Month: April 2011

Laois 3-16 – Clare 3-13 at O’Moore Park, Portlaoise

JUST WHEN you think Clare have turned a corner, they skilfully reverse back around it. After a lacklustre start against Limerick and Antrim, Clare produced successive victories over Westmeath, Down and Kerry by an average of 20 points but the step up in opposition allied to a flat first half display ensured that it would not be a comfortable afternoon for Clare on Sunday.

In the end, it was only Willie Hyland’s 72nd minute goal with almost the last puck of the game that separated the sides but in truth, Clare deserved little out of the game after an abject first half and their inability to kill off the game when gaining a lifeline in the second.

Such unpredictability and inconsistency can be put down to the growing pains of such a young developing side but nonetheless it’s thoroughly frustrating viewing at the moment as it’s unknown how Clare will perform until they cross the white lines of combat.

Overall, strange as it may seem, there appears to be a vast improvement in certain areas, especially up front where Clare have already surpassed last year’s total by 13 points with a game to spare. However, Sod’s law inevitably rules that this improvement in attack has coincided with a more porous defence in that Clare have conceded six more points at the six game mark than they did after seven matches last year and one of the obvious places to point the finger is from frees.

Out of the 10-79 that Clare have conceded in six games, over 40 per cent of those have come from placed balls (2-39), a factor that seems to be hurting Clare most at the moment. Now whether you think Clare are being discriminated against due to their perceived status as a traditional hurling power – a kick back to the underdog if you will, or that these are minor indiscretions that won’t even be considered a free in the championship, one might have a case as for a game with little or no malice, there were ten yellow cards distributed.

However, that still doesn’t aid the predicament that the free count was a decisive ingredient on Sunday as Laois’ chief marksman Willie Hyland hit 1-10, with eight of those coming from frees.

The dark clouds initially started to form as early as the fourth minute when Laois cut through the centre of the Clare defence, creating an overlap for John Brophy to finish to the roof of the net. By the tenth minute, that lead was stretched to five as Clare were overrun in midfield but they received their first lifeline in the 13th minute when Nicky O’Connell controlled a Laois puck-out and played a high delivery for Conor McGrath to field and finish with a one handed swing.

By the 16th minute, Clare were level at 1-3 apiece when Sean Collins picked out John Conlon in space from a lineball but far from inspiring the visitors, in truth, that purple patch only papered over the cracks.

After suffering a surprise set-back against Down a week previous, Laois were determined to make amends and as a result, they played in a more defensive manner, playing short puck-outs as well as drawing back their midfield for Clare’s puck-outs.

It frustrated Clare who were unable to get into any flow and five successive points followed from the home side, three from the stick of Hyland who was beginning to cause Brendan Bugler trouble on the wing.

In an effort to spark a revival, Clare rang the changes and by half’s end, only six of the 14 outfield players would remain in their original positions. It did have the desired effect however as Nicky O’Connell (2) and Diarmuid McMahon cut the deficit to just three at the break at 1-9 to 1-6 and considering their lacklustre display, Clare would have felt extremely satisfied to be so close to their opponents.

With time to regroup, Clare reemerged a different animal in the second period and got off to an inspirational start with a Conor McGrath point after only 40 seconds, followed only minutes later by a Darach Honan scrambled goal after goalkeeper Paddy Mullaney spilled a Nicky O’Connell free.

It put Clare into the lead for the first time but it was to be short lived as Willie Hyland hit three out of the next four scores to hold a 1-12 to 208 advantage by the 44th minute. Clare were beginning to dominate the centre through Clonlara pair Nicky O’Connell and John Conlon and it allowed Clare to hit back and build up a four point advantage with another brace from O’Connell and a Jonathan Clancy goal that emanated from a Domhnall O’Donovan clearance which evaded Laois’ last line.

However, it was at this stage that Clare failed to put away their opponents and put the result beyond doubt. Over half of Clare’s 15 wides came in the final quarter and that profligacy at one end allowed Laois a way back in at the other with Hyland and wingback Joe Fitzpatrick pointing before Owen Holohan grabbed a goal when seizing on a mistake by goalkeeper Tuohy in the 60th minute.

Cue an immense solo fightback from Nicky O’Connell who not only picked off two unanswered points to level the game by the 63rd minute but also set up Fergal Lynch for the leading point a minute later.

