Friday 05 July 2024 at 7.30pm
McCarthy Insurance FL Div 1 Final
Nemo Rangers
V
Carrigaline
0-8 (8 pts)
0-10 (10 pts)
At Shanbally | Referee: John Ryan
...

McCarthy Insurance Group Football League Finals down for decision this weekend

There are seven deciders being played over the course of this evening and tomorrow

An action-packed two days ahead with seven finals down for decision in the McCarthy Insurance Group Football Leagues.

Due to the Cork hurlers playing their eagerly anticipated All-Ireland SHC semi-final against Limerick on Sunday in Croke Park at 4pm, it obviously means there will be no deciders played that day so the games will be taking place this evening and tomorrow.

With the championship getting underway for the clubs on the weekend of Saturday, July 27, these finals are ideal preparation for all involved and what a boost it would be for the winning teams heading into the opening round of the group stages of the football championship in three weeks’ time.

There are four deciders taking place this evening with the standout one being the meeting of Nemo Rangers and Carrigaline in what should be a decent Division 1 final in Shanbally.

Nemo are aiming for a second league crown in three seasons and they will be looking to atone for last year's defeat in the league decider to St Finbarr’s. The Trabeg side didn’t play to their true potential that evening, and after losing the Premier SFC final to Castlehaven last October, they won’t want a lose a third successive decider in all competitions.

Carrigaline might be a senior A football side, having lost their place in the top tier last year, but they have richly deserved their spot in this showpiece final. They will be hoping to deny Nemo a seventh successive victory in this one and have the players to do so including Cork footballer Brian O'Driscoll. They pushed the city side all the way in their league meeting in May eventually losing by five points.

The Division 2 clash pits Clonakilty and St Michael’s together in Ballygarvan. The West Cork side won eight out of nine league outings with the only blot in the copy book coming in the last league match away to Valley Rovers though they were missing players that evening.

St Michael’s gained an impressive tally of 14 points from nine games to reach this stage. They lost by four points to Clonakilty when they met in Mahon back in March.

Kilmurry is the venue for the meeting of Buttevant and Adrigole in a tasty looking Division 5 encounter. Buttevant won all nine of their league games with Adrigole finishing up on 14 points.

The last decider taking place this evening comes from Division 7 as Canovee lock horns with Cullen in Clondrohid. Both sides finished on 12 points from their seven matches. If the league clash is anything to go by, it should be a cracker. Canovee won 3-17 to 3-13 back in May.

There are three finals tomorrow with Kanturk and Castletownbere going head-to-head in Ballingeary in the Division 3 decider. The sides couldn’t be separated when they met in April.

A large crowd should flock to the Castle Grounds in Macroom for a Muskerry derby between Naomh Abán and Iveleary in the Division 6 decider. There’s no love lost between these two and tomorrow’s tie shouldn’t be any different. Goals proved crucial when the sides played each other in April with Naomh Abán prevailing 2-8 to 0-9.

Finally, in Division 6, Gabriel Rangers take on Ballinora in an interesting final pairing. Both teams finished on 12 points from seven league meetings with the Ballydehob based outfit winning by a point when the sides went into battle back in May. It should be tight again tomorrow in Clonakilty.

MCCARTHY INSURANCE GROUP FOOTBALL LEAGUE FINALS FIXTURES

FRIDAY

Division 1: Nemo Rangers v Carrigaline, Shanbally, 7.30pm.

Division 2: Clonakilty v St Michael’s, Ballygarvan, 7.30pm.

Division 5: Adrigole v Buttevant, Kilmurry, 7.30pm.

Division 7: Canovee v Cullen, Clondrohid, 7.30pm.

SATURDAY

Division 3: Kanturk v Castletownbere, Ballingeary, 4pm.

Division 4: Naomh Abán v Iveleary, Macroom, 6pm.

Division 6: Gabriel Rangers v Ballinora, Clonakilty, 2pm.

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Carrigaline boss Michael Meaney: The lads took a lot of criticism, that they were soft, but we’ve proved our worth

Carrigdhoun side won the McCarthy Insurance Group Division 1 Football League last evening

Carrigaline 0-10 Nemo Rangers 0-8

A very first McCarthy Insurance Group Division 1 Football League title for Carrigaline after taking down Nemo Rangers last evening.

A large crowd turned up to Shanbally for the final despite the inclement weather on an evening when it was more like winter than summer. It wasn’t a classic match by any stretch but Carrigaline had a more balanced team which was enough to secure a 0-10 to 0-8 win over their illustrious opposition.

There weren't massive celebrations from the Carrigaline camp as they know their main objective will be to return to the Premier SFC after losing their place last season. It was a tough winter for everyone involved with Carrigaline, a campaign that started by winning the Division 2 football crown.

Once the final whistle blew last evening, the winning management came together to celebrate before Meaney made his way over to talk to the press. He was visibly emotional and lost for words as the rain came lashing down. This success was sweet for himself and Carrigaline.

“First time in Division 1, this is marvellous,” he says.

“And to beat the likes of Nemo and the manner that we did. I think we were very disciplined, very well worked and very well drilled with Kevin [O’Sullivan, coach]. The lads took a lot of criticism, that they were soft at the start of the year, but we’ve proved our worth.

“But, look, we park this tonight and we’ll move on. We said during the week whether we won or lost, the most important thing is to get ready for Ballingeary.”

