ANOTHER hectic weekend of Gaelic football that started for me early on Friday evening in Leap and ended just under 48 hours later in Clonakilty, with a Saturday visit to Dunmanway thrown in for good measure.

In fairness, the action for the three games I made it to was excellent and we were royally entertained overall.

The best was saved for last with the cracker in Clon between Nemo Rangers and Castlehaven, and that is where we start. This game saw two of the big guns of Cork football go head-to-head in front of a large, expectant West Cork crowd, and they didn’t disappoint.

Nemo’s younger, physically lighter outfit took the first half of the game to their more experienced opponents and played some outstanding football in the opening stages. Nemo’s link-up play was slick and controlled, and they wasted very little of the possession with the economy of their passing and their efficiency in front of goal.

Three of the younger Nemo brigade were very much to the fore in that first half, with Colin Molloy marauding forward to great effect and inside duo Bryan Hayes and Ross Corkery excellent. Hayes was electric in the first 20 minutes and had 1-4 snagged in that timeframe, while Corkery kicked a monster left-footer from the wing that brought back memories of his legendary father, Colin.

This trio were ably supported by the likes of the more established Kevin O’Donovan and Jack Horgan, with Nemo defying pre-match predictions, including my own, to surge ahead on the scoreboard.

Nemo were the far slicker unit but Castlehaven had their own ace up their sleeve in the ever-combustible Brian Hurley. Hurley was outstanding as he waged what was almost a one-man crusade against the Nemo dominance. Conor Cahalane was his main support act in the first half with three early points, but after that it was all about Hurley.

If All-Star nominee Steven Sherlock had put on a first-half clinic against Carbery, Hurley was all-out to show he’s still a match for any forward in the county on his day. He ran at Nemo’s defence time after time and no one could hold him.

Hurley would end the game with 0-10 and also set up substitute Jack Cahalane for his second-half goal, and his imprints were on another few scores as well. The only surprise was that he left his station at number 14 late on in the game when Haven had the momentum behind them, almost solving a problem for Nemo that they could resolve themselves.

Hurley couldn’t be faulted though, and if more of his team-mates had come close to his level, Castlehaven would still be in the championship. For all the world it looked like they would at least force extra time when they pulled it back to a point in injury time with six minutes added. Hurley was getting more support at this stage from fellow big names like Mark Collins and Damien Cahalane, and with the cross-field wind slightly to their advantage, Nemo looked in trouble.

Nemo managed to summon just enough energy to produce a couple of defensive stops and win the midfield breaks that allowed sub Dara O’Sullivan to convert two breakaway points and secure the victory.

It was a deserved win overall, even if Hurley didn’t deserve to be on the losing side. Nemo now go forward to face Carrigaline in the semi-final and they will be favourites to make yet another county final, having been somewhat dismissed after their first-round loss to Newcestown.

Speaking of Newcestown, we will go now to their contest with Clonakilty a day earlier in Dunmanway as unfortunately Carbery v St Finbarr's turned into a non-event in the second half, other than to confirm that the Barrs have also turned their poor form in the group stages around and are nearing full health again at the right time as far as they are concerned.

The West Cork derby in the other quarter-final was a far more eventful affair, with Clon recovering from what looked like a precarious position as the second half started.

The first half had been an entertaining, even contest, with Clon in control early on before Newcestown clawed their way back into the game. Trailing by a point just before the break, midfielder Eoin Collins made a great run and was placed for a goal by Colm Dineen just before the short whistle. The drama didn’t stop at the break, though, as a scuffle broke out involving players and mentors from both sides.

Glanworth referee, Ciaran Murphy, kept his cool and waited until after half-time to issue red cards to Newcestown manager Jim O’Sullivan, one of his mentors and Clon corner-back Dan Darragh. David Buckley was issued with a black card and while it would be 14 v 14 to start the second half, Newcestown would have Buckley back and a man advantage for the closing 20 minutes. Add that to the two-point lead and the momentum from before the break, and the cards looked to be stacked in their favour.

To make the advantage count, they would need to manage the ten minutes after half-time, and they utterly failed to do so. Clon took control straight from the restart and kicked five scores to none before Buckley re-entered the fray. Mark White’s long, accurate kick-outs offered a crucial escape from the Newcestown press, and being a man down made little difference to Clon as Newcestown had to wait a further nine minutes for their first point of the second half.

Clon’s response was emphatic and as David Lowney came forward from corner-back, Newcestown’s defence parted like the red and amber sea before Lowney parted to substitute Dylan Harrington, who found the net.

The game looked done and dusted as Clon led by seven with five minutes to go, but that is not the case in modern football. Newcestown finally found their energy and a goal from Seamus O’Sullivan was part of a 1-3 salvo that closed the gap to one. Now the 14-man Clon looked vulnerable as Newcestown launched a final attack looking for an equaliser or a possible winner.

My expectation was that they would try to find David Buckley for a two-point effort, however Clon had the same thought and stuck closely to him.

Newcestown’s other main forward, O’Sullivan, found himself bottled up by Clon defenders and the turnover preceded the final whistle and Clon celebrations.

Overall, it was a good game, with the better football in the first half but plenty of talking points all through. Best for the winners were the White brothers, Thomas Clancy and Chris Kennelly, while the O’Sullivan brothers and midfielders Sean O’Donovan and Collins offered the most resistance.

The Barrs are next up now for Clon, and that has the makings of a great game.

Elsewhere across a hectic weekend, the big news down west was the relegation of O’Donovan Rossa from Senior A – a big blow for football in the town of Skibbereen.

Ballincollig pulled themselves together to easily send St Michael's down from Premier Senior, while recent finalists Carrigaline were beaten by Castletownbere in the PIFC relegation fight. There was a draw between Kildororrey and Glanworth in the lower intermediate decider, while Urhan saw off Na Piarsaigh at Premier Junior.

Kanturk held on against Kilshannig and Cill na Martra saw off Beal Atha'n Ghaoraidh to qualify for Senior A semi-finals against Carbery Rangers and Eire Óg respectively.

Naomh Abán and Fermoy are through to the PIFC semi-finals after wins over Macroom and Rockchapel, while Buttevant and Boherbue did likewise against Mitchelstown and Dromtariffe at lower intermediate. St Nicks and Inniscarra also claimed wins to make the last four at Premier Junior and join Canovee and Kilmurry.

We now know the final four in every grade and we will look at those next week.

Lastly to the Carbery Junior A quarter-finals, and we must first congratulate Tadgh MacCarthaigh for their win over my own Carbery Rangers.

Despite the early start, it was another good game of football and Caheragh deserved their win in a close contest.

The timing of the game was farcical, and the game started without one of the linesmen, who was stuck in traffic. That said, it was the same for both teams and no excuses from us, the better team won. The point stands, though. This should not happen again.

Caheragh will now play Barryroe after they defeated Castlehaven’s second team on a bad weekend for the blue and white, while St Mary's and St James both had narrow wins over two recently promoted teams in Goleen and Kilmeen.

With the last four now set, I’m sure the competition will be shown more respect from here on out. That, and the second-half collapse of the Carbery team, were the major negatives on another great weekend of football in Cork.