Month: April 2011

AFTER the defeat to Laois the last day out when they were done by a late goal from Willie Hyland, Clare manager Ger O’Loughlin wasn’t too downcast when addressing the media about where it all went wrong. No point letting off steam at his players in public must have been the ‘Sparrow’s’ mantra to himself things like that are best left in doors and all that. Anyway, there was always the Carlow game – another game to put it up to his players to produce the win needed to reach a second successive league final. Put it this way, losing to Laois made the outcome of this game very predictable, a focused Clare to atone for the Laois aberration. And, so it happened, with O’Loughlin full of praise for this charges as he looked ahead to a final joust with old enemy Limerick on Sunday week.

“They gave us a very hard game below in Dr Cullen Park, but with the big wide open spaces of Cusack Park, it makes a big difference when you’re playing the likes of Carlow,” he says to start.

“I thought overall we were way better than them on the day and it’s a case of bringing that and a lot more to the final against Limerick

“The boys were well-focused. We saw some great displays by some lads. It’s a work in progress – I keep saying that to people.

“As you can see there we have another three or four new lads – Pat O’Connor, Conor McGrath, Cathal McInerney. We have no other choice – they are the future and we have to keep progressing,” added O’Loughlin before admitting to the scale of the task his side faces against Limerick in the decider.

“It’s a rebuilding job and I just feel that it’s great to get back into the final now and hopefully we can do ourselves justice against Limerick. We didn’t do that in the first game in the league.

“We had an awful lot of hurling done before that game. We had three or four challenge matches and played Waterford Crystal and got a lot out of it. We were beaten by a stronger team on the day. They were better organised than us. I just hoping that the couple of weeks and the couple of matches might have brought us on.

“We have such youth on our team that you have to have them really focused on the day to get the best out of them. Sometimes you can’t put your finger on some of the displays, because we’re working hard in training and we’ve a great bunch of lads, but I don’t know whether it’s concentration of whether it’s something else.

“We just need to try and make sure that it’s right for the Limerick game,” O’Loughlin added.

Clare 4-28 – Carlow 0-08 at Cusack Park, Ennis

DOING the basic math this was about beating Carlow to reach the final frontier of a National League final – putting applied mathematics into the equation, what this league is really about is making sure that Clare don’t have to take themselves up to Carlow in the 2012 campaign.

The chance to make sure they don’t have to make the journey comes against Limerick on Sunday week after this facile victory over a game, but (as we always knew would be the case) limited Carlow side.

Sure, they had run Clare to a solitary point in Dr Cullen Park last year, but given the recent disappointment endured by Ger O’Loughlin’s charges in O’Moore Park, anything other than a backlash victory of sizeable proportions would have been a disappointment – downright failure even.

Cue this performance then, with a rampant Clare having 32 points to spare in the end as a chastened Carlow trudged off the field wondering what had hit them on their first visit to Cusack Park in 21 years.

Back then, when Carlow were beaten by 25 points, they had to draft in first generation Clareman Leo McGough from the press benches as an emergency sub – this time they had enough numbers, but were much worse off.

It was that kind of day – from the Clare point of view it had a summer feel to it as they reached a second success final, from Carlow’s it was a harsh lesson in the fact of life that they’re still just a Christy Ring Cup side.

Clare may have been sluggish in the opening exchanges as Carlow’s early enthusiasm had them on level terms at 0-2 apiece after ten minutes. Alas for Carlow, the gulf in standard gradually got wider as Clare hit 1-7 without reply in a 15 minute spell that killed the contest and booked a league final berth with some 45 minutes to spare.

It was very easy once Clare broke free with good points from play by Jonathon Clancy, Diarmuid McMahon and John Conlon to lead by 0-5 to 0-2 by the 13th minute.

Carlow’s resolve bending – then it was broken ten minutes later when Clare followed up three more points via Conor McGrath, John Conlon and Colin Ryan with a 23rd minute goal. Conor McGrath was the provider when he raced in along the endline, crossed to Diarmuid McMahon who batted to the net from six yards.