Carrigaline have exceeded all expectations in this season's league especially on the back of last year's demotion from the Premier SFC. There has been no hangover. They did deserve the win over Nemo but they did have to ride their luck with Seán Mellett’s penalty save from Paul Kerrigan a big moment after just three minutes.

“My wife said to me today, if you were told that you’d be in a Division 1 league final, you’d be looking at yourself,” Meaney said.

“But, we believe in the players, and the results showed we weren’t too far away and we got the break today. We had a good league campaign and the lads brought that forward. Nemo beat us by five points in the league in May, the goal was the difference then.

“The important thing is to park this tonight, we will mark it. We need to come back down straight away. Ballingeary is going to be a different ball game compared to this. We’ve a tough group [Ballingeary, Cill na Martra and Kiskeam], three good football teams. There will be nothing easy.”

The manager was full of praise for man-of-the-match Éanna Desmond who scored five points and David Griffin who was introduced in the second half on his return from injury.

“Éanna is going well all year. He proved it again today. He is a solid young fella. He is dedicated off and on the field. You could meet him in the gym any day of the week. He showed strength, it means an awful lot in football. But as well it’s how he retained the ball.

“David got injured against Nemo in the league game in May. David being a dual player, it is important we nurture him along and be sensible about it. He is a good lad, he is after coming back from a cruciate last year as well.” Meaney concluded.

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Desmond shines as Carrigaline edge Nemo to claim Division 1 title

Carrigaline only moved up to the top league division after they won Division 2 last summer.

Cork GAA Division 1 final: Carrigaline 0-10 Nemo Rangers 0-8

Carrigaline powered past Nemo Rangers to claim the McCarthy Insurance Cork Division 1 football league title at a wet Shanbally on Friday night.

There was no doubting they were the better team and Michael Meaney’s side deserve massive credit to have had the strength to keep their heads after being relegated from the top tier of the championship to senior A late last year.

And it must be mentioned too, they’ve only moved up to the top league division after they won Division 2 last summer.

That they took the game to Nemo Rangers with Seán Mellett’s crucial penalty save from Paul Kerrigan, just three minutes in, showed their intent.

With the exception of the opening quarter when Nemo Rangers led 0-2 to 0-1, Carrigaline proved defiant.

Cork senior Brian O’Driscoll, who transferred to the club this year, pulled a lot of strings.

Man-of-the-match Éanna Desmond supplied 50 percent of their tally, while Brian Coakley was a towering figure at centre-forward.

But it was defensively where they performed their duty so well, the win built around a wind-assisted first half during which they held Nemo to three points - all from the boot of Mark Cronin and all from well-struck placed balls.

The county champions from two years ago tallied 11 wides overall, which didn’t help their cause either.

When the sides met in the group stage, Nemo came out on top by a few points. This time, Carrigaline’s energy all over the field was evident.

They had one hand on the Bryan O’Loughlin Cup after a powerful second quarter, which saw them kick five unanswered points.

Desmond started the run capitalising on a stray kick-out.

Captain Jack McCarthy followed with a huge point and Niall Coakley made it 0-4 to 0-2 with five minutes to go to half-time - the full-forward might even have gone for goal and Kevin O’Reilly roared into the contest with his brace.

Nemo, albeit short a couple of first-choice players including Cork’s Kevin O’Donovan who is carrying a knock, and they lost Ronan Dalton in the warm-up (replaced by Jack Coogan), hadn’t scored for almost 20 minutes - Cronin left them 0-6 to 0-3 in arrears at the break.

Two minutes into the second-half, Desmond scored his third point.

Wing-back Kevin Kavanagh pushed Carrigaline double scores ahead once more.

Nemo hadn’t gone away, and twice they pulled it back to three points Stephen Cronin’s effort on 49 minutes made it 0-9 to 0-6.

Desmond was a thorn in their side all evening long, and when he was fouled and converted the free himself, the cushion was four and five minutes remaining.

Nemo didn’t go easy though with Gary Sayers and Mark Cronin producing the last two scores.

So, a night of deserved celebration in Carrigaline, who will next turn their attention to Ballingeary in the first round of the SAFC, while Nemo Rangers will get ready for PSFC against Ballincollig.

Scorers for Carrigaline: É Desmond (0-5, 0-3 frees), K O’Reilly (0-2, 0-1 mark), J McCarthy, K Kavanagh and N Coakley (0-1 each).

Scorers for Nemo Rangers: M Cronin (0-5, 0-3 frees), G Sayers, A O’Donovan and S Cronin (0-1 each).

CARRIGALINE: S Mellett; N Quirke, I Sheerin, D King; K Kavanagh, C O’Herlihy, J McCarthy (Capt); D Greene, C Barry; A Cohalan, B Coakley, B O’Driscoll; K O’Reilly, N Coakley, É Desmond.

Subs: D Griffin for C Barry (45), N O’Keeffe for D Greene (52).

NEMO RANGERS: M A Martin; E Nation, C McCartan, A Cronin; S Cronin, K Fulignati, L Horgan; A O’Donovan (Capt), B Cripps; R Corkery, M Cronin, O Whyte; G Sayers, J Coogan, P Kerrigan.

Subs: C Kiely for J Coogan (half-time).

Referee: John Ryan (Macroom).