The Bantry Blues GAA Club

Bantry's Blues' bid for a third TSB county senior football championship title in seven seasons was blown apart by holders Nemo Rangers at Páirc Uí Chaoimh last Sunday in a final that was effectively finished as a contest eight minutes into the second-half. A Nemo goal from centre forward, John Paul O'Neill, put eight points between the sides at that stage, and it was obvious there was going to be no way back for the South West men, who, having battled hard to remain strongly in contention before the break, found themselves with two many gaps to plug once the champions got into their stride in the second-half. In the end, Nemo were full value for their eleven point victory, one less than what they had to spare when demolishing Carbery's ambitions in last year's decider. And one is entitled to wonder in the wake of this emphatic triumph if there any team in the county capable of mounting a worthwhile assault on Nemo's crown in the immediate future.

Bantry Blues, Sean McCarthy gets in his shot at goal as Martin Cronin, Nemo Rangers keeps a close eye on him during the T.S.B. county senior football final, played at Pairc Ui Chaoimh on Sunday last.

Despite producing rather up-and-down form during the course of their march to the final, Bantry were regarded as serious pretenders to the throne, backboned, as they were, by the majority of the players who had shared in their last success three years ago.

But, on a day when such big guns as Philip Clifford, and, to a lesser extent, Damien O'Neill failed to fire, their lack of balance was glaringly exposed by a Nemo side that had precious few weak links.

Irrespective of the outcome, Mark O'Connor had announced before the final that this was going to be his last appearance in a Bantry shirt, and, following the severe roasting he received from man-of-the-match, Colin Corkery, the long-serving full back is unlikely to have a rethink on that score.

And O'Connor could well be joined in retirement by Padraig O'Regan, who, as was painfully obvious in this match, no longer has the pace required to do himself justice at this level.

Finding adequate replacements for those stalwart defenders is going to be a major problem for Bantry, and, realistically, it's hard to be optimistic about the team's prospects in the near future.

Nemo, for their part, possess a rich reservoir of up-and-coming talent if their recent county U-21 triumph is anything to go by, and the fact they had four current Cork U-21 players on the bench last Sunday is further indication of the club's immense strength-in-depth.

All of which suggests that the gap between the protagonists in this decider is going to get wider in the year's ahead, and, as I've said, it isn't easy to pinpoint from where the next genuine threat to Nemo's reign is going to come.

Pre-match speculation that the Bantry defence, which hadn't exactly inspired confidence in earlier outings, might be in for a very testing time from the Nemo attack proved to be well-founded, although, to be fair, Eamonn McCarthy, Padraig Cremin and Timmy O'Mahony all acquitted themselves admirably over the hour.

Mark O'Connor, after a most uncertain start, fared reasonably well also against Colin Corkery in the first-half, but pivot Padraig O'Regan never looked comfortable on lively Nemo centre forward, John Paul O'Neill, and wing back Niall Twomey found newcomer Dylan Mehigan something of a handful too as the opening period progressed.

The result was that the Bantry rearguard always looked a bit vulnerable, and it was no great surprise when Padraig Cremin was moved from the right wing to centre-back after 27 minutes.

Inexplicably, however, Padraig O'Regan was back in the No. 6 slot for the second-half, and it turned out to be a disastrous decision by the Bantry mentors.

In any event, O'Regan was nowhere to be seen when John Paul O'Neill collected a good cross from corner forward, Niall Corkery, to race through and fire in the goal that put Nemo firmly on the road to victory.

There was really only one team in it after that as Nemo, gaining the upper-hand in all sectors, proceeded to rip Bantry's resistance to shreds with a display of purposeful, cohesive football that was all the more creditable in view of inconducive conditions prevalent on the day.

There was little to indicate in the first-half, however, that Nemo would would win so easily, and indeed Bantry, enjoying whatever advantage there was from a crossfield wind, appeared to be in with every chance when they trailed by just two points, 0-7 to 0-5, at the interval.

True, Nemo, after falling behind by a point scored by Bantry wing forward, Paul O'Rourke within seconds of the throw-in, enjoyed slightly the better of the exchanges during the opening quarter, thanks in the main to the steadiness of their half back line in which Gary Murphy quickly settled down to completely erase the threat from O'Rourke, and Martin Cronin turned in a typically polished performance on the opposite flank to prevent Gerdie Barry from ever getting a look-in.

Steven O'Brien, making light of an obvious injury-problem, employed his uncanny positional sense to dictate matters with familiar aplomb from centre back, and particularly encouraging from a Nemo point of view was the early grip they gained at midfield where Kevin Cahill had the better of his duel with Damien O'Neill.

On the credit side for Bantry was the fact that the roving of corner forward, Alan Cronin, which had yielded such rich dividends for Nemo in last year's county final, wasn't producing the desired results this time due to the tenacious efforts of Eamonn McCarthy.