Again Clare failed to capitalise though by wasting a hatful of chances and inevitably it was Hyland who filled the void when first equalising with a free and then expertly flicking a Joe Fitzpatrick clearance past the onrushing Tuohy to seal the win.

It means that Clare must win their final game against Carlow in Cusack Park in two weeks to guarantee their passage in the Division 2 decider against Limerick. A task that in normal circumstances wouldn’t cause too many sleepless nights but in the current ‘growing pain’ guise, these aren’t normal circumstances.

Laois
Paddy Mullaney, John A Delaney, Brian Campion, Brian Stapleton, Joe Fitzpatrick (0-1), Matthew Whelan (0-1 1f), Brian Galvin, James Walsh (0-2), Sean Burke (0-2), Brian Dunne, Ger Reddin,Willie Hyland (1-10 8f), Owen Holohan (1-0), Neil Foyle, John Brophy (1-0)

Subs
Eoin Costelloe for Dunne (50 mins), Noel Costelloe for Burke (59 mins)

Clare
Donal Tuohy (Crusheen) (6), Pat Vaughan (Crusheen) (8), Conor Cooney (O’Callaghan’s Mills) (7), Domhnall O’Donovan (Clonlara) (7), Brendan Bugler (Whitegate) (6), James McInerney (Newmarket-on-Fergus) (6), Patrick O’Connor (Tubber) (7), Nicky O’Connell (Clonlara) (8) (0-7 4f), Sean Collins (Cratloe) (6), John Conlon (Clonlara) (7) (0-1), Fergal Lynch (Clooney/Quin) (6) (0-1), Jonathan Clancy (Clarecastle) (6) (1-0), Darach Honan (Clonlara) (7) (1-0), Diarmuid McMahon (Kilmaley) (7) (0-1), Conor McGrath (Cratloe) (7) (1-3 2f)

Sub
Caimin Morey (Sixmilebridge) (6) for Collins (49 mins)

Man of the Match
Willie Hyland (Laois) Referee Michael O’Connor (Limerick)

JOHN O’Neill was jubilant at the defiance shown by his team as they stormed to victory over the Poor Clares. Naturally, Micheál McDermott was at the other end of the spectrum too as surveyed the wreckage of another hugely disappointed National League day.

The defeats to Leitrim and Carlow could be put down to the fact that Clare were reduced to 13 for much of the game; the loss to Roscommon was all down to not kicking the ball between the posts when opportunity knocked.

Not excuses, but explanations.

There were no explanations on Sunday, however. Clare were that bad – that was by their own body language as the trooped off the field and McDermott’s language as he strug- gled for answers as to why it went so badly wrong.

“It was very, very lacklustre after those first 15 minutes. To put a finger on what happened, why was the performance so poor, it’s almost impossible,” admitted McDermott.

“We are very disappointed, not alone with the loss, but with the performance. We got a very good start, played really well for the first 15 minutes and played good quality football. But after that everything just drifted away from us.

“Fermanagh got a grip around midfield and the whole diamond area around midfield and held it for most of the match.

“They kicked some really good quality scores and caused us a lot of trouble. The players are gutted. It wasn’t for the want of effort. It just wasn’t happening for them,” added McDermott.

This time last year Clare a kick of a ball away from promotion to Division 3 when they played Limerick in their seventh match of the campaign after six straight wins – David Tubridy’s kick with the last kick of the game from distance drifted just wide and since then Clare have lost six out of nine league games.

“It has been a very disappointing league results wise and points wise,” said McDermott after this latest loss, “but when we compare it to last year, when we were on the crest of a wave for the first six matches, I would say we have played better football this year and are better prepared because results aren’t going our way.

“Roscommon are promoted already and we produced one of our best performances against them but left it behind us.

“Longford are in second place and we beat them. Carlow are also in contention and we left the two points behind against them when we were down to 13 players.

“Our injuries are hitting us big time. We lost Graham Kelly who came down with bug on the way to the match. Rory Donnelly is out, Timmy Ryan is only coming back from injury. But we’re not using that as an excuse. We just now have to try and pick it up for the match against Wicklow.”

Fermanagh 0-17 – Clare 0-09 at Brewster Park, Enniskillen

THERE was revolution in the air around Enniskillen on Sunday as Fermanagh played host to Clare in this Division 4 tie.

Fermanagh football was up in arms following the statement issued by 11 former members of John O’Neill’s squad who outlined their grievances as to where it has all gone wrong for the Erne county this season.

