Fully focused Nemo Rangers dethrone St Finbarr's with superb display in the Páirc
Nemo Rangers celebrate beating the Barrs with their fans in SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Picture: INPHO/David Ribeiro
The heartache is over for Nemo Rangers as they are once again the kingpins of Cork football after a gripping battle with southside rivals St Finbarr’s at a windswept SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday evening.
The Trabeg-based outfit have now won their 24th county title following this McCarthy Insurance Group Premier SFC final.
It brings an end to three final losses on the bounce and also ended the Barrs’ dream of back-to-back titles, just as Nemo did to their neighbours in the 2022 decider.
Robbie O’Dwyer’s side were wind-assisted in the first half, but you still have to make it count. They led by six points at the interval and that advantage had stretched to eight approaching the 45th minute.
It was down to a point at one stage, but Nemo had the nous, experience and quality to get over the line.
Kieran Histon’s wonderful man-marking job on Steven Sherlock was one of the factors in the win, with Sherlock failing to register a score.
Captain Stephen Cronin, Alan O’Donovan, Mark Cronin and Ronan Dalton were among the brilliant warriors who carried their side over the line.
The gale-force wind had a massive bearing on this contest in front of 7,054 spectators.
Nemo did have a goal chance after a minute when Ross Corkery sent a delicious ball across the square, only for Sam Ryan to do well for the Barrs to avert the danger.
Nemo were making the most of the wind, even though St Finbarr’s had their moments. Mark Cronin (two frees), Ronan Dalton and Alan O’Donovan all pointed inside the opening 13 minutes.
Mark Cronin then landed a lovely two-pointer to open up a six-point buffer before Corkery pointed with an effort that could easily have yielded a goal.
St Finbarr’s required a bit of composure and it came from Brian Hayes, who set up Enda Dennehy for a fisted point after 18 minutes, leaving it 0-7 to 0-1.
The sides traded white flags before a classy point from William Buckley brought the Togher club to within five, with Ian Maguire now coming into his zone around midfield.
John Wigginton-Barrett’s goal-bound effort was then expertly tipped over the bar by Nemo goalkeeper Micheál Aodh Martin.
Enda Dennehy brought it back to three, but Nemo pounced for a goal in first-half added time when Mark Cronin’s effort fell short, only for Stephen Cronin to do brilliantly to fetch the ball and set up an unmarked Luke Horgan to palm to the net for a 1-8 to 0-5 half-time lead.
The Barrs were keen to eat into the deficit as quickly as possible on the resumption given their strong wind advantage.
Enda Dennehy bisected the posts two minutes into the new half, followed by a Luke Hannigan effort to leave four in it.
Conor Shalloe got a timely score for Nemo, quickly followed by Bryan Hayes’ first score for O’Dwyer’s charges, making it 1-10 to 0-7 after 35 minutes.
The sides traded points with the game nicely poised. Bríain Murphy then sent over an outrageous two-pointer against the wind to open up an eight-point advantage for Nemo.
But St Finbarr’s got a lifeline with 15 minutes to go when Nemo Rangers failed to clear their lines and Brian Hayes hammered the ball to the net, leaving it 1-13 to 1-8.
It was then quickly followed by an orange flag from substitute Cillian Myers-Murray and the deficit was down to a goal.
A Mark Cronin free gave Nemo four points of breathing room, with the game on a knife-edge.
Ronan Dalton extended it to five, 1-15 to 1-10 after 54 minutes.
Myers-Murray did have a goal chance that drifted wide with time running out for the holders. Wigginton-Barrett then struck for goal after Brian Hayes, who had moved into full-forward, did really well in the build-up, leaving just two points between the sides with five minutes to go.
Myers-Murray pointed to leave the bare minimum between them again, with Hayes involved in the score, making it 1-15 to 2-11.
The sides traded points as the game moved into four minutes of added time.
Corkery pushed Nemo two clear before Mark Cronin added two frees to secure a 1-19 to 2-12 victory.
No longer the bridesmaids, Nemo are back on top.
M Cronin 0-8 (0-5 f, 1 2pt), L Horgan 1-0, R Dalton 0-3, B Murphy (1 2pt), R Corkery, A O’Donovan 0-2 each, B Hayes, C Shalloe 0-1 each.
J Wigginton-Barrett 1-2, B Hayes 1-0, C Myers-Murray (1 2pt), E Dennehy 0-3 each, W Buckley 0-2, L Hannigan, I Maguire 0-1 each.
MA Martin; C Molloy, M Hill, K Histon; K O’Donovan, S Cronin (c), J Horgan; A O’Donovan, B Murphy; M Cronin, L Horgan, C Shalloe; R Corkery, R Dalton, B Hayes.
N O’Shea for J Horgan (46), C Horgan for C Shalloe (49), D O’Sullivan for L Horgan (54).
D Newman; C Dennehy, C Scully, S Ryan; L Hannigan, D Quinn, C Doolan; I Maguire, B Hayes; T Egan, R Barrett, E Dennehy; J Wigginton-Barrett, W Buckley, S Sherlock (c).
C Myers-Murray for T Egan (38), F Crowley for C Dennehy (47), B O’Connell for C Scully (61).
David Murnane (Macroom).
App?
