'Lack of respect' drove Nemo Rangers on, says Micheál Aodh Martin

'This is no disrespect to the Barrs because they are an absolutely brilliant team, but we felt this Nemo group has never really got any recognition'

Tue, 01 Nov, 2022 - 07:00

Eoghan Cormican

There was no vexation in Micheál Aodh Martin’s tone. There was no anger. A small bit of frustration, yes. Overall, though, the Nemo goalkeeper was measured in what he had to say. In what he wanted to say.

The first question put to Martin in the long tunnel underneath Páirc Uí Chaoimh’s South Stand was did he see this Nemo performance coming, a performance of such intensity and aggression that reigning champions St Finbarr’s were held to one point - a Steven Sherlock free - in the closing 24 minutes of the first half.

A firm yes, comes the reply.

Second question: What fed his belief that such a performance was coming?

Cue chest-clearing exercise.

“This is no disrespect to the Barrs because they are an absolutely brilliant team, but we felt this Nemo group has never really got any recognition, which is fine,” said Martin, even though his tone suggested it wasn’t altogether fine.

“We’d have great belief in this group. I know the names mightn’t roll off the tongue like the team from Joe Kavanagh’s era or the four-in-a-row team [2005-08], we understand that, but I’d like to think our collective record over the last six or seven years has been very good.”

Their record, for those not in the know, was three counties in the four seasons covering 2017 through to 2020.

Martin was also between the sticks for the 2015 triumph, but that team bears little resemblance to the group that made it four final wins in six years on Sunday gone.

“I understood why the Barrs were favourites. But Jesus, everyone I spoke to for the last four weeks, it was starting to get annoying in terms of the sheer amount of people I met and the first sentence out of everyone’s mouth was, ‘jeez, they are very good, ye are up against it’.

“As I said, massive respect for the Barrs. But as the weeks went on, I kinda started saying to myself, I knew there was a performance in us. We did it for 30 minutes in Clon against Castlehaven in the group stages. We used that as our benchmark. We knew there was a performance in us, and if we could bring that, I did see us winning the game.”

Were these Nemo people Martin was chatting to in the four weeks between the semi-finals and final?

“No. People just talk before a game. It is not an anger thing. It was football people, people I am friends with it. One on top of the other on top of the other. It built up over the four weeks and to be fair to the Barrs team they can’t control that. That’s just the way it is before a game. Talk and narrative build up.

“I would have just felt there was a small little bit of a lack of respect for this group. We were anxious to prove that wrong. We proved we do have good players.

“As I said, it mightn’t be the big names and there are probably a few names you wouldn’t know on the bench. But our premier intermediate team went out on score difference in a stacked group having beaten Cill na Martra. So we have huge faith in the panel, numbers 15-23, and I felt that wasn’t getting the recognition over the last few weeks.”

There’s a lot in that to chew. A lot.

The so-called lack of respect and lack of recognition for this Nemo team, did that come from inside or outside Capwell. Or both?

“You know what, a bit of both,” Martin responded.

“Criticism is fair, and we didn’t play well last year. But it just always felt since there was a changing of the guard five or six years ago that every time this Nemo team lost a game, it was always that we weren’t up to previous teams.

“This year, we had a couple of scratchy wins and, all of a sudden, it’s the same stuff about this not really being a good Nemo team.

“This Barrs team are excellent. We have huge respect for them. But this idea that we were these write-offs coming into this game, we never bought into it. We’d have a fantastic U21 record against them. We’d always have had a fantastic record. We had a fantastic record the last 10 years (the Barrs last beat Nemo in 2012). I couldn’t square the writing-off piece that built up the last four weeks.”

Given all that the goalkeeper has outlined and given the extent to which Paul O’Donovan’s charges believe they were written-off, disrespected, overlooked, phrase it however you want, it almost goes without saying then that their performance and how they completely outworked the 2021 champions was more satisfying than reclaiming Andy Scannell.

“It is, expect for the fact that we have this habit in the last 10 minutes of county finals of panicking. I have five county medals and every single one has been a disaster of a last 10 minutes. I will give it to the Barrs. They died with their boots on.

“The performance was satisfying, particularly in the first half. The turnovers were huge. We are well aware they are a physical team and that would be a strength of theirs. So to turn that on its head for 30, 40 minutes was undoubtedly massive.

“Again, a couple of fellas maybe don’t get the recognition. Briain Murphy is a proper defender. You run into him, you’ll know about it. Kieran Histon too. Ciaran McCartan has added massive physicality.”

Clonmel on Saturday week are next on Nemo’s radar. Martin should find the conversation between now and then a little different to what it was leading into Sunday’s Cork final.