Fintan O'Toole
IT appears that rumours of Nemo Ranger’s demise were greatly exaggerated. The football grapevine was humming since the turn of the year with news of a heavy beating by Offaly champions Rhode in a challenge game, an indifferent display against the Cork U21’s in another workout and then an early exit in a secondary Cork club competition, the Tadhg Crowley Cup, against Ballincollig eight days ago. But 30 minutes after Derek O’Mahony had blown the opening whistle at yesterday’s Munster Club SFC final in Mallow, the Trabeg men had firmly shredded notions that they were in any state of decline.
We saw yesterday the most powerful and complete display of first-half football since Kerry trampled all over Pat Gilroy’s startled earwigs in the 2009 All-Ireland quarter-final. Nemo were simply awesome. Their management deserve credit for that by opting not to withdraw Brian O’Regan to act as Gooch’s shadow as he was allowed to dictate matters from centre-back. David Niblock and Peter Morgan continued to play off each other brilliantly at midfield, while Carrigtwohill native Aidan O’Reilly has become a highly useful addition at wing-back. Those sectors provided the platform for Nemo’s dominance and they relentlessly attacked the heart of the Dr Crokes defence. The quality of their point-kicking was stunning and the six-in-a-row that they strung together before half-time was of critical importance in constructing a winning advantage. As Dr Crokes boss Harry O’Neill put it afterwards, “if a Nemo player had tried to kick the ball out over the stand in the first-half, it would probably have curled back into play and gone over the bar.”
If Nemo Rangers replicate that first-half play for the rest of the competition, then Briain Morgan can already start to prepare his cúpla focal for March 17th on the Hogan Stand podium. The concern for manager Eddie Kirwin and his sideline gurus as they plot their team’s route through the All-Ireland series is what transpired after the break in Mallow. The bare statistics paint the picture of a collapse as Dr Crokes outscored Nemo by 1-10 to 0-2. But that scoreline masks aspects of yesterday’s second-half play. Firstly Dr Crokes are a quality team and they were always going to to unleash that quality at some juncture. Shifting Eoin Brosnan to midfield, bringing Daithi Casey out to the half-forward line and introducing Fionn Fitzgerald helped get them moving again. Their sharpshooters inside were finally fed quality ball, and Kieran O’Leary and Colm Cooper duly obliged with a stream of points.
Secondly, it’s important to note that while Nemo may have been forced into submission on the scoreboard they never showed any visible signs of panic on the pitch. Their experience and football nous came to bear as the half progressed with Morgan slowing down kickouts in goal and forwards like Alan Cronin and Barry O’Driscoll cleverly holding onto the ball up front. They may not have been playing particularly well but their ability to remain calm under pressure once more enabled them to claim a trophy.
The challenge now is to see can their 15th Munster title pave the way for an 8th All-Ireland crown. It’s seven years since Colin Corkery’s tour de force downed Crossmolina but they will not lack motivation to end that barren run. Winning Munster this year stemmed largely from the frustration of their semi-final exit to Limerick’s Drom-Broadford in November 2008. Now on the national scene they have a chance to atone for their semi-final defeat to St Gall’s in February 2006 and the final loss to St Vincent’s in March 2008. The sense is that this is a better team than those that have previously made stabs at honours. The team is not reliant on James Masters for scoring inspiration as Paul Kerrigan and Barry O’Driscoll have emerged into real leaders up front.
St Brigid’s will not be pushovers at the last four stage but Nemo’s irresistible first-half form yesterday entitles them to the mantle of favouritism. Then they would get the chance to pit themselves against one of the other club giants that Nemo routinely measure themselves against. Will it be 2009 champions Kilmacud Crokes or 2007 winners Crossmaglen Rangers? The manner of their Leinster final success suggests Kilmacud are in pole position there yet either way a dream national final could be in the offing on St Patrick’s Day.
Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/SEu2NS3cdrE/post.aspx
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