Premier SFC: Nemo dominate against Newcestown to reach quarter-finals

Mark Cronin topped the scoring charts with 0-5 put over the bar and Paul Kerrigan hit 0-3.

Cork Premier SFC: Nemo Rangers 2-11 Newcestown 0-11

Strength and depth helped Nemo Rangers turn a slow first half into a dominating 2-11 to 0-11 victory over Newcestown in the McCarthy Insurance Group Premier SFC.

The Cork kingpins wrestled their way into complete control of the tie, and goals from Barry Cripps and Bryan Hayes rubber-stamped their place in the quarter-finals.

It didn’t look like this was going to happen when Newcestown hit eight first half wides, but there was no come-back after the break. Instead, Nemo march on towards the knock-out stages of the championship for the third consecutive season.

“To be honest, we should have gone in a few points down,” Nemo coach Larry Kavanagh looked back.

“They must have hit seven or eight wides in the first half. We were kind of happy enough at half-time because we didn’t play well. We were able to bring on good subs as well.

"You saw Bryan Hayes come on and he got a goal straight away and Jack [Horgan] contributed. I think that was the difference at the end of the day. We had better subs to call upon.”

The players who started managed to give them a commanding lead at that stage. Mark Cronin led the line and he finished the game with 0-5, and Paul Kerrigan hit 0-3.

Before that, Newcestown rallied, and they took an early lead when David Buckley put the ball over the bar from open play.

Nemo shrugged this off and their first spell in possession beyond the 45 led to Kevin O’Donovan passing to an overlapping Cripps on the right wing.

The midfielder unleashed a goal-bound shot that went in via the underside of the crossbar and Nemo led 1-0 to 0-1 in the 4th minute.

Buckley then took a free for Newcestown and the ball dropped short on the edge of the square. Joe Kenneally got to that and a venomous attempt on goal by the full-forward was blocked by Alan O’Donovan.

Luke Meade got their second score and Mark Cronin immediately responded for Nemo. A Buckley 45 and a white flag raised from open play by Micheal McSweeney ensured parity for the first and last time.

Newcestown only scored twice during the time left to play in the second half. That isn’t down to lack of trying. They hit eight wides during the opening half hour, while their city rivals missed the target just twice.

Alan O’Donovan and Ross Corkery extended Nemo’s lead and Necestown broke their 14 minute barren run in front of the posts with Sean O’Donovan curling the ball over.

Kerrigan got his first score in the final seconds before the break, and Nemo went into the break leading 1-5 to 0-6.

Any hopes by the Newcestown travelling supporters of a fight back effectively ended with a Mark Cronin free after the restart.

Kerrigan followed that up and the gap between the two clubs was 1-5 to 0-6, and the four point cushion looked very comfortable.

Nemo then started rotating their team, and Hayes was one of those who came off the bench. The forward replaced Ronan Dalton and he marked his arrival by collecting a pass from Kevin O’Donovan and unleashing a shot that went well beyond the reach of Christopher White.

It was 2-9 to 0-8 in a few seconds and Nemo were in full control. Carthach Keane did hit 0-3 and it wasn’t enough as what played out was a typical Nemo win as they controlled every position and blade of grass.

By that stage it was well known that the Cork kingpins were safely through to another quarter final.

Scorers for Nemo Rangers: M Cronin (0-5, 1f); B Hayes (1-0), B Cripps (1-0), P Kerrigan (0-3), E Nation (0-1), R Corkery (0-1), A O’Donovan (0-1).

Scorers for Newcestown: C Keane (0-3); D Buckley (0-2, 1'45), R O’Sullivan (0-2, 2f), M McSweeney (0-1), L Meade (0-1), O Walsh (0-1), S O’Donovan (0-1).

Nemo Rangers: M Aodh Martin; E Nation, C Molloy, B Murphy, K O’Donovan, A Cronin, S Cronin, A O’Donovan, B Cripps, C Horgan, R Dalton, O Whyte, R Corkery, M Cronin, P Kerrigan.

Subs: B Hayes for Dalton (39); J Horgan for Whyte (39), C Shalloe for Hayes (57).

Newcestown: C White; J Kelleher, C Twomey, C Donovan, R O’Sullivan, M McSweeney, L Meade, F Keane, C Goggin, N Kelly, T Twomey, C Dineen, O Walsh, S O’Donovan, D Buckley.

Subs: C Keane for Kelly (50), J Kenneally for Keane (50).

Referee: D Murnane (Macroom)