Nemo give Ballina a Masters class

Nemo Rangers 0-14 Ballina 1-4:WELL, SO much for having to wait for years before we saw a Cork team in an All-Ireland final. This return to tradition by Nemo wasn't exactly a one-man show but there were shades of Colin Corkery's heroics in the exemplary form of James Masters at full forward. He may even have been wearing the Big Guy's actual jersey, because it certainly flapped around in the breeze.

Reducing this match to Masters' attacking play hardly does full justice to the performance that the perpetual Cork champions put on yesterday. However, that is the way it must have looked to Ballina supporters as Masters' nonchalant versatility lit up this occasion and tore their team apart.

Playing with the wind in a cagey first half, Masters shot Nemo into a 0-7 to 0-1 half-time lead, nailing two perfect 45s as well as four excellent points from play. When he profited from Ballina's defensive dithering to slide another score over shortly after the break, and then leaped to claim a high ball before setting Paul Kerrigan up with a swift handpass, there was the sense that only the Corkmen could win this game.

It was a team afternoon for Nemo but also one of sweet personal satisfaction for Masters, whose storming All-Ireland championship form last year was all but ruined after he sustained a broken jaw in the quarter-final.

"James has been going through a rough patch since the All-Ireland final," acknowledged manager Ephie Fitzgerald afterwards. "He had that injury and came back possibly a bit too soon. But James is James. He is a fantastic footballer and if you get the right service into him, he is deadly.

"But it wasn't about just one player. We were well up for the game today. We were written off in a lot of quarters, a lot of the newspapers were telling us they were a big physical side and that we had been patchy all year. But that is bullshit. We are good, we are young and it takes time to mould them and to give them the confidence to play like they did today."

Once again, Nemo served notice that they are the nonpareil of the local theatre. On an afternoon when Crossmaglen crashed and St Vincent's reclaimed something of a lost heritage, Nemo were as Nemo always are. They played smart, concise and, in the end, exuberant football and after 10 minutes, they were completely eclipsing the Mayomen throughout the field.

Young Peter Morgan had a memorable afternoon, playing an outstanding match in a heavyweight midfield. Martin Cronin filled the centre-back spot well and behind him, the full-back line did nothing wrong - the match was all but over when Ballina scored a strange goal, directly from a hopeful Enda Devanney free.

But what was most surprising was the ease with which the Corkmen cut Ballina up, Dylan Mehigan, Paul Kerrigan and David Kearney creating space at will as the afternoon wore on.

It was hard to fathom why Ballina were so flat here. After Ger Cafferkey wrenched a hamstring on 10 minutes, they seemed desperately uncertain as to how to handle Masters and stood off the sharp shooter as he demonstrated the full array of his gifts.

Ballina were inexplicably subdued at midfield and got no change against the breeze. Although they probably took comfort in the thought of the second-half heroics that have sustained them in the championship, it was hard to foresee an epic comeback here. Nemo were too bright and businesslike.

Predictably, Ballina dropped David Brady into the full-forward line after the break and he instantly won a free for a quick point but then had to stand idle for 10 minutes before he got to contest another decent ball. Ballina could simply not engineer enough possession to get their running game going and they must have grown disheartened as Nemo seemed to conjure a variety of scores with ease despite playing into that big breeze.

"The challenge was there for them but the boys rose to it," Fitzgerald testified. "We had the legs on Ballina today. We looked fresher and possibly hungrier. Our forwards are very quick and we utilised that today. I am proud of this group. I know people think that we are a huge club but Nemo is a small, tight community."

Despite all the upheaval at national level, Nemo have just maintained the blueprint that has served them since Billy Morgan was playing in goal for them. "The example of the older guys in passing it through to the younger lads is what gives us the winning mentality. This is a new team and so we are delighted to be here," added Fitzgerald.

There will be another Morgan in goal in Croke Park on St Patrick's Day. After a turbulent few months for Cork GAA, something like normal service has been resumed.

NEMO RANGERS: B Morgan; N Geary, D Kavanagh, D Breen; G O'Shea, M Cronin, B O'Regan (0-1); R Kenny, D Mehigan (0-2), A Cronin; D Kearney (0-1), J Masters (0-7, 2 50s), P Kerrigan (0-3). Subs: S O'Brien for R Kenny (half-time), D Niblock for M McCarthy (51 mins), B Twomey for D Kearney (55 mins), B O'Driscoll for A Cronin (55 mins), G Murphy for N Geary (57 mins).

BALLINA STEPHENITES: D Clarke; E Devanney (1-0), G Cafferkey, M Wynne; B Ruane, C Leonard, S Sweeney; R McGarritty, D Brady (0-1); P McGarry, P Harte, E Casey; S Hughes (0-1), G Brady, L Brady (0-2, 1 free). Subs: D O'Mahoney for C Cafferkey (10 mins), C Sweeney for E Casey (41 mins), J Devanney for P McGarry (57 mins), A Kelly for G Brady (58 mins).

Referee: M Deegan (Laois).