SPARE a thought for those in Rosscarbery and Ovens these previous two weekends as the weather gods played spoilsport and forced the postponement of their premier senior relegation battle. Prolonging the wait and the pain.
Some players involved have had to cancel holidays two weeks in a row, and there is little pleasure in your season being extended for a relegation play-off, however that is just what both sets of players will have to endure as both look to finish a tough season on a positive note. Let’s hope the weather finally plays ball for us on Saturday afternoon when Carbery Rangers and Éire Óg finally meet in Enniskeane.
On the field, the big game was in Bandon on Sunday as two of the traditional big guns in Cork went toe to toe. Thankfully, the good-sized crowd got more than our money's worth as Nemo Rangers and Clonakilty gave us two hours of excitement, drama and no shortage of good football in their Premier SFC quarter-final. Yet again, the club game continues to do more to restore our faith in the big ball game far more than much of what we see at the supposed highest level.
Ross Corkery had the final say as his game-winning penalty slipped underneath the body of a diving Mark White. The cruelty of penalty shoot-outs was on display as Clon’s twice game-saving hero, Brian White, was the only player who failed to find the net from 11 yards. Brian can hold his head plenty high, though, having kicked two superb points from a similar distance to equalise at the end of both normal time and extra time. Brian showed great courage with both those kicks and, take it from someone who knows a little bit about it, anyone can miss a penalty.
The game itself started with Clon, aided by a stiff wind, shading the early stages with Conor Daly on fire up front. Nemo used all their experience to keep in touch and, with Paul Kerrigan especially influential, never let Clon get away from them. The ten minutes leading up to half time saw Clon misplace their shooting boots and Nemo took full advantage to move into a five-point lead. Nemo continued to look comfortable in the second half until an Alan O’Donovan black card saw Clon capitalise with two quick-fire goals to take a two-point lead with just over ten minutes to play. Nemo introduced young guns Corkery and Bryan Hayes – a young man from good Ross stock! – and both would contribute points before White’s late effort went over via the crossbar.
Extra-time was somewhat cagier as both teams, understandably, tired. Several players went down with cramps at different stages, and we had the unusual spectacle of three Clon players being ordered from the field by referee James Bermingham after receiving treatment. Nemo nearly capitalised with Mark White preventing a goal with a big save while Clon were down to 12 players. The referee may have been technically correct, but it would have been a travesty if this game was decided while one team was temporarily so depleted. The rule is intended to prevent feigning of injury but there was no question these players were doing anything of the sort after more than 80 minutes of hard graft. Perhaps the rule is too inflexible and needs to be looked at again. Thankfully, the game was not decided during this phase of play and Brian White repeated his heroics via the very same crossbar from a last minute free before the penalty drama saw Nemo prevail.
Clonakilty's Maurice Shanley gets away from Nemo Rangers' Barry Cripps during the Premier SFC quarter-final in Bandon. (Photo: Martin Walsh).
Nemo now advance to face Mallow this Sunday and will expect to secure their place in yet another county final. I’m backing Nemo to take care of business. Countless people have said to me how they don’t think this is a great Nemo team, and while they don’t contain the quality of the likes of Colin Corkery, the Kavanaghs, Martin and Alan Cronin, James Masters et al, they are a very balanced outfit with few weak links and the experience of Kerrigan to lead them when they need it. Nemo have made seven finals in the last 11 years, losing only twice to Castlehaven in 2013 and 2023.
Mallow will have to produce their very best to have a chance of causing the upset. Their form has fluctuated this season with an opening draw against Valley Rovers followed by a famous win over the Barrs. Defeat to Douglas in the final group game was rewarded with a quarter-final with a Muskerry team who had several players still in club action. It was the best draw they could hope for, and they took full advantage, kicking 3-15 to win by seven points. Matty Taylor is the lynchpin for the North Cork men, and he will need the likes of Shane Merritt, Kevin Sheehan, Sean McDonnell and Mark Tobin to continue their good form to give Nemo cause for concern. Nemo by five-plus is my call.
The other semi-final in SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday sees Castlehaven and St Finbarr’s meet at this stage for the fifth year in succession. The score stands at two wins apiece and the games have given us unparalleled thrills and spills and football as it should be, particularly in the first three installments. Last year, however, saw Castlehaven adapt their approach somewhat from the 15 v 15 firefights of the previous games with Mark Collins now acting as a deep-lying sweeper and playmaker. The Haven wing-forwards also tend to retreat now into a defensive shell, leaving the two Hurleys and Jack Cahalane as a dangerous forward trio.
The defensive structure stifled the Barrs’ running game for large parts last year and the counter-attacking ability of Collins, Damien and Conor Cahalane and the Maguires saw the Haven take the spoils before going as far as an All-Ireland semi-final. There are rumours now that both elder Cahalanes, Damien and Conor, are strong doubts for this game, and they would be huge losses for the Haven if that is true. We wait and see.
Castlehaven's Jack Cahalane has scored 2-8 in their championship campaign.
The Barrs have largely stuck to the same game-plan for several years now. Strong one-to-one defending with an effective midfield and powerful runners from deep all designed to provide for Steven Sherlock to get the scores up top. It has been largely effective but one can’t help but feel that the one-dimensional approach has been figured out somewhat and the Barrs need to evolve their game to make it back to the summit of Cork football. There have been signs that the Barrs management have recognised this by placing Brian Hayes at full forward beside Sherlock, and this bore fruit particularly in the latter stages of the game against Ballincollig. The Barrs, though, don’t have the natural long-range kick-passers that Castlehaven do in order to make maximum use of this option. Couple this with the absence of some key defenders, and I feel Castlehaven are best placed to keep their quest to retain their title on track, especially if the Cahalanes can win their fitness races. The Haven to win.
On Saturday evening, we have two very attractive senior A semi-finals with Kanturk taking on Carrigaline before Dohenys face Knocknagree. Dohenys accounted for Knocknagree last year by seven points, I expect this one to be closer, but I’ll tip the Dunmanway men to make it to a second final in a row. The opener is a toss of a coin for me, Kanturk have shown better form yet Carrigaline are reigning Division 1 champions and should have Brian O’Driscoll back after he missed the quarter-final. Too close to call, could we have more extra-time and penalty drama?
Elsewhere, there is strong interest west along the Cork coast as Gabriel Rangers and Adrigole are on a collision course for what would be a very spicy intermediate A final that I would love to see come to fruition, while Uibh Laoire and Aghabullogue could set up a Muskerry showdown in the premier intermediate grade. Kilshannig look best placed to spoil that possibility though, and they will have an interesting tussle with the Inchigeelagh side. Buttevant, Kilmurry, Kinsale and Canovee are battling for premier junior glory, with Kilmurry still my favourites to win this out, despite some early-season stutters.