Good news for a Clare team not without their own problems this year thanks to that hat-trick of very disappointing defeats to Leitrim, Carlow and Roscommon that scuppered their chances of mounting a promotion bid.

Great news for Clare after the lightening start they made to this game, as forward talisman David Tubridy ran riot in the opening ten minutes when putting four points on the board as his side raced into a 0-4 to no score lead.

Fermanagh, in turmoil off the pitch thanks the ‘Gang of 11’, were in turmoil on it too as they reeled from this lightening Clare start that should have teed the Banner County up for back-to-back victories for the first time in this year’s campaign.

That it wasn’t to be for Clare is told in the eight points that separated the sides at the end – a turnaround that laid bare that fact that this was a somewhere between a resurrection on the part of Fermanagh and a total collapse on the part of Clare.

Or maybe it was both, because such was Clare’s implosion and Fermanagh’s revival that long before Tyrone referee Sean McNamee blew his final whistle, it was the visitors who looked like they were racked with problems.

When Fermanagh were held scoreless for the first 20 minutes, manager John O’Neill cut a lonely figure on the sideline, but everything seemed to change once Paul Ward opened the Ernesiders’ account with a 20 metre free.

Positional changes had been made in defence to try and curb David Tubridy, with centre-back Brian Mulroone moving over on the Doonbeg- man; left-half-forward Ryan Jones moved to midfield, while Daniel Kille was introduced at full-forward.

Fermanagh were a team transformed and Clare became disjointed at the back, surrendered the initiative at midfield and ran out of ideas up front.

The result was a flurry of points from Fermanagh with Daniel Kille (2) Ryan Jones, and John O’Flanagan to move 0-5 to 0-4 ahead before David Tubridy levelled matters in the 25th minute.

However, it was a brief respite for Clare as points before the break from Paul Ward and John O’Flanagan completed Fermanagh’s first half recovery as they edged 0-7 to 0-5 clear.

All wasn’t lost for Clare, but was within ten minutes of the restart as a brace of points each from Paul Ward and John O’Flanagan extended Fermanagh’s lead to six points. Gary Brennan did peg back a point, but further Fermanagh points from the impressive Daniel Kille, Terry O’Flanaghan and John O’Flanagan put them 0-14 to 0-6 ahead with 15 minutes remaining.

It was damage limitation stuff from there until the end – Clare did boost their tally with two more David Tubridy points to bring his tally to 07 for the hour, but further points by Daniel Kille, Terry O’Flanagan and Paul Ward left the home side comprehensive victors and consigned their to their fourth defeat of a desperately disappointing campaign.

Clare
Joe Hayes, Barry Duggan, Lawrence Healy, Martin McMahon, Kevin Hartnett, Gordon Kelly, Shane McNeilus, Cathal O’Connor, Gary Brennan, Conor Ryan, John Hayes, Shane Brennan (0-1), DavidTubridy (0-7, 0-2 frees, 0-1 45), Niall Browne, Alan Clohessy (0-1).

Subs
MarkTubridy for S Brennan (h-t), Ger Quinlan for Browne (h-t), David O’Connor for Ryan (68 mins).

Fermanagh
J McGrath, J Woods, B Owens, M Jones, CQuigley (0-1), B Mulrone, K Cosgrove, H Brady, MO’Brien,T O’Flanagan (0-2, 0-1 free), N Cassidy, R Jones (0-3, 0-2 frees), PWard (0-3), J O’Flanagan (0-3), S Quigley (0-1).

Subs
DKille (04) for Woods (10 mins), B Óg Maguire for Cassidy (20 mins), J O’Brien for Ward (60 mins), CO’Brien for DKille (65 mins).

Man of the Match
Daniel Kille (Fermanagh) Referee S McNamee (Tyrone).

WHILE THE next group of adult handballers were doing the county proud in Offaly and Roscommon, the current crop did their bit to ensure it was a memorable weekend for the county as representatives secured victory in three from four semi-finals down for decision. It means the Banner County will contest a total of six All-Ireland finals.

Diarmaid Nash, Cathal Hannon and Masters pair Teddy O’Hanlon & John Cawley were all victorious in semi-finals over the weekend. Nash travelled to Claremorris to take on Stephen Cooney (Mayo) in Intermediate Singles and came away with a comprehensive 21-6, 21-11 win. This had been expected to be a very tight affair but from early on it was clear that the Tuamgraney man was always in contol, his supreme fitness giving him the edge.

