Gabriel Rangers 1-16
Carbery Rangers 0-6
TOM LYONS REPORTS
AS they celebrate their 50th anniversary, Gabriel Rangers are determined to have silverware on the top table and their junior C footballers are well on the way to accomplishing just that.
It was Gabriels’ second team against Rangers’ third and on the day, this Bandon Co-op semi-final was always heading Gabriels’ way.
A fine first quarter that saw them registering six points without reply laid the foundation for this victory. The lead was five at half time as Rangers rallied in the second quarter but when Gabriels struck for the only goal of the game in the 33rd minute, the game was over as a contest.
This was a great team performance by the Schull/Ballydehob side, with every player contributing to the cause. Fielding a nice mixture of youth and experience, Gabriels got a grip at midfield through the efforts of the hard-working Dylan Greene and Donal O’Sullivan. Backboned by goalkeeper Ryan McSweeney, Paddy Hodnett, Darragh O’Driscoll and Oisín Barret, the defence gave very little away, while up front, Eric O’Brien, Shane O’Mahony, Keith O’Sullivan and Ciarán McCarthy had the legs on the opposition, with the experienced Pat Nolan providing the leadership.
Points from McCarthy (free), Nolan, O’Mahony (3), and O’Brien had Gabriels in a commanding position at the end of the first quarter, 0-6 to nil in front, with both goalkeepers bringing off superb close-in saves. It took Rangers 19 minutes to open their account with a point from David O’Donovan and that signalled an improvement in their play, even though they conceded the next two scores to Ciarán and Tadhg McCarthy.
Terry O’Donovan, Mark O’Sullivan and Damien O’Brien in defence, Darragh Mahony and Éamonn Hodnett at midfield and David O’Donovan, Billy Twomey and Seán O’Neill in attack were prominent as Rangers finished the half strongly with points from Matt Fitzpatrick (free), Terry O’Donovan and Seán O’Neill. Eric O’Brien responded for Gabriels and it was 0-9 to 0-4 at half time.
Only two scores were registered in the third quarter as both defences got on top and the heavy going began to tell on tiring legs. One of those two scores decided the outcome of the game when sub James McNight put Dylan Greene through for the only goal of the game in the 33rd minute. A Keith O’Sullivan free was the other score and it was Gabriels in front by nine points, 1-10 to 0-4.
The last quarter saw Gabriels emptying their bench and the fresh legs made a big difference as they finished the game as they had started with a string of five unanswered points from Dylan Greene, Ciarán McCarthy, Shane O’Mahony, Eric O’Brien and Jason Byrne.
What’s next? Gabriel Rangers will play the winner of Tadhg MacCárthaigh v Kilmacabea/Barryroe in the final on Saturday 30th November.
Scorers
Gabriel Rangers: Dylan Greene 1-1; Shane O’Mahony 0-4; Ciarán McCarthy 0-3 (1f); Eric O’Brien 0-2; Tadhg McCarthy, Pat Nolan, Eoin O’Brien, Jason Byrne, Keith O’Sullivan (1f) 0-1 each.
Carbery Rangers: David O’Donovan 0-3 (1f); Terry O’Donovan, Seán O’Neill, Matt Fitzpatrick (1f) 0-1 each.
Gabriel Rangers: Ryan McSweeney; Darragh O’Driscoll, Fineen Hogan, Patrick Hodnett; Oisín Barrett, Tom Ryan Russell, Tadhg McCarthy; Donal O’Sullivan, Dylan Greene; Pat Nolan, Eric O’Brien, Keith O’Sullivan; Eoin O’Brien, Shane O’Mahony, Ciarán McCarthy.
Subs: James McKnight for T Ryan-Russell (40), Jason Byrne for P Nolan (45), Dan O’Neill for D O’Driscoll (45), Kieran O’Brien for D O’Sullivan ((50), Tristan O’Sullivan for D Greene (55).
Carbery Rangers: Darragh Twomey; Bobby Kelly, Damien O’Brien, Shane Murphy; Mark O’Sullivan, Conor O’Rourke, Terry O’Donovan; Darragh Mahony, Éamonn Hodnett; Billy Twomey, David O’Donovan, Patrick Daly; Stephen Murray, Seán O’Neill, Cian Barry.
Subs: Matt Fitzpatrick, James Creedon, Stephen Daly, Colm Cuinneen, Niall Flavin.
Referee: Michael Collins (Clonakilty).
