‘We have been playing better than two years ago and even last year’

THE positive approach adopted by the younger members of the Nemo Rangers team was a key factor in their All-Ireland success in Croke Park on Monday, according to former star Denis Allen.

The manager when the Cork club won the last of their AIB All-Ireland titles back in 1994, and a selector with Billy Morgan this time, he said the team hadn't been worried by the fear of failure for the third consecutive year.

"There was definitely a stigma there that Nemo are a great club and were in danger of losing three finals in a row. But, I would say concern was there more so with us, as older fellows, than with the young fellows.

"When you are young it doesn't affect you when you lose matches. It's only when you get older you see the bigger picture," he said.

"It's easy to say so now, but it didn't have an effect. They were just mad for road, to do it again. But certainly for the older fellows including ourselves but excluding Billy I must add it kind of affected us.

"It was there at the back of our heads. Maybe Billy had it as well, but he had it buried so much!"

Allen was a member of the Nemo team which won the club's first Cork county championship in 1972 against a UCC team which included future rugby international Moss Keane.

The following Spring they captured the first of their All-Ireland titles, beating St Vincents in a replay in Thurles.

Morgan was goalkeeper and captain and later in the year he was to lead Cork to the county's first All-Ireland victory in 28 years.

Allen missed out on both triumphs. At the time he was starring with Cork Hibernians soccer team, with whom he won an FAI Cup medal. One way or another, he has been associated with all of the club's successes since then.

"It's a bit of a mystery in one way. Sometimes, when you look back, you'd say, 'did we do all that?' It just drifted from one year into another. You'd get a small bit of success and then another bit.

"Now Billy is talking about getting a record for four county championships in a row. Five minutes after the final whistle he was saying that to the players in the dressingroom.

"That's what you are dealing with in Billy. He is the main person. Whether you are playing or a selector, he is at the centre of everything. The whole thing is focused around him."

"He has no doubt Monday's win compares with the best of their successes over the last three decades. "It's definitely up there, with the others," he said.

"Before the match (former star) Sean Hayes and myself were saying that it's not the same when you don't play. You just don't get the same satisfaction.

"But, try and tell me that when the final whistle blew It was up there for me compared to my playing years, especially nearing the final whistle."

In respect of the tough challenge from Crossmolina and the way Nemo fought their way back, inspired by Colin Corkery's magnificent lead point, Allen agreed it was completely different from the 1994 win over Castlebar Mitchels.

"We won that final well, we kind of sauntered away in the second half. It was a nice satisfactory feeling, but largely unemotional. I remember walking off the pitch with Shea Fahy and Steven O'Brien.

"We just shook hands and walked off, nicely satisfied with ourselves. There was nothing euphoric or emotional about our victory.

"We had to fight so hard to get scores against Crossmolina. I'm sure that even for the neutrals it was a ding-dong affair."

The way different players influenced the outcome, was in sharp contrast to Nemo's impressive win over Errigal Ciaran in the semi-final.

That day Steven O'Brien played a major role, using his craft and experience to fulfil the role of play-maker to perfection.

But, in the wide surroundings of Croke Park and without much of a service, he found it next to impossible to make an impact against a very focused Damien Mulligan.

Nevertheless, Allen believes he still managed to play an important part in the third quarter when Nemo began their comeback in earnest.

"I thought he had a very good 20 minutes before we took him off. And we did it at that stage to bring in fresh legs. In fairness, Steven had done a real workmanlike job for that period after half-time. He's a born leader anyway."

In a different respect, Allen wasn't surprised by their success, believing they were better equipped to go all the way this time.

"A lot of the players were around 21 two years ago. This is a stronger team and we have been playing better than we were two years ago and even last year.

"You could see the difference in the forward line, where the scores now are more divided. There was more danger coming from different places. Maybe last year and the year before Colin was getting 80-90% of them."