Fermoy down Aban

side gave a very good account of themselves however for most of the 60 minutes found themselves on the back foot.

Fermoy rocked their opponents early on with a quick goal and three inside six minutes and added to the pain in the next 20 racing into a 2-6 to 0-3 point’s advantage. Padraig De Róiste and Ronan O’Callaghan netted for the victors as Naomh Aban looked like they could be on the end of a heavy defeat.

Credit to the Gaeltacht men, they responded over the last 5 minutes of the first half with four good points to cut the gap to a more manageable five points 2-6 to 0-7.

The second half saw the sides trading scores for the first 15 minutes however Naomh Aban were the more clinical in this period, reeling in the north Cork side to just three points.

The game’s defining moment came soon after, however, with Martin Brennan’s third goal. The strike seemed to knock the stuffing out of the boys in blue as Fermoy cruised in for the win with another brace of points from Brennan as well as scores from De Roiste.

There was a little argy bargy at the death, which saw Brennan receive a red however not even that could take the gloss off what has to be considered a giant leap forward for this impressive Fermoy outfit.

Naomh Aban managed a consolation goal near the finish but it was never likely to do anything more than flatter their scoring column as Fermoy deservedly advance.

With the likes of De Roiste and Tomas Clancy in their ranks Fermoy must be considered genuine contenders for this title however with the winners of the Éire Óg and Bantry Blues fixture next on their horizon there are still some difficult challenges ahead.

For the vanquished side, the Premier grade seems at this point to be a level that constantly produces insurmountable stumbling blocks and while they are not the only ones to suffer at the hands of sides that they would feel they should beat, all at the Gaeltacht side will need to spend a long winter reflecting on another season that could have produced so much more.