O'Dempsey's delight as they put neighbours Emo to the sword

This local derby between O'Dempsey's and Emo was seen as a potential humdinger after both sides fell narrowly to Courtwood and Graiguecullen in round one. However, that was not how it played out, as O'Dempsey's completely dominated their neighbours in a very one-sided affair.

The likes of Johnny Kelly, Tom Kelly, Fionn Holland and Barry Howlin were all excellent, but it was full-forward Eoin Finlay who proved to be the big difference on the night. Emo had no answer to Finlay's presence up top, as O'Dempsey's amassed a total of 5-13 to recover from their previous round's shortcomings.

O'Dempsey's came out of the blocks in this Round Two match like a team possessed. It started with Joe Lennon cutting through Emo far too easily to register the game's first point before the Killenard outfit struck for the first goal of this clash. Again, Joe Lennon was involved, as he cut in and set up Barry Howlin inside. The O'Dempsey's midfielder had acres of space as Emo were split wide open again, and Howlin hit home into the bottom-left corner.

The ambush didn't stop there, though. Jim Holland was next up to raise a white flag for O'Dempsey's before they struck for a second goal inside the opening five minutes.

O'Dempsey's corner-forward Ben Coen boldly decided to take on two Emo defenders and his ambition paid off. While the Emo defence did manage to knock the ball out of the forward's hands as he was about to pull the trigger, Coen had the composure to slot it past Stephen Norton on the ground.

Two minutes later, O'Dempsey's were a further two clear after full-forward Eoin Finay fired over a two-point free. After just seven minutes of play, O'Dempsey's had amassed 2-4 with Emo left a bit shell-shocked. It took thirteen minutes, but Emo eventually did register a score to get them up and running. Ross Meredith kicked over a point, but that was quickly met by another Eoin Finlay two-point free for O'Dempsey's.

O'Dempsey's could have had a third goal, but Tom Kelly's low shot just trickled wide. Pa Hosey came alive for Emo for a few minutes to give their supporters a bit of hope with two points in quick succession, but it was O'Dempsey's who finished the half on top. Fionn Holland grabbed his first point before Eoin Finlay tacked on two more to his name. The first was a fisted point and the second a free as the big O'Dempsey's full-forward was making his presence felt in the Emo backline.

The half-time score read 2-9 to 0-3 in favour of O'Dempsey's after a one-sided half of football. Emo required a seismic second half if they were to turn this local derby around and avoid dropping to the SFC 'B' championship.

To be fair to the Emo men, they did rally at the start of the second half. Ross Meredith opened the second-half scoring with a point before their inter-county man, Padraig Kirwan, picked off another.

Then came perhaps a crucial couple of moments in the game. Ross Meredith was brought down on the line by O'Dempsey's for a penalty. However, Meredith's resulting spot-kick was excellently saved by O'Dempsey's keeper Padraig Bannon.

You felt that Emo had missed their crucial chance to work their way back into the game, and that was how it turned out. They would only manage a single point for the remainder of the twenty minutes of this one as O'Dempsey's cruised to the finish.

Eoin Finlay fired over their first point from a free before the full-forward played an important role in his side's third goal from the next play. Finlay intercepted Emo's kickout and substitute Ultan Dunne drove the ball to the back of the net for O'Dempsey's third goal to end this contest.

O'Dempsey's enjoyed the freedom of O'Moore Park for the next fifteen minutes. Tom Kelly, who had a brilliant game at wing-back, popped up with a score. While Ross Meredith met that with Emo's final point, O'Dempsey's Fionn Holland fired in their fourth goal with Finlay again playing a key role in the build-up. Joe Lennon then drilled home O'Dempsey's final fifth goal before points from Fionn Holland and Jack Lennon supplied the finishing touches to an excellent day at the office for the Killenard men.

They will now go in as big favourites against Arles-Killeen after this performance in Round Three. For Emo, they will be in a dogfight to keep their Senior status for 2026 as they enter the Senior 'B' competition next.

FINAL SCORE

O’Dempsey’s 5-13

Emo 0-6

SCORERS- O’Dempseys: Eoin Finlay 0-7 (0-6 frees), Fionn Holland 1-2, Joe Lennon 1-1, Barry Howlin, Ben Coen and Ultan Dunne 1-0 each, Jim Holland, Joe Finn and Tom Kelly 0-1 each. Emo: Ross Meredith 0-3 (0-1 free), Pa Hosey 0-2, Padraig Kirwan 0-1.

O’DEMPSEY’S: Padraig Bannon; Callum Ryan, Adam O'Leary, Johnny Kelly; Tom Kelly, Tommy Kehoe, Joe Lennon; Barry Howlin, Fionn Holland; Jim Holland, Jack Lennon, Daithi Howlin; Ben Coen, Eoin Finlay, Barry Kelly. Subs: Ultan Dunne for B Kelly (HT), Brian Nugent for D Howlin (36 mins, inj), Joe Finn for Finlay (51 mins), Sam Molloy for Coen (53 mins).

EMO: Stephen Norton; Tom Fennelly, Ruari Bourke, Brian Gorman; Shane Murphy, Cian Langford, Padraig Kirwan; Niall Gorman, Darren Strong; Sean Greene, Charlie Hand, Eoin Montague; Pa Hosey, Nigel Murphy, Ross Meredith.

Referee: Des Cooney (St Joseph’s)