Hayes feels signs were encouraging despite Carbery Rangers' league loss to Nemo

Nemo Rangers 2-15

Carbery Rangers 0-11

JOHN MURPHY REPORTS

JOHN Hayes felt it was Carbery Rangers’ best performance of the league so far, but their latest loss leaves the Rosscarbery team win-less after four rounds.

A superb last quarter display of high-powered, free-flowing football, during which they outscored the home side by 1-7 to 0-4, enabled current county champions Nemo Rangers to finally break free of the determined challenge presented by a depleted Carbery Rangers at Rosscarbery.

Going into this Cork Credit Unions Division 1 football league clash the fortunes of both teams were poles apart – unbeaten Nemo flying high at the top of the table, while Carbery Rangers had yet to pick up a point after three losses in a row. 

While after this eagerly-contested affair the position was unaltered, there was much to admire about the Rosscarbery lads’ performance, beaten but unbowed with the final result flattering to the visitors.

Carbery Rangers' Barry Kerr breaks away from Nemo Rangers' Barry Cripps during the Cork Credit Unions FL Div 1 tie at Rosscarbery.

The positives outweigh the negatives, something that Carbery Rangers selector and player, former Cork senior football star John Hayes, enthused about in his after-match summation.

‘It was our best performance in the league to date,’ he said.

‘Nemo got some fine scores at the end to pull away. They are a quality side, the likes of Paul Kerrigan, Luke Connolly, Conor Horgan are capable of scoring at will. However, we had a lot of young lads out there today and our attacking play was much better.

‘Nemo are the standard bearers in the county, current senior football champions and it is their standard we hope to emulate eventually. I feel we took a positive step in that direction today. We will look to see where we can make further improvement and we need to put points on the board as well’. 

Playing with the blustery cross-field breeze the visitors got off to a dream start; an exquisite move involving Ronan Dalton, Paul Kerrigan and full forward Oran McElligott ending with the latter steering the ball past goalkeeper Paul Shanahan from close range. Darragh Hayes, who had a fine game for the losers, pointed a free, but two sublime scores by the dynamic Kerrigan seemed to signal alarm stations for Ross, their defence under pressure from the speed and precision passing of Connolly, Dalton, Kerrigan and midfielders Alan O’Donovan and Barry Cripps.

However, the industry of Alan Jennings, the tenacity of Cian Daly and Thomas O’Rourke in defence allied to the good work of Darragh Hayes and Ciarán Santry up front saw Carbery Rangers right in the mix, ensuring that Nemo had to battle hard for possession. Nemo led by 1-6 to 0-5 at the break, but good scores by Patrick Hurley and Ciarán Santry just prior to half time gave the hosts reasons for optimism, now assisted by the breeze in the second half.

Nemo Rangers' Alan O'Donovan clashes with John O'Brien of Carbery Rangers' during the Cork Credit Unions FL Division 1 game at Rosscarbery.

When Santry fired over a beauty on resuming it led credence to the argument. But Nemo are a class act, emphasised by two cracking scores from McElligott and Connolly. A free-flowing second half saw Carbery Rangers still in with a chance, albeit adrift by 1-12 to 0-10 with five minutes left. However, in the 59th minute came the defining score as a foray out of defence saw Nemo move the ball swiftly up-field via Conor Horgan to where the irrepressible Kerrigan put a peach of a cross into a crowded goalmouth as, spectacularly, Alan O’Donovan flicked the leather to the roof of the Rosscarbery boys’ rigging. 

The game was done and dusted, Kerrigan, Gary Sayers (free) and Stephen Cronin putting the icing on the cake, a well-directed free by substitute John Hayes of little solace to gallant Carbery Rangers who had given their all to no avail.

Scorers - Nemo Rangers: Oran McElligott 1-2; Paul Kerrigan, Luke Connolly (2f) 0-5 each; Alan O’Donovan 1-0; Stephen Cronin, Ronan Dalton, Gary Sayers (f) 0-1 each. Carbery Rangers: Darragh Hayes 0-4 (1f); Ciarán Santry 0-3; John Hayes 0-2(1f), Patrick Hurley, Paul Shanahan (f) 0-1 each.

Nemo Rangers: Luke Towler; Mark Hill, Brian Murphy, Kieran Histon; Luke Horgan, Eoin Nation, Stephen Cronin; Barry Cripps, Alan O’Donovan; Conor Horgan, Ronan Dalton, Jack Horgan; Paul Kerrigan, Oran McElligott, Luke Connolly. Subs: Ciarán Dalton for Ronan Dalton (ht), Colin Molloy for Mark Hill (ht), Daire Egan for Eoin Nation (ht), Gary Sayers for Oran McElligott (51), Colm Kiely for Jack Horgan (52), Shane Burke for Luke Connolly (53), Daniel Quinn for Luke Horgan (57).

Carbery Rangers: Paul Shanahan; Sam Linehan, Thomas O’Rourke, Keelan Scannell; Patrick Hurley, Cian Daly, Niall Keane; Barry Kerr, Alan Jennings; John Hodnett, Chris O’Donovan, Killian Keane; John O’Brien, Darragh Hayes, Ciarán Santry. Subs: John Hayes for Chris O’Donovan (34), Conor Twomey for John Hodnett (46), Paul Hodnett for Darragh Hayes (54), David O’Dwyer for Sam Linehan (54), Eamonn Hodnett for Killian Keane (54), Killian Eady for Cian Daly (inj, 56).

Referee: Michael Collins (Clonakilty).