Path to the County Final - Nemo Rangers ( Semi Final )
October 12, 2014
O’Brien’s charges upset the odds to reach first senior football final
Ballincollig 2-10 Nemo Rangers 0-9
BALLINCOLLIG carved out their own slice of history by reaching a first county senior football championship final after surviving treacherous conditions at Páirc Uà Chaoimh.
Two early goals by Cian Dorgan and John Kelly, his third in championship against Nemo, gave Ballincollig a platform to succeed and had them 2-2 to 0-1 up, much to the delight of a sizeable and vocal support. It was a hectic weekend for Kelly, who got married the Friday before.
Perhaps even more important was the thunderous display of Cork player Noel Galvin with Liam Jennings and Steve O’Donoghue also prominent, while Ciarán O’Sullivan was the stand-out midfielder and kicked two points, with George Durrant collecting the world of breaks.
As a consequence Nemo’s four main forwards were restricted to two points from play between them, while David Lordan’s goal were never threatened. Still, despite a 2-4 to 0-4 advantage at the break Ballincollig’s wastefulness on the restart kept the city side in it.
And when the gap was down to four, the experience of Pa Kelly and John Miskella was essential, as well as a vital Cian Kiely point, which settled them.
It had been an agonising 15 years since Ballincollig lost their only previous semi-final appearance to an Eamonn Fitzmaurice- and Paul Galvin-inspired UCC, with four quarter-final defeats in five years from 2006 to 2010, before a disappointing three-year run of losses in the fourth round.
All that baggage was put to one side in a rain-sodden Páirc, but the biggest test is yet to come, against Carbery Rangers on Sunday, October 19 at 3.45pm.
Scorers for Ballincollig: C Dorgan 1-3 (0-2 f), J Kelly 1-0, C O’Sullivan 0-2, P Kelly 0-2, (0-1 f), I Coughlan (f), C Kiely, S Kiely 0-1 each.
Nemo Rangers: J Masters 0-4 (0-3 f), J Horgan, B O’Driscoll, W Morgan, A O’Reilly, P Kerrigan (f) 0-1 each.
BALLINCOLLIG: D Lordan (c); L Prendergast, L Jennings, N Galvin; JP Murphy, S O’Donoghue, C Kiely; S Kiely, C O’Sullivan; G Durrant, P Kelly, N Allen; J Kelly, C Dorgan, J Miskella.
Subs: I Coughlan for J Kelly (43), A Donovan for Allen (48), D Kerstein for Murphy (59 inj).
NEMO RANGERS: M A Martin; S McKeown, K Fulignati, D O’Donovan; C O’Brien, A Cronin, A O’Donovan; P Kerrigan (c), P Morgan; J Horgan, W Morgan, D Mehigan; J Masters, L Connolly, B O’Driscoll.
Subs: C O’Shea for D O’Donovan (12), A O’Reilly for O’Brien (33), D Niblock for P Morgan (36), C Horgan for W Morgan (40), O’Brien for O’Reilly (black card 52).
Ballincollig 2-10 Nemo Rangers 0-9
BALLINCOLLIG carved out their own slice of history by reaching a first county senior football championship final after surviving treacherous conditions at Páirc Uà Chaoimh.
Two early goals by Cian Dorgan and John Kelly, his third in championship against Nemo, gave Ballincollig a platform to succeed and had them 2-2 to 0-1 up, much to the delight of a sizeable and vocal support. It was a hectic weekend for Kelly, who got married the Friday before.
Perhaps even more important was the thunderous display of Cork player Noel Galvin with Liam Jennings and Steve O’Donoghue also prominent, while Ciarán O’Sullivan was the stand-out midfielder and kicked two points, with George Durrant collecting the world of breaks.
As a consequence Nemo’s four main forwards were restricted to two points from play between them, while David Lordan’s goal were never threatened. Still, despite a 2-4 to 0-4 advantage at the break Ballincollig’s wastefulness on the restart kept the city side in it.
And when the gap was down to four, the experience of Pa Kelly and John Miskella was essential, as well as a vital Cian Kiely point, which settled them.
It had been an agonising 15 years since Ballincollig lost their only previous semi-final appearance to an Eamonn Fitzmaurice- and Paul Galvin-inspired UCC, with four quarter-final defeats in five years from 2006 to 2010, before a disappointing three-year run of losses in the fourth round.
All that baggage was put to one side in a rain-sodden Páirc, but the biggest test is yet to come, against Carbery Rangers on Sunday, October 19 at 3.45pm.
Scorers for Ballincollig: C Dorgan 1-3 (0-2 f), J Kelly 1-0, C O’Sullivan 0-2, P Kelly 0-2, (0-1 f), I Coughlan (f), C Kiely, S Kiely 0-1 each.
Nemo Rangers: J Masters 0-4 (0-3 f), J Horgan, B O’Driscoll, W Morgan, A O’Reilly, P Kerrigan (f) 0-1 each.
BALLINCOLLIG: D Lordan (c); L Prendergast, L Jennings, N Galvin; JP Murphy, S O’Donoghue, C Kiely; S Kiely, C O’Sullivan; G Durrant, P Kelly, N Allen; J Kelly, C Dorgan, J Miskella.
Subs: I Coughlan for J Kelly (43), A Donovan for Allen (48), D Kerstein for Murphy (59 inj).
NEMO RANGERS: M A Martin; S McKeown, K Fulignati, D O’Donovan; C O’Brien, A Cronin, A O’Donovan; P Kerrigan (c), P Morgan; J Horgan, W Morgan, D Mehigan; J Masters, L Connolly, B O’Driscoll.
Subs: C O’Shea for D O’Donovan (12), A O’Reilly for O’Brien (33), D Niblock for P Morgan (36), C Horgan for W Morgan (40), O’Brien for O’Reilly (black card 52).