Nemo Rangers 3-9 (3-0-9) Kinsale 4-14 (4-0-14)
Kinsale ended their Rebel Óg Premier 1 MFC campaign with an emphatic victory over Nemo Rangers in Trabeg on Wednesday evening.
Rory O’Brien stole the show by tallying 2-6, with goals in each half for the forward, but the full-time result wasn’t enough to secure qualification to the next round as Ballincollig overcame Douglas in the other game.
It was still a positive night all round for the Carrigdhoun side, who also had Joey Hogan had Cillian Fitzpatrick hit the back of the net.
Nemo never led, and still managed to make a game of it after the break through quick-fire green flags raised by James Randles and Adam Quinlivan.
That made it 3-9 to 2-8 and Kinsale comfortably saw the game out by playing the same way they had been doing since throw-in, a way of operating that involved aggressive play and finding space.
Their reward was immediate with Hogan putting the ball over the bar inside 90 seconds and O’Brien backed that up with two frees while Nemo had yet to score.
Oisin Jordan opened the home side’s account and O’Brien responded by rifling the back of the net to make the scoreboard read 1-3 to 0-1 in the 15th minute.
Nemo were very much swimming against the tide at this point and it showed at the break as Kinsale held a commanding 1-7 to 0-5 advantage.
Dara O’Sullivan did reduce the arrears by one at the restart and this was followed by O’Brien getting his second goal, this time a close-range finish at the back post in the 38th minute.
The forward turned creator for the third as he saw a free hit the inside of the post and drop down for Fitzpatrick to turn home in the 46th minute.
Cian Power, Nemo Rangers, tackles Gerard Murphy, Kinsale. Picture: Jim Coughlan.
Nemo threw caution to the wind as they faced a 3-8 to 0-8 deficit and with that came two goals that rewrote the script in a matter of seconds.
This started with Randles bursting through unleashing a rising shot that hit the roof of the net.
Quinlivan then tried his luck and managed to beat Sean Byrne, which cut the gap down to four.
Nemo got one more, this time it was Cathal Twohig and the substitute managed to shrink Kinsale’s lead down to just one.
What happened afterwards was simple, the Carrigdhoun side went back to basics. They started doing small things as opposed to covering ground, and by just making space and runs they were able to ease through the time that was left on the clock.
Matthew Keenan and Larry Butler, Nemo Rangers, battle for the high ball with Ben Long, Kinsale.
Fitzpatrick goaled in the 58th minute because of this, by finishing a well-worked move that carved the home side open.
Kinsale did not finish there, even as they led 4-12 to 3-9 in the 59th minute. Conal Kingston went on to bring the curtain down by splitting the posts with the clock in the red.
Scorers for Nemo Rangers: D O’Sullivan 0-5 (0-3 f), J Randles, A Quinlivan, C Twohig 1-0 each, O Jordan 0-3, M Scott 0-1.
Kinsale: R O’Brien 2-6 (0-4 f), J Hogan 1-1, C Fitzpatrick 1-0, G Murphy 0-2, J Kirwan, C Kingston, A Keane, B Long, E O’Connor 0-1 each.
NEMO RANGERS: C McCarthy O’Donovan; D Kelleher, J Randles, R Sheehan; J McLaughlin, C Power, A Quinlivan; D Callanan, M Keenan; L Neenan, D Mellerick, L Butler; Dara O’Sullivan, O Jordan, M Scott.
Subs: F Dietze for McCarthy O’Donovan (HT); E Fitzpatrick for Sheehan (HT), C Twohig for Neenan (HT), C O’Brien for McLaughlin (HT), J Foley for Butler (50).
KINSALE: S Byrne; D Forde, O Ryan, S Loughnane; B Cahill, L Kirwan, C Kingston; A Keane, B Long; J Hogan, C Fitzpatrick, O Buckley; C McCarthy Cleary, R O’Brien, G Murphy.
Subs: C Looney for Fitzpatrick (40); S Hurley for McCarthy Cleary (40), S Loughnane for O’Brien (50), E O’Connor for Cahill (60).
Referee: James Regan (Lough Rovers)