This article is from page 68 of the 2011-05-17 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 68 JPG
Sixmilebridge 0-15 – Clarecastle 1-11 at Cusack Park, Ennis
IF HINDSIGHT was foresight and both sides could do it all over again, you can be certain that both would have approached this game differently. Despite awaking from their slumber late on to secure the slenderest of victories, surely Sixmilebridge could not be as lacklustre again as they did their utmost to shake off the unwanted tag of championship favourites.
As for Clarecastle, it was infinitely more encouraging display than their pre-championship form suggested as they certainly seemed to want it more but lacked conviction and a killer instinct when it mattered most and as a result paid the ultimate cruel price. In particular, the Magpies will lament missed goal opportunities in the first half when Derek Quinn was causing havoc in the ‘Bridge fullback line. Essentially though, four glorious chances only yielded one goal and even that was only scored at the third attempt. Quinn’s initial shot was expertly saved by goalkeeper Derek Fahy, Tyrone Kearse’s follow up rattled off the crossbar before Quinn was fortunate to receive a second bite of the cherry that he didn’t pass up a second time from close range.
That 18th minute goal finally settled the Magpies into a 1-2 to 0-4 lead but despite their back-line frustrating Sixmilebridge’s much celebrated attacking unit, they failed to capitalise as the sides were level at 1-3 to 0-6 at the interval.
In particular, teenager Stephen O’Halloran was dominating at fullback, Seanie Moloney was equally effective beside him even making a superb block to deny debutant Jamie Shanahan a goal while Patrick Kelly, Eric Flynn and Danny Scanlon controlled matters further out the field.
The break allowed a Shane Golden led Sixmilebridge to regroup but little altered on the turnover as neither side could pull clear and the sides were on level terms for the seventh time by the turn of the final quarter.
With the Magpies finally realising the mere mortal status of the championship favourites, they hit the front and scored five of the next seven points, with teenage substitute Conor O’Gorman injecting some energy into the forward division with a brace to lead by 1-10 to 0-11 by the 51st minute.
However, they didn’t push on from there and with a number of passengers up front, the Magpies were on the backfoot for the remainder as the expected ‘Bridge recovery finally came to pass.
The switch of Caimin Morey to full-forward gave them a focal point; Shane Golden belied his young years to give another mature display; Tony Carmody finally began to influence while substitutes Tommy Morey and Paidi Fitzpatrick would make telling contributions as the Bridge hit four unanswered points to take a 0-15 to 1-10 lead by the 61st minute.
A shellshocked Clarecastle could only reply with an Eamon Callinan point before the finish and that was effectively the last puck of the game as a relieved Sixmilebridge got out out of jail to deny the Magpies even a deserved point. The benefit of hindsight on this game should give both sides food for thought and new eyes for the remainder of the championship.