Nemo Rangers land Seandun Junior A football title after thriller with Mayfield

ONE DOWN: Nemo Rangers celebrate their win. Pic: Jim Coughlan.

Seandun JAFC final: Nemo Rangers 3-15 Mayfield 2-11

On the eve of their Premier Senior decider against St Finbarr’s, Nemo Rangers' third string claimed some more silverware at the expense of Mayfield in the Seandun Junior A football final in Ballinlough on Saturday.

In a game that had five goals, a Matthew Keenan strike for Nemo after 40 minutes proved the most vital. Nemo sub Ross Corkery was a game changer too, scoring a couple of two pointers in the second half to send his team in the right direction.

In the end it seemed Nemo just had more left in the tank, scoring eight of the last nine scores to take the spoils as Taoiseach Micheál Martin watched on.

It took some time for both teams to find their feet though, but once they did the game hardly let up for 64 minutes.

Full-forward Dara O’Sullivan barrelled past two Mayfield defenders, through on goal, but fired straight at Mayfield keeper early on.

O’Sullivan made sure to find the net in the eighth minute though, rounding Mayfield keeper Eoin Cusack and calmly rolling it into the net for the first score of the contest. Nemo captain Gavin Barrett slipped one over from a free a minute later.

Mayfield half-back Dave O’Neill can hold his head high even in defeat. He was the main man for the Northsiders on the day and had the perfect response to the Nemo opener, smashing one high into the net after Dilan O’Donovan worked hard to win the ball in the corner and set up his teammate (2-1 to 1-0 to Nemo).

Dara O'Sullivan tries to block Mayfield goalkeeper Eoin Cusack. Pic: Jim Coughlan.

Captain Barrett led by example again, contributing another green flag for Nemo after 12 minutes. Mayfield defenders failed to close the half-forward down, leaving him with time and space to pick his spot.

Mayfield’s Nicky Kelly had an effort down the other end that was brilliantly palmed onto the post by Frederic Dietze in the Nemo net.

Mayfield pointed thrice between the 12th and 20th minutes to pull it back to a one-point game - O’Neill again, with Michael John Coffey and Dilan O’Donovan off the mark too - (2-1 to 1-3 to Mayfield).

Dietze made another spectacular save on 22 minutes, coming off his line to block down a goal bound effort from Dean Grainger before Shane O’Donovan popped over.

Jason Lyons had a golden opportunity to extend the Nemo advantage, having the whole goal to aim at after being set up by Gavin Barrett, but the number 15 struck it into the keeper’s midriff.

A couple of points from Aaron Brown and a beautifully finessed effort from Matthew Keenan had Nemo in command again and looking like they would go in ahead at the break. Mayfield plugged away though, O’Neill accurate again from 20 yards out to make it a two-point game.

Then, just before the short whistle, Nicky Kelly was pushed in the back by Nemo’s Ian Nolan, leading to a penalty. Dean Grainger duly slotted home, sending Dietze the wrong way and grabbing the lead just before the interval (2-5 to 2-4 to Mayfield).

Dilan O’Donovan curled one over from a dead ball to get the second half up and running.

Nemo didn’t post a score for the first nine minutes of the half but when they did - thanks to a fine Dara O’Sullivan score - they hit the net almost directly afterward. Matthew Keenan won the ball after closing down a Mayfield clearance and powered one into the opposition net for Nemo’s third and final green flag of the afternoon.

However, after the Keenan goal Mayfield looked to have taken the game by the scruff of the neck, scoring four points - a couple from Joey Gibson plus contributions from Dean Grainger and Dilan O’Donovan - having most of the possession and taking the lead again (3-5 to 2-10 to Mayfield).

Game changer Ross Corkery took matters into his own hands after coming on midway through the second half. The towering forward contributed five points, including two vital two pointers to turn the game on its head.

Nemo never looked back from there, claiming eight of the next nine scores.

Full-forwards Dara O’Sullivan and Jason Lyons did their duty with a couple of points apiece to put some daylight between the teams. They shored up at the back too, only conceding one point in the last 15 minutes, Dilan O’Donovan with his fourth of the game.

To make matters worse for Mayfield, Joey Gibson picked up a second yellow card five minutes from time for a high challenge.

O’Sullivan and Lyons put the cherry on top for Nemo with two points in added time.

Scorers for Nemo: D O’Sullivan 1-3, G Barrett 1-1 (1f), M Keenan 1-1, R Corkery 0-5 (2 TP), A Brown 0-2, J Lyons 0-2 (1f), S Nagle 0-1.

Scorers for Mayfield: D O’Neill 1-2, D Grainger 1-1, D O’Donovan 0-4 (2f), J Gibson 0-2 (1f), S O’Donovan and MJ Coffey 0-1 each.

NEMO: F Dietze; S O’Dwyer, I Nolan, A McGowan; C Kavanagh, J O’Brien, E Diloughrey; D Callanan, M Keenan; B Twohig, G Barrett, P O’Dwyer; D O’Sullivan, A Brown, J Lyons.

Subs: S Nagle for P O’Dwyer (38), A O’Reilly for B Twohig (45), R Corkery for C Kavanagh (45), D Egan for D Callanan (62), D Kelly for A Brown.

MAYFIELD: E Cusack; L Malone, B O’Leary, C Moynihan; D O’Neill, J Courtney, M Coffey; E O’Sullivan, S O’Donovan; N Kelly, J Gibson, E Scanlon; R O’Keefe, D Grainger, D O’Donovan.

Subs: L Foley for C Moynihan (HT), D Malone for E Scanlon (52), C Bond for N Kelly (57), C O’Donovan for D Grainger.

Referee: Cormac Dineen (Douglas).