph over southside rivals Nemo Rangers at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday evening.

This McCarthy Insurance Group Premier SFC decider had a little bit of everything, but when it came to the crunch, the Togher men just had that bit more quality to eke out the victory against their near neighbours.

They were two points down at the break having played with the wind, but turned it around on the resumption to record a first win over their neighbours in a decider. Taking county final meetings alone, they lost four (1993, 2010, the 2017 replay, and 2022).

Sub Cillian Myers-Murray proved to be the hero with a neat point two minutes into added time.

Nemo Rangers, since their last title in 2022, have now lost three finals on the bounce, which is a first in their proud history.

In saying that, they were very unlucky not to force a replay when Conor Horgan’s kick for a point right at the end hit the post.

In front of a crowd of 6,949, St Finbarr’s, who were wind-assisted, made a blistering start with two points inside 60 seconds from Rickey Barrett and Steven Sherlock.

The fast opening by the Barrs was cancelled out quickly with white flags through Kevin O’Donovan and Mark Cronin to draw Nemo Rangers level.

It was a breathless start in what was a very entertaining opening. The teams swapped points before the game as expected went into a bit of a lull in terms of scoring.

St Finbarr’s were getting a grip as they landed two of the next three points while they also had four wides in the opening quarter, 0-5 to 0-4.

Brian Hayes, who was all over the pitch, kicked over a great two-pointer to give his team breathing space of sorts.

It was wiped out in no time though as Robbie O’Dwyer’s side scored 1-1 in a minute. Mark Cronin with the point while Stephen Cronin set up Kevin O’Donovan and the latter, after a barnstorming run, unleashed a powerful shot into the top corner, 1-5 to 0-7 after 21 minutes.

Nemo's lead for the first time didn’t last long when Buckley pointed. But a Mark Cronin white flag and a Bryan Hayes two-pointer gave the Trabeg outfit a 1-8 to 0-8 advantage approaching the interval.

A strong second quarter surge was doing the trick for them in what was a collective performance. Defender Mark Hill pushed Nemo four points clear before a beauty of a two-pointer from Sherlock from a free did leave St Finbarr’s two points adrift at half-time, 1-9 to 0-10.

A Sherlock free was the perfect start to the new half followed by a green flag after 32 minutes. Sherlock and Rickey Barrett were involved as Brian Hayes had the easy task to fist the ball into the net, 1-11 to 1-9.

Ethan Twomey stretched his side’s lead out to three points as the Togher side came out a different side.

Nemo weren’t going away, Alan O’Donovan’s goal-bound shot was stopped by a combination of St Finbarr’s goalkeeper Darragh Newman and Sam Ryan.

St Finbarr’s then had their goal chance minutes later, but twice in quick succession, Nemo netminder Micheál Aodh Martin stood tall to deny Sherlock a goal after Ian Maguire did brilliantly in the build-up.

The game was on a knife-edge with 20 minutes to go. Nemo with the wind at their backs had a few poor wides, which would be costly. 

On the other hand, St Finbarr’s were clinical, a fisted Sherlock effort pushed his team four points ahead, 1-13 to 1-9. 

A timely Mark Cronin free was Nemo’s first score of the second half after 45 minutes.

Wayward shooting continued to be Nemo’s Achilles heel in a low-scoring second 30 minutes. A Mark Cronin free left two points in it going into added time before a Conor Horgan two-pointer levelled the game.

St Finbarr’s sub Cillian Myers-Murray pointed, which proved to be the winner. 

A replay did look likely when right at the death, Conor Horgan’s effort for one point hit the post.

The final whistle sounded seconds later.

The Barrs are back on top.

Scorers for St Finbarr’s: S Sherlock 0-5 (1 2pt f, 0-1 f), B Hayes 1-2 (1 2pt), E Twomey, W Buckley 0-2 each, C Dennehy, C Myers-Murray, R Barrett 0-1 each.

Nemo Rangers: M Cronin 0-5 (0-2 f), K O’Donovan 1-1, B Hayes 0-3 (1 2pt), C Horgan 0-2 (1 2pt), M Hill, S Cronin 0-1 each.

ST FINBARR’S: D Newman; S Ryan, A O’Connor, D Quinn; B Hennessy, J Burns, C Dennehy; I Maguire, B Hayes; E Twomey, C Doolan, W Buckley; J Wigginton-Barrett, S Sherlock (c), R Barrett.

Subs: E Dennehy for J Burns, L Hannigan for J Wigginton-Barrett (both h-t), E McGreevy for B Hayes (44-46, temp), E McGreevy for E Twomey, C Myers-Murray for R Barrett (both 59).

NEMO RANGERS: M A Martin; C Molloy, K Histon, M Hill; C McCartan, S Cronin, K Fulignati; A O’Donovan (c), B Murphy; K O’Donovan, B Cripps, C Kiely; C Horgan, M Cronin, B Hayes.

Subs: R Dalton for C Kiely, P Kerrigan for K Fulignati (both 43), C Moore for C McCartan (51), L Horgan for B Hayes (59), R Corkery for A O’Donovan (63).

Referee: Conor Lane (Banteer).