This article is from page 81 of the 2008-01-08 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 81 JPG
IN years gone by, Clare entered the Oscar Traynor Cup brimming with hope and it wasn’t without founda- tion. Less than four years back they won the competition – something that stands shoulder to shoulder with the storied Irish Youths Cup success back in 19770 in terms of achievement.
Alas, there wasn’t too much hope in Clare soccer hearts where the Oscar Traynor was concerned in ‘07/08, something Clare League chairman Jim Madden explains away with one word.
“Rebuilding,” he says. *““That’s what it has been about this year. We were
slow in getting going this season and didn’t have Hugh Kelly or Eddie Corry who have managed the side in recent seasons.’
That’s why Jim stepped into the breach, enlisting the help of Denis Hynes and former League of Ireland player Gerry Kelly along the way.
“We were up against it,’ admits Jim, “because we decided to use the competition to blood a lot of play- ers. Evan Glynn, Derek Fahy, Eoin O’Brien, Davy Ryan and Jason Re- gan were all new to this level, but they showed that they’ve much to offer.
‘For this game, it was always going to be very hard to get the result to ad-
vance to the knockout stages. Losing the first match against West Water- ford made it impossible for us, even though we got a good draw against a very good Munster Senior League side in the second game.
“Limerick are a very good side as well, but we certainly put it up to them. What pleased me most was the workrate of the team throughout. After half-time we knew they were going to come out to try and kill the game, but after they made it 2-0 we really showed great character.
“The penalty gave us a chance and even though they made it 3-1 with a scrappy goal we had the better of the closing stages of the game. When
Derek Fahy made it 3-2 they started to panic and in the last ten minutes really had their backs to the wall. That’s a tribute to our players who kept chasing the game until the end and it certainly bodes well for the fu- ture,’ added Jim.
Back to the word rebuilding as the Clare League’s first string looks to the future. In defeat. In transition. Looking to a brighter future though.