Castlehaven 0-16
Nemo Rangers 0-11
NOEL HORGAN REPORTS
ANOTHER glorious chapter was added to Castlehaven’s remarkable success story when they retained the Cork Premier Senior Football Championship crown by virtue of a fully merited victory over Nemo Rangers at SuperValu Pairc Ui Chaoimh last Sunday.
The result earned the West-Cork club a seventh title, completed their second two-in-a-row, and marked their third final victory over Nemo, who have lost just two others (against O’Donovan Rossa in 1992 and UCC in 1999) since claiming the first of a record 23 titles in 1972.
The Castlehaven team celebrates after defeating Nemo Rangers in the McCarthy Insurance PSFC final at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday.
Needless to say, Castlehaven manager Seanie Cahalane, in his initial season at the helm, was thrilled with the outcome, although he was keen to play down the significance of his own contribution to their latest triumph.
‘It was easy for me to walk into the job, because James (McCarthy) put a solid set-up in place last year, and I was working with a great bunch of players, who were very easy to manage.
‘We’re only a small club, so anytime you win a county final you have to be over the moon, and I’m absolutely delighted we got the job done today,’ he remarked.
As for the Haven’s performance, Cahalane felt they struggled a bit in the first half.
‘I thought Nemo controlled the play a lot in the first half when we were unhappy with our intensity, especially in the tackle, but we raised the issue at half-time, and, in fairness, the lads responded well in the second half,’ said the Haven boss, who lauded the input from Conor Cahalane following his introduction at midfield.
‘Conor is just back from a long-term injury, so we didn’t start him, but he gave us great punch when he came on, and I thought he was outstanding in the second-half.’
That the Haven’s squad depth was a factor in this victory is beyond dispute, considering substitutes Conor Cahalane, Conor O’Driscoll and Michael Maguire all got on the scoresheet in the second-half, with young Maguire, as was the case in the semi-final against the Barrs, performing most promisingly up front.
It was largely a case of tit-for-tat in a first-half that never sprang to life.
Michael Hurley and Jack Cahalane, both of whom chipped in with a brace of excellent points, and Sean Browne, who posted another beauty, were on target for the Haven before Brian Hurley converted a free to make it 0-6 to 0-5 with 24 minutes gone.
A hat-trick of Nemo points shared by Paul Kerrigan, Ronan Dalton and Craig Horgan followed to put two between the teams for the first time, but good work by Jack Cahalane and Jack O’Neill allowed Michael Hurley to have the last word for Castlehaven before the break.
It left the holders trailing by 0-8 to 0-7 at the interval, but, having played into a stiff breeze, they appeared to be in with every chance of justifying their pre-match rating as favourites in the second-half.
They got back on terms within five minutes of the resumption, courtesy of Brian Hurley, who, while he enjoyed a share of useful moments, was unable to replicate his scintillating semi-final form due to the admirable tenacity of Nemo full-back Briain Murphy.
Hurley had the satisfaction of giving the Haven a lead they weren’t to relinquish two minutes later following a foul on Jack Cahalane, who along with Michael Hurley, made the biggest impact up front for the winners.
The latter bagged a peach of a point to stretch the gap in the 38th minute, and, aided by equally fine scores from Conor Cahalane and Rory Maguire, the Haven remained two to the good, 0-12 to 0-10, as the last quarter dawned.
After Nemo’s Mark Cronin and Brian Hurley – following a foul on the ultra-industrious Jack Cahalane – exchanged points from frees, Mark Collins intercepted an intended pass by Nemo’s Luke Horgan to disrupt a promising raid by the challengers.
The resultant counter-attack led to a point from Conor O’Driscoll, which made it 0-14 to 0-11 approaching the last five minutes of regulation time.
It was obvious the Haven, looking more assured and purposeful in their play, were in the driving seat at that juncture, but O’Driscoll and Rory Maguire were both off-target with chances as they sought to tighten the screw on the run-in.
The winners then had reason to be grateful for another smart interception by team skipper Collins, which again yielded a double dividend. As well as denying Nemo an opening, Collins launched a snappy Castlehaven raid involving Brian Hurley and Rory Maguire that put Jack Cahalane clean through.
Cahalane’s effort to embellish the Haven’s victory with a goal was parried by Nemo ‘keeper Micheal Aodh Martin, but he regained possession in the ensuing play to pop over the insurance score. A fisted point by Michael Maguire put the finishing touch a highly efficient second-half performance from the defending champions.
Scorers:
Castlehaven: M Hurley 0-4, B Hurley 0-4 (3f), J Cahalane 0-3, S Browne, C Cahalane, R Maguire, C O’Driscoll, M Maguire 0-1 each.
Nemo Rangers: R Dalton 0-3, B Hayes, M Cronin 0-2 (1f), P Kerrigan 0-2 (1f), C Horgan, K Fulignatt1 0-1 each.
Castlehaven: Darragh Cahalane; T O’Mahony, S O’Neill, J O’Regan; J O’Driscoll, R Maguire, M Collins; A Whelton, Damien Cahalane; R Minihane, C Maguire, J Cahalane; S Browne, B Hurley, M Hurley. Subs, C Cahalane for Damien Cahalane, ht, C O’Driscoll for Minihane, 46, M Maguire for Browne, 52, J Walsh for O’Neill, 61, R Whelton for M Hurley, 63.
Nemo Rangers: M A Martin; E Nation, B Murphy, C Molloy; K O’Donovan, K Fulignati, S Cronin; A O’Donovan, B Cripps; J Horgan, R Dalton, C Horgan; P Kerrigan, M Cronin, B Hayes. Subs, R Corkery for Hayes, 45, L Horgan for J Horgan, 45, C McCartan for K O’Donovan, 54, A Cronin for Murphy, 61.
Referee – J O’Regan (Lough Rovers)