Nash was also able fire off a string of low, powerful serves that the Connaught champion had little answer to. Nash will face a stiffer test in the final with Tyrone’s Ruairi Kelly waiting after the Red Hand man defeated Meath’s Carl Browne in the other semi. A tight affair was also expected in Clooney on Sunday and this one didn’t disappoint. Tulla clubman Cathal Hannon progressed to the Junior Singles final against Paul Lambert (Wexford) after he outfought Roscommon man Denis Creaton in a three-game thriller. Hannon won the first 21-11 before going down 21-15 in the second but rallied in the third and, playing some great shots, finished strongly to win 21-12.

On Staurday, John Cawley and Teddy O’Hanlon (Golden Masters B Doubles) were also made to batlle through three games before seeing off Galway’s Mike Shaughnessy and Willie Corcoran in Shannon. Having started slowly, the Clare pair came through on a 7-21, 21-10, 21-13 score. The Shannon-Tuamgraney duo will now play Kildare (Paul Ruane and Cyril Carr) in the decider. On Friday night, Sarah and Paula Loughnane were comprehensively beaten by Mayo in the Ladies Junior B Doubles semi-final.

Looking ahead, this weekend is Weekend 1 of All-Ireland Adult Finals and Clare will once again be aiming for silverware. Diarmaid Nash and Niall Malone take on Kilkenny duo Brian Manogue and Nicholas Anthony in the much anticipated Intermediate Doubles decider in Cappagh. In Ladies Intermediate Doubles, Anne Marie Fitzgerald and Lisa Loughnane will be carrying the underdogs card when they face Wicklow in Leixlip while John Cawley will be confident of taking the Golden Masters B Singles crown when he plays Meath’s Jimmy Reilly in Crinkle. Weekend two of All-Ire- land finals, featuring our semi-finals winners from the weekend just past, will be April 9 and 10.

All- Ireland Adult 40×20 Semi- Finals:
Diarmaid Nash (Clare) beat Stephen Cooney (Mayo) 21-6 , 21-11 (Cathal Hannon (Clare) beat Denis Creaton (Roscommon) 21-11, 15-21, 21-12 John Cawley/Teddy Hanlon (Clare) beat Mike Shaughnessy &Willie Corcoran (Galway) 7-21, 21-10, 21-13 Ciara McMenamon, Clodagh McMenamon (Mayo) beat Sarah Loughnane, Paula Loughnane Clare) 21-4, 21-3

Fixtures:
All-Ireland Adult 40×20 Finals,Weekend 1 SATURDAY 9th APRIL: in Leixlip, Kildare, 3.30pm: Ladies Intermediate Doubles: Lisa Loughnane/ Annmarie Fitzgerald (Clare) v Shauna Hilley/Sandra Barnes (Wicklow) SUNDAY 10th APRIL: in Cappagh, Limerick, 2pm: Intermediate Doubles Final: Nicholas Anthony/ Brian Manogue (Kilkenny) v Diarmuid Nash/Niall Malone (Clare) SUNDAY 10th APRIL: in Crinkle, Offaly, 2.30pm: Golden Masters B Singles Final: Jimmy Reilly (Meath) v Clare (John Cawley (Clare)

CLARE’S status as the leading county in the country for underage handball was showcased over the weekend when five All-Ireland titles were won between action that took place in Offaly and Roscommon.

First up in Crinkle on Saturday were the O’Callaghan’s Mills pairing of Jacob Loughnane and Ciaran Cooney. They came up against the Sheridan brothers form Meath and although they won the first game on a 15-5 scoreline they were edged out for the title.

Next up were Natasha Coughlan and Michelle Nihill of the Clooney Club in the Under 15 doubles crown. The Banner girls won the first game by 15-6 and although they were second best in the next game they recovery to take the title in impressive fashion.

The Coughlan family was well represented in the finals as next up on the card was the Under 14 doubles final where Fergal Coughlan and Jamie Keane took on a very formidable Wexford pairing.

This battle went to a tie-breaker after the first two game were shared before the Clare pairing clare took control with Coughlan exhibiting great control and composure and Keane solid in attack took the decider with a comprehensive 15-6 scoreline.

Last on the card was the boys Under 14 singles between Brian Fahy of Tulla and Daniel Curry of Wicklow. The last time these two met Curry just got the better of young Fahy, so he was out to make amends.

