Carbery Rangers Dominate O’Donovan Rossa to Kickstart SAFC Campaign

Carbery Rangers didn’t just get their McCarthy Insurance Group SAFC campaign up and running at the Black Field. They tore the rust off and flung it aside.

Four years waiting for a group-stage win at this grade ended with an emphatic dismantling of O’Donovan Rossa on Saturday night, a west Cork derby that began as a contest of nerves and ended as a statement.

Both sides arrived in Union Hall under pressure after opening-round defeats. For the first quarter, that tension showed. Then Ross found their rhythm – and Skibb were left chasing shadows.

Eleven unanswered, into the wind

If there was a turning point, it came early and it came hard.

Skibb had actually settled first. By the 11th minute, Dylan Hourihane Snr had clipped over a two-point score to edge them 0-3 to 0-2 in front. They had something to cling to.

It didn’t last.

Almost immediately, John Hodnett and Peadar O’Rourke sliced them open, working the ball to Dylan O’Neill. Derek Tobin got something on the shot, but not enough; the ball still squirmed over the line before Seán Fitzgerald could intervene. Ross, suddenly, were in front.

Skibb hit back with the kind of move that suggested this might turn into a classic. Colm O’Driscoll and Niall Daly linked, Hourihane Snr dropped a dangerous ball towards David Shannon, and when the full-forward broke it, Dylan Hourihane Jnr pounced to rifle to the net.

That made it 1-3 to 1-2 for O’Donovan Rossa with 13 minutes gone. It was also the last time they would score in the first half.

From there, Ross took complete control.

Playing into the breeze, they rattled off 11 unanswered points before the break. O’Rourke orchestrated it from deep in the half-back line, picking passes and changing angles while Skibb retreated in numbers but never really got set. Inside, O’Neill and Darragh Hayes feasted on the quality of ball.

Peadar O’Rourke, excellent throughout, might have had a goal himself during that purple patch, but the miss barely registered. The scoreboard kept ticking. By half-time, Ross led 1-13 to 1-3, ten clear and cruising.

O’Neill and Hayes lead the charge

Ross’s attacking figures told the story of their dominance.

O’Neill finished with 1-6, all from play, a constant menace who mixed sharp movement with clinical finishing. Hayes added 0-5, only one of those from a placed ball, and still found time to turn provider, setting up scores as Ross stretched Skibb from side to side.

Behind them, the platform was rock solid. John O’Rourke’s deep-lying playmaking set the tone, Brian Hodnett drove hard from the other wing, and Mark Hodnett offered himself as a clever link at centre-forward, chipping in with 0-4, including a two-point score and a free.

This wasn’t a smash-and-grab. It was methodical, ruthless football.

No way back for O’Donovan Rossa

Any hope of a Skibb revival after the break was quickly snuffed out.

Within moments of the restart, O’Neill had pushed the gap out to 11 again, finishing neatly after another smart pass from the tireless Patrick Hurley. O’Donovan Rossa were staring at a 23-minute scoreless spell by then, a drought finally broken when Hourihane Snr landed two frees.

Even then, Ross never allowed the game to become chaotic. Their defence, well-organised and aggressive, denied Skibb the kind of goal chance that might have sparked life into the contest. Points were all that was on offer, and they were never going to be enough.

When Hayes teed up a two-point score for Mark Hodnett and then knocked over his own fifth of the evening, the lead ballooned to 12 as the game approached the three-quarter mark. The result, in truth, was sealed.

Ross might have had more.

Late on, another dipping effort from Mark Hodnett forced Tobin into a sharp save, the goalkeeper clawing the ball away to prevent a second goal. At the other end, Skibb finally found a late flourish, Hourihane Snr capping his 1-5 haul with a goal from a free as the clock wound down.

That strike trimmed the margin and could yet have a say in scoring difference when the group table is totted up next month. Ross, though, will not dwell on that. Not after this.

Mood shift for the run-in

For Carbery Rangers, this was about more than two points. It was about shaking off the weight of recent group-stage disappointments and reminding themselves what they can look like when their key men hit form.

They now roll into a pivotal clash with Newmarket with confidence restored and their attacking unit humming.

For O’Donovan Rossa, the picture is stark. A second successive relegation play-off looms if they can’t find a response against Cill na Martra. The late goal in Union Hall offered a flicker. The question now is whether they can turn that into a lifeline.

Scorers

Carbery Rangers: D O’Neill 1-6; D Hayes 0-5 (0-1f); M Hodnett 0-4 (1 2pt, 0-1f); J O’Rourke 0-3; P Hurley 0-2; S Lenihan 0-1.

O’Donovan Rossa: Dylan Hourihane Snr 1-5 (1-3f, 1 2pt); Dylan Hourihane Jnr 1-1; E Connolly, S Fitzgerald, L O’Sullivan 0-1 each.

Carbery Rangers:

P Shanahan; P Óg Hill, J Kevane, C Daly; J O’Rourke, S Lenihan, B Hodnett; K Scannell, B Kerr; O Hurley, M Hodnett, J Hodnett; P O’Rourke, D Hayes, D O’Neill. Subs: J O’Riordan for B Hodnett (50), J O’Regan for Hayes (52).

O’Donovan Rossa:

D Tobin; K Hurley, S Fitzgerald, C Coombes; J Goulding, C O’Driscoll, A Daly; L Harte, F Hurley; Dylan Hourihane Jnr, N Daly, Dylan Hourihane Snr; E Connolly, D Shannon, L O’Sullivan. Subs: L Connolly for A Daly, T Hegarty for Dylan Hourihane Jnr (both half-time), O Lucey for L Connolly (43, injured).

Referee: C Dineen (Douglas).