O'Dwyer displeased with Nemo second-half showing despite comfortable win
Nemo manager Robbie O'Dwyer on the sideline during the McCarthy Insurance senior football championship game between Nemo Rangers and Douglas at Pairc Ui Rinn. Pic: David Creedon
Robbie O’Dwyer complained of Nemo Rangers’ wasteful second-half performance, but Paudie Kissane will have far more ammunition for the next Douglas video analysis session.
The 2024 runners-up had the game won by half-time, when insulated by a 1-11 to 0-2 lead. They were held scoreless for 20 minutes, but the outcome was never in doubt, and they kicked on after Douglas were reduced to 14 men.
“A comfortable enough win in the end, but we are very disappointed with our second-half performance. That's not us,” said O’Dwyer.
“We spoke to them at half-time, we wanted to push on, and it was very disappointing in the second half.
“We got lethargic, we were giving the ball away, bad options, and that's something to work on, so I suppose that's a good thing maybe.”
The real downside of the result was four Nemo men limping off the field, although Kevin Fulignati and Bríain Murphy were just cramps.
O’Dwyer also hopes that Ronan Dalton’s hamstring is not torn, but rather a precautionary withdrawal. More worrying was Barry Cripps’ back, which seized up in the first half.
Meanwhile, Ross Corkery is ruled out for the season after undergoing knee surgery.
Nemo’s eight-point triumph marks a major step towards the knock-out stages, while Douglas will have to battle Ballincollig in the final round.
The losers paid a heavy price for some mindless errors and wayward kicking, whether aiming for the posts or a teammate. Nemo were ruthless in the first half, converting 1-11 from 13 shots against their neighbours’ 0-2 from eight attempts.
Conor Horgan finished with 1-2. Mark Cronin added six points.
Shane Kingston was a notable addition to the Douglas team and a rare bright spark. He ended with 0-5, kicked off of right and left. Between himself and substitute Seán Coakley, who landed 1-2, they accounted for all of their scores.
Both sides ended with 14 men as they lost their No. 8s to second yellow cards. David Buckley was sent marching in the 47th minute, and Alan O’Donovan at the end of stoppage time.
Nemo’s opening two-pointer originated from an off-the-ball foul. Rather than take a long-range punt, Cronin played it short and, three passes later, the hotshot had the ball back in his hands right on the arc. Up went the orange flag.
Cronin punished the first of a spate of careless Douglas passes with a driving run to tee up Horgan.
Kingston opened the Douglas account in eye-catching fashion, beating two men with his footwork and pace to convert from a tricky angle. But Nemo would take them for 1-4 without reply between the 19th and 24th minutes.
Nathan Walsh spoiled a turnover by picking the ball off the ground just outside the arc. Again, Cronin applied the two-point penalty.
Another misplaced pass led to Dalton’s opener. Then, after Conor Russell’s blast on goal was beaten away by Micheál Aodh Martin, Nemo countered with a long kick pass for Bryan Hayes’ point.
The goal originated from a Douglas free-kick passed straight to a Nemo player. After much probing, Horgan carved the defence apart by following a precise kick pass to take the return ball from Dalton and drill low to the net.
After a Kingston response, Nemo replicated the same move twice more before the break. The first resulted in a Dalton two-pointer. The second could’ve yielded a Murphy goal, only for the return pass to miss its target.
They also sliced through the middle for Kevin O’Donovan and Kieran Histon points to provide a 12-point cushion at half-time.
Mark Hill came up with two early blockdowns to protect that lead. Kingston picked up the crumbs for his and Douglas’s third point.
Needing a lifeline, they pressed up on the kick-out. Luis Dwan-Fogarty won the ball and sent it back in for substitute Coakley to turn his marker and lob Martin; 1-11 to 1-3.
The sides traded further goal chances, with Andrew Cotter saving from Horgan and Jack Cunningham fluffing his lines from point-blank range.
A Coakley free cut the deficit to seven as Nemo’s scoreless streak extended to 20 minutes.
Then, Buckley picked up his second yellow for a foul on Cronin to reduce Douglas to 14 men. Cronin tapped over, and they made it four in a row with Horgan, Cronin, and Kevin O’Donovan points.
Douglas finished with three consolation scores; two from Kingston and one by Coakley.
M Cronin (0-6, 1tp, 1tpf, 1 free); C Horgan (1-2); R Dalton (0-3, 1tp); K O’Donovan (0-2); K Histon, B Hayes (0-1 each).
S Coakley (1-2, 0-1 free); S Kingston (0-5, 1 free).
MA Martin; M Hill, C Molloy, K Histon; C McCartan, S Cronin, K Fulignati; A O’Donovan, B Murphy; B Cripps, M Cronin, K O’Donovan; B Hayes, R Dalton, C Horgan.
C Kiely for Cripps (22 inj), L Horgan for Dalton (35, inj), C Moore for Fulignati (58, inj).
A Cotter; N Walsh, N Lynch, J O’Callaghan-Maher; S Aherne, J Burke, C Kingston; D Buckley, K Shanahan; P Lucey, L Dwan-Fogarty, A Cantwell; S Powter, C Russell, S Kingston.
S Coakley for C Kingston (30-f-t, temp), B Powter for Lucey (h-t), J Cunningham for Russell (40), D Ward for O’Callaghan-Maher (54), S O’Leary for Cantwell (60+4).
C Murphy (Glanworth).
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