This article is from page 70 of the 2011-01-18 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 70 JPG
WINNING isn’t everything but the will to win is as Clare proved on Sunday by snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. With experimentation the norm at this time of year, expectations weren’t high as can be seen from the paltry support in O’Garney Park. And really the only prerequisite is the result as the county crave as many competitive games as possible ahead of the real business of the National League.
In that regard, Clare can count themselves very lucky to be still in the hunt for Waterford Crystal Cup honours after producing a six point turnaround in the final three minutes to deny their student counterparts.
With eight senior debutants in the starting line-up, Clare never flowed with any great purpose over the 70 minutes and it almost cost them dearly. The home side hit 16 wides and even the conversion of basic frees eluded them while in contrast, ITT made their most of their chances, particularly through Limerick’s Eoin Ryan who was unerring from both placed balls and play.
To hammer home the extent of the changing of the guard in the county side over the past few years, Clare had only two survivors from the starting line-up of 2009 (Gerry Quinn and Fergal Lynch while ITT had eight.
What finally turned around Clare’s fortunes however was the Under 21 class of 2009, Nicky O’Connell and debutant Conor Tierney from the starting line-up as well the introduction of Caimin Morey, Cian Dillon and John Conlon.
It was Morey who grabbed the headlines however, scoring an unanswered 1-3 in the final three minutes to take the spoils, with 1-1 of that total being supplied by Tierney.
That urgency was not as evident earlier in the proceedings however as despite a healthy first half breeze at their backs, a ringrusty Clare were wasteful in front of the posts but still able to keep their heads above water by the break.
Indeed, it was a Clare man that opened the scoring, albeit for IT Tralee. Thomas Downes, the Cooraclare player who plays his hurling for Éire Óg, was one of three Banner natives on the Kerry College starting line-up along with his clubmate Stephen Guilfoyle and Crusheen’s Fergus Kennedy and duly set the ball rolling after three minutes.
Clare replied with three out of the next four points through Cormac O’Donovan, Colin Ryan and Diarmuid McMahon before the game came to life in the 14th minute with the opening goal for the visitors. In truth, it was the type of goal that would only be forgivable at this time of year as midfielder Nickie Quaid was handed two bites of the cherry before flicking the ball over the line from point blank range.
By the turn of the opening quarter, Clare had gained parity through the hardworking Nicky O’Connell and