The first game went Fahy’s way only for Curry to bounce back and claim the second but the Tulla young- ster had the final say with a 15-6 win in the tie-break game.

The second part of the weekend took Clare competitors to St Colman’s Handball Club in Roscommon on Sunday where Clare’s contingent continued on their winning ways.

Tulla’s Colin Corbett and Niall Bolton took on a very strong Tyrone pair in the under 16 doubles – they lost the first game but showed their resolve to bounce back and claim the title thanks to winning the final game by 11-5.

Clare’s memorable weekend was then completed by Colin Crehan in the Under 16 singles when he faced down Monaghan’s Darren Doherty, who was a recent winner of the US National Under 15 title.

However, Crehan was up to the challenge, displaying great court intellect, great passing shots and court control in overwhelming his highly rated opponent on a 21-14, 21-11 scoreline.

The Banner County secured a total of 6 of the 15 All Ireland Juvenile Championship titles played to date with significant triumphs in the blue ribband Boys Under 14 and Under 16 Singles and Doubles competitions. With representation in one last final still to be played, the future is unquestionably very bright for the Munster county on this evidence.

The spread of titles from the 15 All Ireland Juvenile Championship Finals played to date is: Clare (5), Galway (2), Kerry (2), Armagh (2), Roscommon (1), Meath (1), Tipperary (1) and Limerick (1). Results Saturday @Crinkle

BU15D: Evan Sheridan, Dylan Sheridan (Meath) dft Jacob Loughnane, Ciaran Cooney (Clare) 5-15, 15-9, 15-4 GU15D: Natasha Coughlan/Michelle Nihill (Clare) dft Aisling Maher/Denise Love (Kilkenny) 15-6, 11-15, 15-6 BU14D: Fergal Coughlan/Jamie Keane (Clare) dft Seamus Sinnott/Ben O’Shea (Wexford) 15-3, 9-15, 15-6 BU14S: Brian Fahy (Clare) dft Daniel Curry (Wicklow) 15-12, 12-15, 15-6 GU17D: Hannah OBrien/Aine McInerny [Clare] v Lauren Barco/Mary Buggy (Kilkenny) to be refixed Sunday @Coman’s, Roscommon GU16S: Ciana Ni Churraoin (Galway) dft Maeve McElduff (Tyrone) 21-7, 21-4 BU16D: Niall Bolton, Colin Corbett [Clare] dft Patrick McCrory, Pol Clarke (Tyrone) 13-21, 21-13, 11-5 BU16S: Colin Crehan [Clare] dft Darren Doherty (Monaghan) 21-15, 21-12 BU15S: Daniel Hayes (Tipperary) dft Eugene McGeough (Monaghan) 11-15, 15-9, 15-10 GU17S: Cornelia Prendiville [Kerry] dft Niamh Farrell (Monaghan) 21-9, 21-1 GU15S:Anna Prendiville [Kerry] dft Amy McGrane (Kildare) 15-14, 15-9

ST FLANNAN’S fell at the last hurdle on Wednesday in Croagh as they lost the Frewen Cup Football Final to Tralee on the narrowest of margins in a game that could have went either way.

For the second time this year, Tralee have been the cause of St Flannan’s heartbreak as they ended their Corn Uí Mhuirí hopes earlier this year and last week they became the reason the Frewen Cup is not coming home to the Ennis college.

St Flannan’s opened the scoring through Éire Óg’s Ciarán Mac Mathuna but they were up against it when Tralee pounced for a goal in the ninth minute and followed it up with a point. However, they maintained composure and regained the lead hitting four points without reply. Three coming from the on-form forward Martin O’Leary who looked to be causing major problems.

Tralee then hit two fine points only to find themselves go behind once again right before the half when O’Leary tore through the defence and laid it off to David Conroy who found the back of the Tralee net. St Flannan’s now led 1-5 to 1-3 at the interval after the aid of a strong breeze.

O’Leary again punished the Kerry side as he converted another free from the restart but then some halftime positional switches from Tralee began to pay off.

They started to control matters in key positions around the field and as a result Tralee kicked six of the game’s next seven points.

By the 51st minute, Tralee were in control with a 1-9 to 1-7 lead but St Flannan’s never gave up and battled admirably to the finish.

They responded with a point from Barry Lynch before Mac Mathuna saw his effort rebound off the post but O’Leary then tied things up with a resulting free.

Unfortunately, Tralee surged downfield and scored from their next two attacks.

