Rangers show Clonakilty that a sizeable gap exists

Ross will face St Finbarr’s again in county semi-final

Carbery Rangers 1-18   

Clonakilty 0-11

ON the latest evidence, the gap between Carbery Rangers and Clonakilty hasn’t closed.

Three points separated the teams when they clashed in the first round, but Rangers had ten points to spare in Sunday’s quarter-final in sun-splashed Dunmanway.

Showing a much higher work-rate and working the ball very speedily into their dangerous forwards, Rangers showed their intentions in the first half with the breeze as they led by double scores at the break, 0-10 to 0-5.

Clon needed a good start to the second half but it was Rangers who got it with Mark Hodnett’s goal after 40 seconds. When they added three fast points, the gap was up to 11 points after only 34 minutes. 

The remainder of a forgettable encounter meandered to its inevitable conclusion.

One statistic alone showed Rangers’ focus on the day, they kicked only a single wide in the whole game as they made full use of possession and ran riot against an inexperienced Clon defence. 

Not only did Rangers enjoy a footballing superiority over their opponents, they were also much stronger physically against a light Clon outfit, lining out without both Sean Nagle and Timmy Anglin, while Rangers’ experienced veterans all played major roles in this victory. 

‘We weren’t overly happy at half time,’ said Rangers’ manager Mícheál O’Sullivan.  

‘We targeted the first ten minutes of the second half to see if we could put the game to bed and it worked for us. Scoring 1-3 in the opening six minutes killed the game. 

‘Our experienced players are real leaders and are a huge example to the young lads coming through. They’re really setting the culture for Ross football and hopefully they can keep it going.’

Clon’s best period of the game came in the opening ten minutes, against the breeze, when they kicked two points, from David O’Regan and Sean White, in answer to three for Rangers, from the ageless and lethal John Hayes, two frees and one from play. 

However, as the Ross defence – inspired by Brian Shanahan, Kevin MacMahon and Robbie Kiely – came to grips with the Clon forwards, Clon’s play became very ponderous, far too much lateral passing resulting in numerous turn-overs

Points by John Hayes, Seamus Hayes and John O’Rourke were answered by Sean White and Jack O’Mahony to leave only two points between the side. But the closing minutes of the half saw Rangers upping the gears and four points from O’Rourke (2), John Hayes and Mark Hodnett, with only a single response from hard-trying centre-back Thomas Clancy, saw Rangers in front by double scores at the break, 0-10 to 0-5.

Hodnett’s superb goal on the restart, followed by points from John Hayes, and Alan Jennings, finished the game as a contest as Ross surged into an 11-point lead.

From here to the end the winners were content to play a game of containment, matching Clon score for score, with the superb James Fitzpatrick and Mark Hodnett running midfield and up front the Hayes brothers, John O’Rourke and young Darragh Hayes had plenty opportunities to show off their many skills.

The introduction of Ross Mannix added more bite to Clon’s attacking sextet, with only Sean McEvoy posing any real threat up front. Points from Mannix and O’Mahony gave faint hopes of a comeback but were quickly negated by scores from Jennings and MacMahon. 

Again Clon made a surge with points from Mannix, O’Mahony and McEvoy but confident Rangers answered through O’Rourke and sub Sean O’Neill. For Clon, young Cian O’Donoghue tried very hard at wing back but too many of their top players just didn’t produce the goods on the day.

Subs, Josh Henry and Patrick Hurley, swapped the closing points of a most disappointing contest, with Rangers knowing a far bigger test lies ahead against St Finbarr’s in the semi-final.

Scorers

Carbery Rangers: John Hayes 0-7 (5f), Mark Hodnett 1-1, John O’Rourke 0-4, Alan Jennings 0-2, Kevin MacMahon, Seamus Hayes, Patrick Hurley, Sean O’Neill 0-1 each. 

Clonakilty: Jack O’Mahony 0-3f, Sean White, Ross Mannix 0-2 each, Thomas Clancy, Sean McEvoy, Dave O’Regan and Josh Henry 0-1 each.

Carbery Rangers: Paul Shanahan; Cian Daly, Brian Shanahan, Robbie Hegarty; Jerry O’Riordan, Robbie Kiely, Kevin MacMahon; Mark Hodnett, James Fitzpatrick; Alan Jennings, John Hayes, Brian Hodnett; Seamus Hayes, John O’Rourke, Darragh Hayes. 

Subs: Stephen Milner for C Daly (10), Chris O’Donovan for A Jennings (black card, 49), Sean O’Neill for D Hayes (50), Patrick Hurley for J Fitzpatrick (54), Padraig Hodnett for B Hodnett (59).

Clonakilty: Mark White; Cian O’Donovan, Fionn Coughlan, Maurice Shanley; Liam O’Donovan, Thomas Clancy, Cian O’Donoghue; Denis Murphy, Sean White; Gearóid Barry, David Lowney, Martin Scally; Sean McEvoy, Dave O’Regan, Jack O’Mahony. 

Subs: Eoin Deasy for D Murphy (25), Donal Lyons for G Barry (ht), Ross Mannix for M Scally (ht), Peter Walsh for D O’Regan (42), Josh Henry for S White (45), Mark O’Sullivan for L O’Donovan (53).

Referee: Kevin Murphy (Nemo Rangers).