White’s Cross won their quarter final clash with Brian Dillons on a score of 0-12 to 0-08. This paved the way for a repeat of last years final pairing, and another joust with Nemo Rangers. However the Nemo side of 2009 was a different beast from that of 2008. With former Cork star Joe Kavanagh taking the role of captain, it seemed that some of their fromer senior greats including John Paul O Neill and David Niblock, decided to ply their trade at Junior grade.
Indeed when Nemo’s Shane Horgan kicked his fourth free in the 56th minute to tie the game at nine points a-piece, it looked as though the reigning champions were about to be undone by our own failings in front of goal. Fourteen wides in total, many of them from good scoring positions, meant that White’s Cross had failed to kill off their opponents. Up stepped midfielder Denis O’Regan however and his point in the 58th minute was the difference between the teams at the final whistle.
According to independent news reporters commenting on the game White’s Cross were the better team through-out. Eoin Murnane led by example from centre-back and brought the ball forward at every opportunity. Murt Kelleher had a superb sixty minutes also and his surging runs from midfield caused the Nemo defence huge problems. Up front Edwin Buckley was a constant threat in the inside forward line.
Nemo for their part lacked the firepower upfront to really trouble their opponents. They could only manage three points from play over the course of the game, two of them from the boot of veteran Kavanagh.
White’s Cross started the better and Edwin Buckley was unlucky to see his shot come back from the crossbar in the second minute. We had another goal opportunity in the 20thminute. This time the chance fell to Donnacha Murnane, but his shot was saved by McNally in the Nemo goal. The follow up from Stuart Kiely was somehow blocked by Leonard McCarthy and Nemo survived.
A good run and score from Edwin Buckley had Cross three clear with fifteen minutes remaining, but three Nemo frees had them back on level terms by the 56th minute. O’Regan’s winner was enough to take Whites Cross to the 2009 final.