Playing against the stiff breeze in the opening half was always going to pose its own problems and after initially settling well early, Newmarket had to withstand the inevitable pressure from St. Vincents. The city side hit the front with a fourth minute point and with the play pinned into the Newmarket half, two further points followed by the tenth minute.

Newmarket broke forward a minute later and got off the mark thanks to a sweetly struck left footed point by T.J. Bodie.

Newmarket gained the impetus at this stage and competed admirably in the middle sector of the pitch. The outstanding Denys O’Brien burst forward moments later and from deep in the opposition’s half he set an attack in motion which ended with Kevin O’Sullivan keeping his composure before his well placed crossfield kicked pass picked out David O’Flynn and the dynamic half forward, who got married just two days previous to the game, produced a sublime finish to split the posts.

Having withstood the early onslaught, Newmarket played extremely well in the difficult conditions and used their pace and neat flowing passing game to excellent effect. Team captain Barry O’Leary, John Ryan and Denys O’Brien led from the defence as a confident display unfolded. St. Vincent’s ended their thirteen minute spell without a score with a point in the twenty third minute.

The city side were guilty of inaccurate shooting and Newmarket were let off the hook on a few occasions as scores went a begging. As the half entered the final minutes St. Vincent’s increased their advantage to three points but Newmarket crucially kept their opponents within sight.

The half ended in the ascendancy for Newmarket, with the lively and influential John Lane kicking an excellent point and this proved to be the final score of the half as St. Vincent’s went into the break with a 0-5 to 0-3 lead.

Newmarket resumed with the advantage of the stiff breeze and in the third minute they cut the deficit to a single point with John Lane offloading to Tony O’Keeffe to kick a point. Two minutes later and St. Vincent’s added a point but amazingly due in no small way to the exemplary defending by the Newmarket defensive unit this proved to be their only and final score of the half.

Exchanges were tight, close and physical as a gripping encounter unfolded. Every ball was eagerly contested and scores were well earned.

Ten minutes into the half and Newmarket reduced the deficit to a point again as Kevin O’Sullivan let fly from distance from a wing forward position and let the wind carry the ball between the posts.

As the game entered the final quarter, Newmarket who upped the tempo at this stage gained parity for the first and only time of the game as T.J. Bodie pointed a glorious long distance free accurately to tie the sides at 0-6 apiece. Newmarket were not going to be outdone at this stage as their incredible hunger and industry came to the fore with Tony O’Keeffe particularly outstanding.

Newmarket swept forward in waves from defence on every occasion it demanded with considerable and impressive composure. Experienced campaigners Denys O’Brien, Barry O’Leary, Tony O’Keeffe, Mark Reidy and David O’Flynn excelled amongst a supreme team effort while up front, John Lane caused numerous problems for the St. Vincents defence.

With ten minutes remaining, Newmarket hit the front for the first time and after John Lane was upended close in on goal, Nicky Flanagan pointed the resultant free. Newmarket dominated possession at this stage but were also guilty of failing to add to their advantage. Eventually, they increased their lead with five minutes to play with David O’Flynn and T.J. Bodie linking up to place John Lane in on goal and he expertly punched a crucial point. The defence were called upon to keep their composure and discipline as the clock ran down and they did so in resounding fashion to close out a most famous and historic win for the club.

Newmarket previously contested the county intermediate final in 2002 and now following a fifth semi final appearance since 2001 they have completed a memorable journey to reach a County Final which is presently fixed for October 16th and which promises to be a special few weeks and occasion for all involved.

The Newmarket team and scorers…

T.J. Bodie (0-2), John Lane (0-2), David O’Flynn (0-1), Kevin O’Sullivan (0-1), Tony O’Keeffe (0-1), Nicky Flanagan (0-1).

Niall O’Connor
T. J. Brosnan		Denys O'Brien		Brian O’Riordan
Barry O'Leary		Timothy Murphy		John Ryan
	Bart Daly		Colin O'Sullivan
David O’Flynn		Kevin O'Sullivan		Tony O'Keeffe
T.J. Bodie		Nicky Flanagan		John Lane
Subs: Mark Reidy, Mark Murphy

The city outfit got out the blocks instantly and aided by a significant breeze pointed from distance within seconds of the throw in. Both sides tried to settle in the early stages but a scrappy encounter developed for the duration of the game. Newmarket enjoyed a few forays towards their opponent’s goal before David O’Flynn kicked an equalizer in the tenth minute. The physically superior St. Vincent’s side took a grip and made their superiority pay by adding three unanswered points in eight minutes. Newmarket improved and John Ryan converted a free in the twenty third minute, however despite enjoying possession deep in the opposition territory they failed to add to their scoring tally. St. Vincents added a fifth point to turn over in front by 0-5 to 0-2 at the interval but Newmarket were well in contention considering the advantageous breeze.