After that, it was just a matter of what the winning margin would be – the gap was stretched to 14 by halftime as Clare outscored a hapless Carlow side by 0-8 to 0-2 in the closing ten minutes of the half.

It was exhibition stuff as Conor McGrath (2), Nicky O’Connell and Diarmuid McMahon hit points from play, while O’Connell’s eye was in from long range frees to pile on the misery and pile up a 1-15 to 0-4 interval lead.

Any notion that Clare might ease up in the second half was dispelled eight minutes in when Colin Ryan elected to drill a 21-yard free to the net past a forest of Carlow hurleys on the line, rather than take his point.

Put simply, Clare weren’t just happy to win pulling up – they were ruthless and went about obliterating the Barrowsiders in that second half as they racked up 3-13 as against Carlow’s meagre 0-4.

It was target practice, whether for points or goals as Clare moved 3-18 to 0-4 clear by the 52nd minute before Ruairi Dunbar opened Carlow’s account for the half – Clare’s third goal came 17 minutes in when Jonathon Clanchy drilled home from 12 yards.

Diarmuid McMahon brought his tally for the day to 2-4 from play with a goal in the 64th minute, while subs Sean Collins and Conor Tierney as well as the hugely impressive John Conlon and Nicky O’Connell also chipped in with points.

The end couldn’t come quick enough for Carlow – the next game can’t come quick enough for Clare. It’s always the case when you score big and win big.

Clare
Donal Tuohy (7), Pat Vaughan (7), Conor Cooney (8), Domhnall O’Donovan (7), Patrick O’Connor (7), Cian Dillon (7), Patrick Donnellan (7), Nicky O’Connell (8) (0-7, 3f, one 65), Liam Markham(7), John Conlon (8) (0-3), Fergal Lynch (6), Jonathon Clancy (8) (1-3), Conor McGrath (7) (0-3), Diarmuid McMahon (8) (2-4), Colin Ryan (7) (1-4, 1-1f). Subs Gerry Quinn (6) for O’Connor [52 Mins], Cathal McInerney (6) for McGrath [54 Mins], Sean Collins (7) (0-2) for Lynch [57 Mins], Brendan Bugler (6) for Markham[60 Mins], Conor Tierney (7 )(0-1) for Ryan [65 Mins].

Carlow
Nicky Roberts,Alan Corcoran, Shane Kavanagh, Brian Doyle, Des Shaw, Dwayne Kavanagh, Richard Coady, Jack Kavanagh, John Rogers,Alan McDonald, Eddie Byrne, James Doyle, Craig Doyle, Eoin Nolan, Ruairi Dunbar. Subs Paudei Kehoe for Doyle, Hugh O’Bryne for Dwyane Kavanagh, James O’Hara for Coady, Killian McCabe for McDonald, Eddie Kane for Corcoran.

Man of the Match
Diarmuid McMahon (Clare)

Referee
Michael Haverty (Galway)

THE CLARE Minor Footballers bounced back from their defeat to Cork on Wednesday evening with an impressive display against Waterford on Saturday that earned them a semi-final playoff against neighbours Limerick.

Miltown’s Conor and Eoin Cleary got Clare off the mark in the opening stages but it was three goals inside ten minutes of play that set the benchmark for this Clare performance.

The first of three came from Niall Hickey in the 7th minute who also added two points soon after. Some good play from Clare then saw Conor Cleary rattle the Deise net with 14 minutes of play gone.

The third goal came just after the quarter hour mark, Hickey again managed to put it in from close range bringing his tally to 2-2.

Eoin Cleary added two more points along with another coming from Martin O’Leary which meant Clare went in at the break leading, 3-7 to 0-6.

Clare never took the game for granted in the second half as they continued to dominate.

Points from substitute Jack Scanlon and midfielder Alan O’Neill furthered Clare’s lead.

