Sweet revenge as merciless Cobh maul St Nick's by 26 points to book Premier JFC decider

TIGHT SQUEEZE: Cobh's Eoin Cullinmore is tackled by St. Nicks' Lee Quilligan and Zach Lynch during the McCarthy Insurance Group Cork Premier JFC semi-final at Carrigtwohill. Picture: Eddie O'Hare

Cork Premier JFC semi final: Cobh 3-21 St Nick's 0-6 

Twelve months on from a devastating loss to St Nick’s at this very stage, it was sweet revenge for Cobh in Carrigtwohill on Saturday as they mauled their northside opponents by 26 points to book a Cork Premier JFC final.

Cobh retired at the short whistle seven points clear and never looked back, with goals from Eoin Cullimore, Evan Cummins and substitute Diarmuid Kearney setting them on their way to a dominant victory.

Cobh will take on Canovee in the decider following their emphatic win over Inniscarra on Friday night. If Cobh are as clinical as they were in this tie, they will be a hard team to overcome.

Rhys Dunne opened the St Nick's account after three minutes in Carrigtwohill, punting over from close. A slalom from Cobh midfielder Mark O’Rourke two minutes later concluded in a finessed score to make it one-a-piece in the opening five.

It was a frustrating opening quarter for Nicks who had the lion’s share of possession but couldn’t break down the Cobh defence. Lee Quilligan found himself in acres of space in the 12th minute but poor handling let him down and his eventual effort was closed down by Ben Geary.

It was to be a theme for the night ahead.

A towering Timmy Wilk two-pointer was the catalyst for a Cobh rally that yielded seven points before the half’s end. A sloppy Nick's turnover in the Cobh half after 19 minutes ended in a point for Evan Cummins.

Conor McCarthy used pace and power to beat his man on the endline and fist over to reel in Cobh, if only momentarily.

Cobh’s Conor McLoughlin swung a fine score over off his right before an Eoin Hastings two pointer from the left put some daylight between the sides in the 27 minute (0-8 to 0-3 to Cobh).

Eoin’s brother Adam added the ninth and all of a sudden it was one way traffic in Carrigtwohill. Adam Doran soon put Cobh into double digits then Adam Lynch popped one over as referee Peter O’Leary had the whistle in his mouth, extending the advantage to 11 points.

By the 40th minute mark this contest looked like it was only going one way and that was the way of the green and gold.

Then came the twist of the knife. A floated Eoin Cullimore effort off his left dropped short but, seemingly distracted by the presence of full forward Evan Cummins, Nicks keeper Ross Cronin missed the ball completely, watching it bounce into his own net (1-12 to 0-4 to Cobh).

Evan Cummins raced through with pace and smashed the ball high into the Nicks net to make matters worse for the Northsiders. By this juncture almost everything Cobh attempted flew over, evidenced by Adam Lynch’s hit and hope two-point effort that flew over like an arrow.

A Zach Lynch two-pointer in the 51st minute was all Nick's had to show for a dismal second half display. Three consecutive Cullimore frees later and a Diarmuid Kearney goal later, the gap was 24. Mark O’Rourke - with perhaps the score of the game from a tight angle - and sub Conor Farrell added the cherries.

Scorers for Cobh: E Cullimore 1-5, E Cummins 1-2, D Kearney 1-1, A Lynch 0-3 (1tp), M O’Rourke 0-2, E Hastings and T Wilk 0-2 (1tp each), C McLoughlin, A Hastings, A Doran and C Farrell 0-1 each 

Scorers for St Nick's: Z Lynch 0-3 (1tp), J O’Sullivan 0-1 (1f), C McCarthy and R Dunne 0-1 each.

COBH: E Walsh; A McCarthy, B Geary, J McCarthy; T Wilk, G Keating, S Cummins (capt); M O’Rourke, C McLoughlin; A Hastings, E Hastings; A Lynch, E Cummins, A Doran.

Subs: D Kearney for E Hastings (42), C Farrell for A Doran (55), C Morrissey for A Hastings (57), L Greaney for E Cullimore (59), R McCormick for A McCarthy (60).

ST NICK'S: R Cronin; D Dunlea, O O’Connell, C Horgan; F O’Driscoll, E Varian (captain), Z Lynch; R Downey, E Downey; R Dunne, J Morrissey, L Quilligan; J O’Sullivan, D Morris, C McCarthy.

Subs: D Brosnan for J Morriseey (40), S Kennefick for D Morris (44), S Horgan for R Dunne (50), K Kelleher for C McCarthy (56), B Heffernan for E Downey (57).

Referee: Peter O’Leary (Inch Rovers).