Similar to the opening half, it was St. Vincent’s who began with an early score. Newmarket struggled to impose themselves and indeed it was the city team that took a firm stranglehold on matters as two further scores gave them a six point advantage, twelve minutes into the half. Amazingly this proved to be their final score of the game as they seemed to settle for defending their lead and see out the remainder of the contest. Newmarket did respond and were rewarded by a quick flurry of points with three scores in as many minutes, two John Ryan frees sandwiched between a point from Denys O’Brien. Newmarket endeavoured hard to the finish but failed to add to their tally in a scoreless final twelve minutes. St. Vincent’s defended everything Newmarket could muster, despite the driving influences of Mark Reidy and Barry O’Leary amongst others. The game petered out to a tame conclusion and Newmarket must now regroup for a knockout second round tie against Nemo Rangers.
The Newmarket team was…

Niall O’Connor
Pa O’Brien		Barry O’Leary		Brian O’Riordan
Mark Reidy		Denys O’Brien (0-1)		Bart Daly
	Kevin O’Sullivan		Gerard Casey
David O’Flynn (0-1)		T.J. Bodie		Maurice Feehan
John Ryan (0-3)		Tony O’Keeffe		John Lane
SUBS: Conor Cronin and Nicky Flanagan.

To mark the start of Newmarket’s championship season we are asking:

The 2009 Premier Intermediate draw is available here.

Newmarket were pitted against St. Vincent’s in a repeat of this years evenly contested semi final, when the city side emerged with a slender victory by 1-9 to 1-8 at Mallow on August 17th. The defeated side in this clash will meet either Newcestown or Nemo Rangers in round two.

Here is the full draw, thanks to CorkGAAResults for the information.

Premier Intermediate Football Championship

First Round
(A) – Beal Atha nGhoarthaidh vs Glanmire
(B) – Clyda Rovers vs Valley Rovers
(C) – Kiskeam vs Bantry
(D) – Newmarket vs St.Vincents
(E) – Glenville vs Grenagh
(F) – Killavullen vs St.Michaels
(G) – Newcestown vs Nemo Rangers
(H) – Mayfield vs Ballinora

Second Round – (Losers Round)
H vs B
E vs A
C vs F
D vs G

St. Vincent’s, champions in the grade two years ago, started in whirlwind fashion and had built up a three point lead in impressive fashion within the first four minutes. Newmarket eventually settled and got off the mark thanks to a fine point from the superb T.J. Bodie who was immense during the first half. A fine contest developed and flowed but it was St. Vincent’s who proved more economical in front of goal and two points within a minute gave them a four point advantage after nineteen minutes.

Newmarket, enjoyed considerable possession and split open their opponents defence on a few occasions but to their cost, failed to convert a number of fine scoring opportunities. However, Newmarket were grateful to centre half forward T.J. Bodie who was in prolific form and he kicked two excellent points within a minute, to bridge the gap to two points, 0-5 to 0-3 after twenty three minutes. The city side were next to point but as half time approached Newmarket produced a wonderful free flowing move which ended with T.J. Bodie setting up corner forward John Lane, who burst through the rearguard and when he found himself one on one with the goalkeeper, he kept his composure and drilled a sublime shot to the corner of the net for a memorable equalizing goal. As the half entered injury time, Newmarket were hit by a sucker punch when St. Vincent’s struck with another goal thanks to another fine finish. An amazing conclusion to the half left St. Vincent’s in front by 1-6 to 1-3.

Newmarket reduced the deficit within two minutes of the restart when full forward Tony O’Keeffe raced in on goal and punched a fine point. St. Vincent’s restored their three point advantage on converting a free two minutes later. Newmarket grew in confidence and played some excellent football in their approach play. John Ryan kicked a superb point from a difficult angle in the sixth minute. Newmarket had to wait seven minutes for their next score when John Ryan was on target from a free. When Bart Daly stepped forward to convert a long range free at the end of the third quarter, the sides were level for a second time at 1-7 apiece. When John Lane was upended two minutes later, he duly stepped up and kicked an excellent point from a narrow angle and a rampant Newmarket took the lead for the first time in the contest.

Amazingly in the context of what followed, this proved to be Newmarket’s final score of the game. St. Vincent’s responded and two quickfire points regained them the lead with ten minutes left to play. Newmarket piled on the pressure in the final ten minutes but despite their best efforts and great disciplined defending from St. Vincent’s, they fell short as efforts either fell short or on the wrong side of the uprights. The game eventually concluded and Newmarket were left to reflect on what might have been despite a terrific team effort.

The Newmarket team was..

Niall O’Connor
Pa O’Brien		Mark Reidy		Mark Murphy
Conor Cronin		Barry O’Leary		Kevin O’Sullivan
	Denys O’Brien		Bart Daly (0-1)
David O’Flynn		T.J. Bodie (0-3)		Maurice Feehan
John Ryan (0-2)		Tony O’Keeffe (0-1)		John Lane (1-1)
SUBS: Timothy Murphy, Seanie Francis O’Connor