A goal from Waterford’s Dale Sheridan gave his side a glimmer of hope but it was to be Clare’s day, Martin O’Leary got his sides fourth goal from the penalty spot and Conor Cleary finished off proceedings with a point which was the final score of the game.

This Clare minor side will now look ahead to a Semi-final playoff tie with Limerick and will be hoping to bring their current form into the game after they put in a great performance against Cork and a dominating display in overcoming Waterford. A Munster final place is at stake.

Clare
Darren Sexton (Kilmurry-Ibrickane), Conor Gavin Capt. (Clondegad), James Malone (Corofin), OisinVaughan (Ennistymon), Jarlath Colleran (Doora/Barefield), Darragh McDonagh (Miltown), Stan Lineen (Kilmihil),Alan O’Neill (0-1) (Doora/Barefield), Conor Cleary (1-3) (Miltown), Eoin Cleary (0-5, 3f) (Miltown), Ciaran Devitt (Ennistymon),Adrian Murrihy (Kilmurry-Ibrickane), Martin O’Leary (1-1) (Kilmihil), Niall Hickey (2-2) (Kilmurry-Ibrickane),WilliamFlynn (WolfeTones).

Subs
Jack Scanlon (0-1) For Murrihy, Conor McNeils for Colleran, Luke Brannock for Flynn, Cathal McConigley (0-1) for Cleary, Paudie Nugent for Vaughan.

Waterford
C Mulcahy; J Heffernan,W O Ceallaigh, PJ Curran; L OCuirrin, DHallinan, S Hyslop; E O’Toole (0-1), GNugent (0-3); MCurry, E Power,T Burke(0-5, 4f); MKiely, R Donnelly, E Kiely.

Subs
P Connors for O’Toole, DSheridan (10) for E Kiely, GJones for MKiely,A O’Donoghue for Donnelly, DPower for Hyslop.

Referee
J Bermingham(Cork)

Cork 2-10 – Clare 0-11 at Pairc Ui Rinn, Cork

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Doonbeg 1-14 Kilrush Shamrocks 0-09 at Doonbeg

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Shannon Gaels 0-8 – St Joseph’s Miltown 0-5 at Labasheeda

THIS was a repeat of last year’s decider. Back then St Joseph’s Miltown bridged a 15-year gap to their last Division 1 success, but much has changed since then.

The big difference now is that Miltown are managerless, after the decision by Michael Neylon to step down a few weeks back. The other big thing was that the result was reversed as Shannon Gaels finally kick-started their league season after a poor start that saw them lose their opening two games.

They did so thanks to the starring role played by corner forward Michael Coughlan – he’s not normally associated with being a prolific scorer but on this evening he accounted for half of the Gaels’ scores as they eased away from a profligate Miltown team in the second half to win with three points to spare.

To say that it all went wrong in the second half for Miltown when they only registered one point would be very true, but the rot had set in during the first 30 minutes when they missed another of gilt-edged goal chances. Kevin Keavey should have goaled, so to should Seanie Malone, but once let off the hook the Gaels kicked on to score a comfortable win.

Gary Egan, Dessie Molohan (2) and Gordon Kelly were on the mark for Miltown in the first half. Michael Coughlan hit the opening two scores for the Gaels, while points via a booming John Paul O’Neill sideline and an effort just on the stroke of half-time from Bryan Cunningham left the sides deadlocked at 0-4 apiece.

The Gaels had played with the wind in the first half, but against the elements they totally dominated Miltown in the opening exchanges of the second half with points from Bryan Cunningham, Michael Coughlan and John Paul O’Neill put them 0-7 to 04 ahead.

Miltown rallied with a point, but Michael Coughlan sealed the points for the home side with the final point of the hour to give them a comfortable win. John Reidy had stepped into the breach as Miltown manager for the day – he was the man in charge with Miltown last won a championship back in 1990, but on this day he was left to rue those missed goal chances.

