Munster Club Senior Football Championship final/Nemo Rangers 1-10 Ballinacourty 1-7:Despite the familiarly apocalyptic weather, yesterday's AIB Munster club football final obeyed the basic precepts of the championship: all things being equal, Nemo Rangers win.
A furious wind howling down the field combined with a spirited comeback from Ballinacourty to keep alive a match that looked dead at half-time but there was no stage when the Cork side's prospects were under serious pressure.For the third time in four years, the Waterford champions left a provincial final empty-handed but once more they did so having put up a battling display.
The match could be said to have turned on the moment Ballinacourty, having won the toss, opted to play into the wind, hoping to limit the damage while they were fresh but no matter what the conditions, Nemo's high-tempo, support game was always going to pose problems.
By the end, with four points in the difference Ballinacourty swarmed forward but they never got the margin down to below a score until the last play of the match ended with Seán O'Hare fisting a loose ball over the bar to complete the scoring. It was the closest the match had been since the fifth minute.
Whereas in the opening minutes Ballinacourty's decision to face the gale looked plausible enough, as they laid siege to Nemo's square, they didn't score and as soon as the Cork side slipped away for a goal, the incline became intolerably steep for underdogs. The begetter of the goal was TG4 Man of the Match, Paul Kerrigan, whose pace on the ball caused huge problems - starting in the fifth minute when his incision down the right wing cut out an opening and an opportunity to shoot.
Stephen Enright parried the shot but the ball ran for David Kearney, who finished to the net to put Nemo four clear, 1-1 to 0-0. James Masters took over on the scoring front, having missed a couple of chances that by his standards were straightforward. He atoned by swinging over three impressive scores.
It was all a bit hard on the Waterford champions who were competing well on breaking ball with Shane Briggs prominent but still conceding scores and not managing a foothold at the other end. At half-time the final was effectively over with the favourites nine ahead, 1-7 to 0-1, a free from the lively Declan Fives.
Like their opponents, Ballinacourty benefited greatly from an early goal when playing with the wind, Brian Morgan catching a high ball from Gary Hurney behind his goal line but television pictures appeared conclusive. That cut the margin in the 42nd minute to six, 1-8 to 1-2 and encouraged, the Waterford side conjured three points from wing back Richie Foley and Mark Fives plus a free from Declan Fives.
Few had expected the margin to shrink to such an extent given Nemo's ability to play keep-ball and the special adjustments they had made at half-time. "We made a tactical decision at half-time to take off David Kearney," said Kerrigan, "who was having a fantastic match and scored the goal, and brought on Brian Twomey, who's a half back, and he stood in front of the back line and did a great job . . . Their goal didn't look like a goal from where we were standing but we had to keep the head, keep the passing and pick them off."
Ballinacourty needed a second goal and whereas they thrashed away in an effort to create one, Nemo's massed defences prevented their making much progress. Dylan Mehigan did let a high ball slip and the resulting skirmish ended in a 45, which Declan Fives drifted wide.
So Nemo claimed a 14th Munster title and are two matches away from stretching their All-Ireland record to eight.
"We've a big mix in the team between young and old," said Kerrigan. "There were three under-21s starting in the forward line and we're hungry - we haven't got (All-Ireland) clubs and we want them."
He alluded to the high-quality field waiting in the All-Ireland series and the claims by advocates of the champions Crossmaglen that the Armagh club are the best in the history of the championship. "When they win seven or eight they can call themselves the best. It would be intriguing to meet Crossmaglen in the final but we've to concentrate on the semi-final; we failed there two years ago against Gall's. We really want to get to a final again."
NEMO RANGERS: B Morgan; N Geary, B O'Regan, D Kavanagh; G Ó Sé, M Cronin, M Daly; P Morgan, M McCarthy; R Kenny (0-1), D Mehigan, A Cronin (0-1); D Kearney (1-0), J Masters (0-5, one free, one 45), P Kerrigan (0-3, two frees). Subs: B Twomey for Kearney (half-time), G Murphy for Ó Sé (47 mins), B O'Driscoll for Kenny (51 mins), D Breen for Daly (51 mins).
BALLINACOURTY: S Enright; J Mullen, J Kindergan, G Breen; J Hurney (capt.), S Briggs, R Foley (0-1); S O'Hare (0-1), P Lynch; J Phelan, L Hurney, P Hurney; G Hurney (1-1), M Fives (0-1), D Fives (0-3, two frees and 45). Subs: M Ferncombe for Mullen (47 mins), M Gorman for Foley (56 mins).
Referee: Rory Hickey (Clare).