Captain Sean Corry then had the last score of the game but this wasn’t enough for St Flannan’s as Tralee held onto the one point advantage to claim their second title in four years.

St Flannan’s
Killian Normoyle (Lissycasey); Conor Dolan (Éire Óg);Aiden Mc Guane (Kilmaley); Ronan Raferty (Michael Cusacks); StephenWard (Clarecastle); Shane O’Donnell (Éire Óg); Conor Clancy (Clarecastle) (0-1); Sean Corry (Éire Óg) (0-1); Ciaran Mac Mathuna (Éire Óg) (0-1); David Conroy (Doora-Barefield) (1-0); Barry Lynch (Lissycasey) (0-1); Dara Kerin (Doora-Barefield) (0-1); Martin O’Leary (Kilmihil) (0-4); Eimhin Courtney (Éire Óg);Tadgh Lynch (Clondegad) (0-1). St Kier a n’s 2-10 Ár d Scoil Rís 1-11 @ Semple St adium, Thur les

THE CLARE Camogie Board have been given some leeway on appointing a new management team ahead of their Munster senior championship campaign, following the withdrawl of semi-final opponents Waterford at the weekend. They will now play either Tipperary or Cork in the Munster senior final in six weeks time rather than the two week semifinal period first envisioned.

A meeting of the executive of Clare Camogie on Wednesday night expressed their disappointment with the resignation of three of the senior management team the previous weekend. This was a regular meeting of the executive, with the issue sur- rounding the senior county team top of the list.

“This year the executive have funded and supported pre-season training in gym and the funding of floodlit playing pitches from January to March for the training of teams. This was a much needed support to the team and management. Training was going well and a panel of close on 40 girls completed pre-season training and until mid-March the panel was 35 strong. Issues around Ashbourne Cup and work, dual players and club commitments and then exams were present; this did lead to small numbers travelling to Wexford which was disappointing to all involved, players management and the Board. However, it was felt that this could be worked through as these issues have always been present at this time of the year. Thus the board have accepted the resignations despite not yet having received formal written notice,” concluded the statement released by the county board following the meeting.

A committee of three people have been appointed to rebuild the management team, including current selector Tom Hogan who remains on with the senior panel. Tom will continue to lead the team, which currently has 28 committed players on the panel, until this has been resolved and preparations will continue for the Munster final on May 14 and the commencement of the All-Ireland series three weeks later.

IT WAS another very busy morning for Ennis RFC Under 11’s on Sunday. After the intense activities of Willow Park in Dublin the previous weekend, Ennis welcomed visiting teams from around County Clare and Limerick.

East Clare, West Clare Warriors, UL Bohemians and Garryowen provided the opposition on a sun soaked Showgrounds on Sunday morning. This made for very open running rugby and immense commitments from all sides.

Seven teams battled it out in 12 games throughout the morning. The hosts provided three very competitive teams with one from each of the visitors.

This meant Ennis were involved in nine of the fixtures (one against each other) and in the process having only one defeat. This again is a testimony to the very talented and enthusiastic squad Ennis have at their disposal which was reflected in the fact that against some of the top teams from Limerick, they have three teams that compete on a regular basis.

This group of players continue to improve and are very committed. Ennis teams for Under 11 Blitz as follows Eldon Nolan, Luke Griffey, Eoin Clancy, Liam Wall, Conall Bolger, ShaneVaughan, HarryTalty, JP Neville, PhilipTalty, Gerard Kavanagh, Zak cDonagh, EvanToomey, Dylan Myhill, Joe Spellesey, Shane Brennan Barry Neylon, Mike Reid, Elias Kunz, Paul Tuohy, Ross OFlaherty, Eoin Martin, Cathal Lennon, Gavin Flynn, CaimanWhelan, Morgan Garry, Ben Ryan, Sean Dolan, Ulick OSullivan, Neil Anderrson David Kelly, Eanna ODonoghue,Turlough Barrett, Frank Roach, Ronan Lannigan, Lorchan Clancy, Aidan Ryan, James Nugent, Stephen Dolan, Ben ODonnell, Kevin Reynolds, Oisin Mangan,TomO Brien, Luke Moriarty

Rock Rovers 2 – Avenue United 3 at Lees Road

AVENUE United’s pursuit of league leaders Newmarket Celtic gathered further pace last Thursday night as they edged past Rock Rovers in a highly entertaining encounter.