Shannon Gaels
Keith Ryan, Stephen O’Shea,Tomás Madigan, Fergal Kenny, John Bermingham, John Neylon, Francis Cleary, Noel Kennedy, Sean Reynolds, Tomás Cleary, Bryan Cunningham(0-2), John Paul O’Neill (0-2, one sideline), Ruairi Norrby, Brian Bermingham, Michael Coughlan (0-4, 1f). Subs Mark Bohannon for Kennedy, Brian O’Shea for Norrby.

St Joseph’s Miltown
Padraig Queally, Enda Malone, GrahamKelly, David Cleary, Gearóid Curtin, Sean Meade, Ian Sexton, Gordon Kelly (0-1), John Meade, Gary Egan (0-2), Kevin Keavey, Brian Curtin, Joe Curtin, Des Molohan (0-2), Seanie Malone (0-1). Subs Micheal Malone for Sexton

Man of the Match
Michael Coughlan (Shannon Gaels)

Referee
Michael Talty (Kilmurry Ibrickane)

St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield 3-9 Liscannor 2-9 at Gurteen

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Kilmurry Ibrickane 2-17 – Clondegad 0-6 at Ballynacally

IF EVER a scoreline summed up the difference between the very top flight of senior football and intermediate football, this was it. It was a stroll for a rampant Kilmurry side as they brought an abrupt halt to Clondegad’s 100 per cent start to the league season. It was hugely impressive from Kilmurry – hugely disappointing for Clondegad, albeit that their star forward in Paudge McMahon was play- ing his second game in five hours after his exertions with Ballyea in the Under 21 B hurling final. Still, McMahon was Clondegad’s top scorer with four points, but that made little impression on a Kilmurry scoreline which once again showcased their considerable talents. They trailed early on to points from Kenneth Kelly and Paudge McMahon but by half-time had clicked into over-drive as they carved out a 1-10 to 0-4 interval lead. Three Ian McInerney frees helped them edge 0-5 to 0-2 clear by the 19th minute before Enda Coughlan blasted a penalty over the bar in the 21st minute. However, Coughlan made amends seven minutes later with a goal, which allied to earlier points from Michael O’Dwyer, Peter O’Dwyer, Mark McCarthy and Coughlan himself helped Kilmurry into their ninepoint interval lead. Eoin Griffin and Paudge McMahon had offered some resistance with points before the break, but all Clondegad could manage on the turnover were frees from McMahon and Eoghan Donnellan as they were pinned back by the former kingpins of Munster. Kilmurry had to wait until the 42nd minute for their first of the half, but they tacked on 1-6 in the closing 15 minutes to run out 17-point winners. The scores came from everywhere – Declan Callinan pointed from corner-back, Shane Hickey hit 1-2 from wing-back, Mark McCarthy, Johnnie Daly and Seamus Lynch were also on the mark, with the final nail being driven by Hickey’s goal in the 59th minute when he lobbed Declan O’Loughlin.

Kilmurry Ibrickane
Peter O’Dwyer, Declan Callinan (0-1), Darren Hickey, Martin McMahon, Shane Hickey (1-2), Paul O’Connor,Thomas Lernihan, Keith King, Peter O’Dwyer (0-1), Ian McInerney (0-3f), Mark McCarthy (0-2), Seamus Lynch (0-2), Michael O’Dwyer, Enda Coughlan (1-3, 0-1pen) EvanTalty.

Subs
Johnnie Daly (0-2) for Talty, Seamus Murrihy for King, Gary Donnellan for McInerney, Brian Callinan for Lernihan.

Clondegad
Declan O’Loughlin, Conor Gavin, Patrick Coffey, Kevin Donnelly, James Murphy, Kieran Browne, Francie Neylon, Gary Brennan, Eoin Griffin (0-1), Kenneth Kelly (0-1), Paudge McMahon (0-3, 1f), Shane Brennan, Eoghan Donnellan (0-1f), Francis O’Reilly, ColmGavin.

Man of the Match
Mark McCarthy (Kilmurry Ibrickane)

Referee
Michael Rock (Ennistymon)