LAST UPDATE | 1 Nov 2022
FOR A TEAM who had collected four titles in the previous seven seasons – and three of those since 2017 – Nemo Rangers didn’t enjoy a lowly status entering Sunday’s Cork senior football decider.
And yet the challenge presented before them was painted as a considerable one.
Taking on the reigning county and Munster champions in St Finbarr’s – a team who took eventual All-Ireland winners Kilcoo to extra-time.
Chasing the silverware was one thing but gaining recognition added another layer of motivation.
“I suppose we felt this group has never really got any recognition, which is fine,” says Nemo Rangers goalkeeper Micheál Aodh Martin.
“We’d have great belief in this group. I know the names mightn’t roll off the tongue like Joe Kavanagh’s era’s team or the four-in-a-row team, but I’d like to think our collective record over the last six or seven years has been very good.
“I understood why the Barrs were favourites, but Jesus everyone I spoke to for the last four weeks, it was starting to get annoying just in terms of the sheer amount of people I met and the first sentence out of everyone’s mouths was, ‘Jeez, they are very good, ye are up against it.’
“As the weeks went on, I kinda started saying there was a performance in us. We used that as our benchmark. We knew there was a performance in us. We did it or 30 minutes in Clon against the ‘Haven, and if we could bring that, I did see us winning the game.”
Was that talk elevating their opponents inside or outside the club?
“Honestly, 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 I don’t think they can 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 lack of respect for this group and we were anxious to prove that wrong.
“And this is no disrespect to the Barrs, they are an absolutely brilliant team. I’d be great friends with Ian Maguire and Steven Sherlock. I know how good they are. We have huge respect for them.
“But this idea that we were these write-offs coming into this game, we just never bought into it. We had a fantastic record the last 10 years. I couldn’t square the writing off piece the last four weeks that built up.”
The county stars in the Nemo squad may command the focus but their lesser lights are integral to their setup.
“It mightn’t be the big names, but as a collective, and even if you look at our bench, there are probably a few names you wouldn’t know on the bench,” said Martin.
“But our premier intermediate team in a stacked group went out on score difference having beaten Cill na Martra. So we have huge faith in the panel, numbers 15-23.
“It is all well and good fellas playing with Cork. But we have always felt that the lads who are just below that inter-county level, that we have an array of those guys that maybe people aren’t aware of and we’d have massive faith in them.
“Conor Horgan, that’s his second on the bounce. Barry Cripps, he had a brilliant county final for us on Mark Collins last year. It’s not his first rodeo either.”
Clonmel Commercials now beckon in the Munster championship on Saturday week, 12 November.
“Familiar opponent. I’d have a better record against Kerry teams. Clonmel beat us in 2015. I lost a Munster final against Tipperary. I lost a Munster U21 final against Tipperary. I am familiar with so many of these Clonmel guys. And we have come out on the wrong side of it.
“You look at our club’s record in Munster. The focus is going to shift very quickly here. We’ll enjoy this for two days. Our hurlers are back out training on Tuesday ahead of their game on Saturday. They are trying to win a junior county. And so we’ll just roll on.”