In addition, both Padraig Cremin and Timmy O'Mahony were giving nothing away right flank of defence to Nemo's Maurice McCarthy and Niall Corkery respectively, and, with Niall Twomey making a promising start too at left half back, Bantry, despite their obvious problems in the central positions, managed to limit Nemo's progress early on.

After Mark O'Connor failed to control a delivery by Kevin Cahill, Colin Corkery picked up possession to push Nemo ahead for the first time in the fifth minute, and Kevin Cahill made it 0-3 to 0-1 two minutes later.

Following an exchange of points between Philip Clifford, from a free, and Colin Corkery, from a side-line ball, however, Bantry went on to enjoy their best spell, with improved play from Mark O'Connor bringing greater stability to their defence, and Graham Canty working hard to strengthen their hand at midfield.

Sean McCarthy began to win some good possession on the '40 entering the second-quarter, and as the supply of ball to the inside line of attack increased, young Declan Barron prospered in the right corner.

Taking a pass from the excellent Padraig Cremin, Barron slipped over a good point midway through the first-half, and he was on target again in the 17th. minute after Sean McCarthy, Paul O'Rourke and Niall Twomey had combined to create the opening.

Back on terms at 0-4 to 0-4, Bantry were clearly growing in confidence, but, with Barron and Jeremy Canty shooting wides in the ensuing minutes, they failed to press home their advantage before Kevin Cahill picked up possession at midfield to begin a move which was completed by Martin Cronin when, fed by John Paul O'Neill, he surged forward to restore the lead to Nemo in the 22nd. minute.

It was a vital score in that it helped Nemo to settle again, and, with Dylan Mehigan thundering into the picture at right half forward, they had stretched the gap to three points before Declan Barron pulled one back for Bantry, following good work by Sean McCarthy, shortly before half-time.

Bantry began the second-half in determined mood, but a brief spell of pressure went unrewarded, with a high ball from Graham Canty rebounding of the upright, and Jeremy Canty missing a scoreable free inside 34 minutes.

And their prospects plunged little over a minute later when the immaculate Martin Cronin outfielded Gerdie Barry to place Colin Corkery for a point, and Kevin Cahill won a great ball from the kick-out to earn a free which was expertly slotted over by Colin Corkery.

After Alan Cronin tacked on another score to make it 0-10 to 0-5, one sensed that the turning point had arrived, and all doubts in this regard were removed when John Paul O'Neill bagged the game's only goal in the 38th. minute.

It was entirely fitting that Martin Cronin, with a precision pass to Niall Corkery on the left wing, should have initiated the attack that allowed O'Neill to deliver the knock-out blow as he was absolutely flawless throughout at left half back.

Full back Niall Geary, who kept Philip Clifford firmly under wraps for the hour, Kevin Cahill, who prevented Damien O'Neill from exerting a significant influence at midfield, were others to make outstanding contributions to Nemo's cause, and, of course, Colin Corkery's tally of ten points, four from play, speaks for itself.

John Paul O'Neill and Dylan Mehigan also played starring roles for Nemo up front where Alan Cronin was seen at his best in the last 20 minutes.

Superbly marshalled by Steven O'Brien from centre back, the Nemo defence was rock-solid in the second-half when the ever-dependable Larry Kavanagh and substitute Sean O'Brien in the corner back slots played their parts in denying Bantry a score until Damien O'Neill pointed in the 51st. minute.

By then, Nemo had put 1-12 on the board, and a brace of Colin Corkery points embellished their comprehensive win before the finish.

A sad day for Bantry, but they can take a modicum of consolation from the fact that they gave it their best shot, unlike Carbery who never raised a gallop in last year's final.

Scorers – Nemo Rangers: C. Corkery 0-10, 0-6 frees, J.P. O'Neill 1-0, K. Cahill, M. Cronin, D. Mehigan and A. Cronin 0-1 each. Bantry Blues: D. Barron 0-3, P. O'Rourke, P. Clifford,free, and D. O'Neill 0-1 each.

Nemo Rangers: D. Heaphy, L. Kavanagh, N. Geary, I. Gibbons, G. Murphy, Steven O'Brien, M. Cronin, K. Cahill, D. Kavanagh, D. Mehigan, J.P. O'Neill, M. McCarthy, A. Cronin, C. Corkery, N. Corkery. Subs, Sean O'Brien for Gibbons, D. Niblock for McCarthy, L. O'Sullivan for D. Kavanagh, M. Daly for Steven O'Brien, A. Morgan for A. Cronin.

Bantry Blues: D. McAuley, T. O'Mahony, M. O'Connor, E. McCarthy, P. Cremin, P. O'Regan, N. Twomey, D. O'Neill, G. Canty, G. Barry, S. McCarthy, P. O'Rourke, D. Barron, P. Clifford, J. Canty. Subs, E. Sheehan for Barry, S. O'Neill for O'Regan, K. Harrington for S. McCarthy.

Referee, G. Harrington, Carrigaline.