Clonakilty 1-17
Carbery Rangers 0-6
TOM LYONS REPORTS
WE certainly didn’t see that coming. The weather? Yes. The Clonakilty performance? No. The final gap between the sides? Certainly not.
Without a championship win in seven attempts over the Ross men since 2006, Clonakilty supporters were far from confident heading into this crunch Cork Premier SFC derby in Ballinacarriga on Sunday afternoon.
In front of a huge crowd and in atrocious weather conditions, as the rain lashed down and a gale of wind swept diagonally across the pitch, Clon gave their best performance of the season to record a comprehensive and decisive victory over their near-neighbors. The victory saw Clon preserving their premier senior status for 2026, while Rangers will be involved in a relegation play-off.
Liam O'Donovan celebrates with Sean McEvoy after scoring the only goal of the game.
‘To be honest, there were lots of questions being asked of us before today because of our performance against Carrigaline. This club has a proud senior tradition going back a long way and we were under pressure to maintain that,’ Clonakilty selector Eoin Ryan commented.
‘We’re delighted to have won today but, obviously, we’re disappointed, too, to be out of the championship.
‘This is a big monkey off our backs because we hadn’t beaten Ross since 2006.’
While Clonakilty bossed the second half to condemn Rangers to a second successive relegation play-off, there was no sign in the first half that the game was going to develop as it did.
Clon had the advantage of the elements, and it was no surprise that they dominated early on. With Ben Ridgeway driving through from midfield, they had five points on the board by the end of the first quarter, in response to a single score from Ross. Darragh Gough (free), Conor Daly with a fine two-pointer and a free, and the hard-working Ross Mannix were the scorers as John O’Brien had Rangers’ only point.
Ross, driven on by John O’Rourke and Brian Hodnett, and with Mark Hodnett and Timmy Cullinane causing problems up front, hit a good patch midway through the half. Points from Brian Hodnett and O’Rourke closed the gap to two in the second quarter.
Carbery Rangers' Peadar O'Rourke under pressure from Clonakilty's Dan Darragh.
Even though Conor Daly pointed for Clon, 0-6 to 0-3, it was advantage Ross against the elements. They very nearly drew level when Mark Hodnett blazed narrowly wide, which, in hindsight, was a vital moment in the game.
A Timmy Cullinane point made it even better for Ross but Darragh Gough answered with two well-taken points for Clon and it was 0-8 to 0-4 at the break, advantage Carbery Rangers.
The second half will always remain a mystery as to what switched Clon on and Rangers off.
A flowing Clon move saw Gough setting up Liam O’Donovan for an opportunist goal in the 32nd minute, the decisive score of the game. From then to the very end it was a story of Clon’s brilliance and Rangers’ collapse.
The Clon half-back line, especially Thomas Clancy in the centre, was the foundation for Clon with every defender playing as if his life depended on it, totally shutting out the Ross attack. Ridgeway and Dara Ó Sé took control of midfield. Up front, Conor Daly and Darragh Gough led a lively and imaginative attack.
The final score.
After a John O’Rourke pointed free, the Clon points started to flow with Daly (free), Gough (0-2), David Lowney, Ben Ridgeway and Seán McEvoy all contributing. A pointed 45 and a mighty two-point free into the gale were massive scores from goalkeeper Mark White. Try as they might, Rangers just couldn’t break Clon’s stranglehold on the game. They weren’t to score again until sub Paul Hodnett kicked their only score from play in the 60th minute.
The final score of 1-17 to 0-6 was indicative of an amazing second half, at least for Clon supporters, who were left wondering where this Clon team was against Carrigaline and how they were out of the championship after a display like this.
While Clon will bask in the manner of this win, Rangers must now face another relegation play-off, this time against Valley Rovers on September 27th, in Enniskeane at 5pm.
OUR STAR: The commanding figure of centre back Thomas Clancy was central to all that Clon did so well on the day and he was a tower of strength in the atrocious conditions.
Scorers
Clonakilty: Darragh Gough (1f), Conor Daly (2pt) 0-5 each; Liam O’Donovan 1-0; Mark White 0-3 (45, 2ptf); David Lowney, Ben Ridgeway, Seán McEvoy, Ross Mannix 0-1 each.
Carbery Rangers: John O’Rourke 0-2 (1f); Brian Hodnett, John O’Brien, Timmy Cullinane, Paul Hodnett 0-1 each.
Clonakilty: Mark White; Dan Peet, Dan Darragh, David Lowney; Jack O’Mahony, Thomas Clancy, Seán White; Ben Ridgeway, Dara Ó Sé; Liam O’Donovan, Seán McEvoy, Chris Kenneally; Darragh Gough, Conor Daly, Ross Mannix.
Subs: Des Kenneally for L O’Donovan (42), Luke Griffin for D Gough (58), Brian White for R Mannix (58).
Carbery Rangers: Paul Shanahan; James O’Riordan, Tom O’Rourke, Cian Daly; Sam Linehan, Jerry O’Riordan, John Hodnett; Brian Hodnett, John O’Brien; Jack Kevane, John O’Rourke, Peadar O’Rourke; Timmy Cullinane, Conor Twomey, Mark Hodnett.
Subs: Ciarán McCarthy for J O’Riordan (12), Peter Óg Hill for T Cullinane (40), Brian Shanahan for Tom O’Rourke (50), Kaelan Scannell for J O’Brien, Paul Hodnett for J Hodnett.
Referee: James O’Regan (Lough Rovers).
