Castletownbere 0-11
Nemo Rangers 1-7
JOHN MURPHY REPORTS
IT was a case of Declan making it a Dunne deal for Castletownbere at blustery Enniskeane on Saturday evening.
The substitute’s inspirational 62nd-minute injury-time point snatched victory from the jaws of defeat to send the Capwell boys home empty-handed.
Prior to the match-winning point, the Town’s star performer and leading marksman, Gary Murphy, had crashed over a magnificent equaliser to leave it deadlocked-0-10 to 1-7.
From the resultant kick-out Dunne duly fashioned that fabulous point from an acute angle.
This Premier IFC Group A opener saw two halves that were as opposite as chalk and cheese. The first one being mundane in the extreme, 0-4 to 0-1 at the interval and the quartet of Town’s flags coming from the unerring Murphy, while the stylish Ross Corkery had Nemo’s sole reply.
Having had the advantage of the stiff breeze in the opening half the expectancy was that now Nemo, against the elements, would find the mountain too big to scale.
Far from it as the city boys knuckled down to the task at hand. With Eoin Nation, James O’Donovan, the Dalton duo of Kieran and Ronan, Luke Horgan and Corkery causing problems for the Town, it was the Beara boys’ turn to feel the heat.
In fairness, they put their shoulders to the wheel. In addition to Gary Murphy, the influential Andrew O’Sullivan, Lorcan Harrington and Trevor Collins played neat football around the middle third.
Up in the engine-room the fires of endeavour were stoked to good effect by the willing James Harrington, Kevin O’Sullivan, while substitutes Fintan Fenner, Jack Hanley and Declan Dunne came on to play key roles.
Oisín Murphy got the scoring show on the road. Corkery pulled one back, the losers’ bridging a scoring gap of 24 minutes.
As James O’Donovan and Murphy traded scores, the intensity increased. Andrew O’Sullivan and Corkery split the posts as Murphy and Fintan Fenner got the Town back on track.
However, when Jack Coogan billowed the net in the 48th minute to be followed by two superb points from the impressive Ronan Dalton it was all square, 1-6 to 0-9.
A huge cheer greeted Nemo’s lead score by Corkery, but the Town finished with aplomb to take the spoils amidst a welter of excitement.
‘The game looked like slipping away towards the end, but to come up with those two late scores was a great sign of the lads’ determination and work rate. We were happy to get the win, being in the lower seeds in our group,’ Castletownbere manager Morgan O’Sullivan stressed.
Scorers
Castletownbere: Gary Murphy 0-7 (2f); Oisín Murphy, Andrew O’Sullivan, Fintan Fenner, Declan Dunne 0-1 each.
Nemo Rangers: Ross Corkery 0-4 (1f); Jack Coogan 1-0; Ronan Dalton 0-2; James O’Donovan 0-1.
Castletownbere: Dean Hegarty; Jonathan Rosales, Lorcan Harrington, Daniel Hanley; Shane McCarthy, Trevor Collins, Oisín Murphy; Andrew O’Sullivan, Oliver Byrne; Billy Murphy, James Harrington, Kevin O’Sullivan; Gary Murphy, Lee Kelly, Tomás Murphy.
Subs: Fintan Fenner for Oisín Murphy (46), Declan Dunne for Billy Murphy (46), Jack Hanley for Tomás Murphy (52).
Nemo Rangers: Donagh O’Leary; Kieran O’Sullivan, Mark Hill, Andy McGowen; Shane Burke, Eoin Nation, Dan Quinn; James O’Donovan, Luke Horgan; Colin O’Brien, Ronan Dalton, Kieran Dalton; Colm Kiely, Ross Corkery, Jack Coogan.
Subs: Oisín Whyte for Mark Hill (40), Jack Horgan for Shane Burke (47).
Referee: Niall Hayes (Carbery Rangers).