Despite taking a 2-0 lead Avenue looked to have blown their chance to chalk up another vital victory when Rovers stormed back to draw level in a pulsating second half.

Yet no sooner had Rock clawed their way back into contention Avenue summoned the all important match winner.

David Smyth’s deep corner located an unmarked Con Collins who headed home from close range.

Despite laying siege to the Avenue goal in the ever gathering gloom of Lees Road, Rock could not equalise for a third time.

Avenue were undoubtedly faster out of blocks on Thursday night, catching out their opponents with a succession of quickly taken free kicks.

Avenue, with Pa Wilson pulling the strings from deep, also retained possession better than Rock. Left back Dylan Casey showed the quality that propelled him to captain an Ireland under 15 selection last year with a stream of quality deliveries into the Rock area.

Avenue always looked more likely to take the lead and did so at the midpoint of the first half through David McCarthy’s brilliantly taken free kick.

Rock improved as the half wore on and were unlucky not to equlaise shortly before half time. Stephen Hickey turned Avenue’s defence inside out before dragging a left foot shot wide.

Hickey had another chance at the start of the second half, heading wide from Dean Gardiner’s accurate cross. Rock had just managed to gain the upper hand when Avenue struck for the second goal. Mikey Mahony’s run and shot unhinged Rock’s defence and McCarthy was on hand to slot home his second of the game. Rock were back in contention when Daryl Eade converted from the penalty sport after Hickey was tripped in the area. The influential Eoin Glynn then combined with Hickey to release substitute Niall McNevin who produced a calm finish to tie the game at 2-2. There was one more twist to come courtesy of Collins’ header. If Rock are in the mood for revenge they don’t have to wait long for an opportunity. The sides meet again tomorrow night in Lees Road, kick-off 6.30pm.

Rock Rovers
Stephen Loftus, Michael Dinan, JasonWhite, Shane Daniels, Ronan Judge, Dean Gardiner,Ashley Glynn, David Ryan, Daryl Eade, Eoin Glynn, Stephen Hickey

Subs
Francis Daniels for A Glynn, Niall McNevin for Ryan, Marty McLoughlin for Eade

Avenue United
John Healy, Simon Cuddy, Mattie Nugent, David Russell, Dylan Casey, David Smyth, David McCarthy, Pa Wilson, Con Collins, David Herlihy, Mikey Mahony

Subs
Barry Nugent for Wilson, Colin Smyth for Casey

Referee
John Murray

Mountshannon Celtic 3 – Shannon Olympic 2 at Mountshannon

MOUNTSHANNON kept their first division title hopes alive as they beat league leaders Shannon Olympic by three goals to two at home on Sunday morning.

Played in bright conditions, but on a wet pitch after an earlier downpour, Olympic failed to get a grip on the home side who pressed from the start. Mountshannon took the lead in the 16th minute when a long ball from the defence wasn’t dealt with and Cílin McNamara finish neatly into the Olympic goal.

Olympic, playing against a stiff breeze and up the hill, were unable to create many chances in the first half and seemed happy to get to the break trailing by the minimum as Mountshannon kept the pressure on.

The away side started the second half much better and they found themselves level in the 49th minute when John Moloney handled the ball on the line and Karl Scott dispatched the resulting penalty.

Mountshannon regained the lead in the 56th minute when confusion in the Olympic defence caused the ball to ricochet off several players before landing to Kevin Dooley who drove the ball into the roof of the net.

As Olympic went in search of an equaliser, Mountshannon capitalised catching the away side on the break when Paul Dooley broke down the left hand side and crossed for the unmarked Cílin McNamara to score his second with a great header.

Olympic did manage to get a goal back in the 74th minute from Ray Quigley but Mountshannon managed to hold on until the final whistle and recorded an important win which tightened up the top of the table.

Shannon Olympic
Gary Mc Gettrick, Mick O’Connell, Ian Hogan, James Fitzgerald, Karl Fogarty, Ray Quigley, Jimmy Houlihan, Donncadh Kelly, Karl Scott, Jay Regan,Wayne Regan.

Subs
Gareth McPhilips, Richie Hanly.

Mountshannon Celtic
ColmKavanagh, John Moloney, John O’Brien, Martin McNamara, Padraig Brody, Kevin Dooley, Paul Dooley, George Waterstone, Cílin McNamara, Raymond Cahill, AndrewMcNamara.

Subs
John Bugler,Thomas Gleeson, Eoin Keane, Christopher Jones, Jason Horan.