Month: May 2011

SO NEAR BUT yet so far for Ger O’Loughlin’s side who appeared to have the game and indeed Division 1 status at their mercy before a late collapse. This wasn’t Wexford all over again as Clare actually turned up this time and showed glimpses of a bright future that needs to be complimented by playing at the highest level.

It made defeat all the more gut wrenching and left supporters speechless as Kevin Downes scored a spectacular late goal to grab the headlines, much to the obvious disappointment of Clare manager Ger O’Loughlin who addressed the waiting media after a meeting with his players.

“We were two points up with I think 28 minutes gone in the second half and we conceded the goal at a vital time and in fairness to Limerick they took it well. You are not going to win too many matches when you concede four goals so that was the disappointing part of it.

“But I’m very proud of the lads, I thought they tried awful hard and for a long time in the game we took the game to Limerick and looked the better team. But again we need to be more clinical I suppose because for a period there in the second half we probably could have pushed on and won the game. But fair play to Limerick, they took their goals well and it’s young fellas that they have introduced that have shown the bottle tonight with Kevin Downes and Declan Hannon scoring those late goals. I’m very proud of our lads as well in the way they tried awful hard and wanted it badly but we just lost our way there for the last six or seven minutes and it cost us. Overall, goals win matches and Limerick took their goals well but unfortunately for us, it’s another year in Division 2 that we could have done without.”

And O’Loughlin was not about to sugar coat the loss with excuses of inexperience either.

“The guys that got the goals for Limerick were young lads and we have the same at the other side so I’m not using that as an excuse. I thought we didn’t play well in the first half and I thought in the second half we were completely transformed and for the guts of 27 or 28 mins, we took the game to Limerick for a lot of that. At times we looked sharper than Limerick and probably had a good few wides as well but we could of put them away and we probably should have and we will regret that but as I say, we will take a lot out of it but staying in Division 2 is the last thing we need really.”

It’s hard to envisage but with seven weeks to go to the Munster championship, can O’Loughlin take heart from the general improvement in performance at least?

“We will take an awful lot out of that. We need games like that and in a final such as that, you can see better speed and anyone who was at the game probably enjoyed it because there was good intensity in it. I think we just need to be playing better teams more often because that is how guys are going to come on as well. Whether that will happen now is doubtful but look, we have to take our beating tonight.

“We are licking our wounds again unfortunately but hopefully we will learn something out of it and we have to bounce back and see what the championship throws up for us.”

Ballyea 0-15 – O’Callaghan’s Mills 0-15 at Fr Hamilton Park, Kilkishen

O’CALLAGHAN’S Mills and Ballyea played out an entertaining draw on Monday afternoon in Kilkishen with county minor player Gearóid O’Connell stealing the show when hitting 0-9 over the hour in a great display.

It was the midfielder who bagged the equaliser in the fourth minute of injury time to earn his side a deserved share of the spoils. That Ballyea came away with a point ensured that they bagged only their second point of the campaign.

It looked bleak for them early on as the Mills raced into a 0-5 to no score lead inside eight minutes with Alan Duggan, Gary Neville (2), Adrian Flaherty and Niall Donovan on the mark.

However three in a row settled Ballyea, with Gearóid O’Connell opening their account and Paul Flanagan and O’Connell adding points. From there it very competitive, even if the Mills forged clear before half-time again until O’Connell hit two more before the break to leave only two points in it, the Mills 0-10 to 0-8 ahead.

The Mills always seemed to have the edge in the second half with Fla- herty and Neville bagging a brace each as they moved 0-14 to 0-12 clear by the 50th minute.

However, O’Connell hit the point of the hour in the 55th and wasn’t to be denied in the closing stages as his three point to one reply from Conor Cooney ensured the sides were deadlocked at the end.

Ballyea
Shane O’Neill, Eanna McInerney, Kevin Sheehan, Eamonn Griffin, Niall Keane, Paddy O’Connell, Paul Flanagan (0-2), Gearóíd O’Connell (0-11, 6f), Frankie Griffin, Brian Murphy,Alan Carrigg (0-1),

Niall Deasy (0-1),Tony Griffin, Donal Chambers, Francie Neylon.

Subs
David Sheehan for Flanagan, Niall Griffin for Frankie Griffin,

O’Callaghan’s Mills
John Cooney, Ger Frost, Jamie Shanahan, Gerry Cooney, Bryan Donnellan, Conor Cooney (0-1), Sean O’Gorman, Jonathon Lyons, Gary Neville (0-5, 2f, one 65), Patrick Donnellan, Declan Donovan, Fergus Donovan (0-1),Adrian Flaherty (0-6, 4f), Niall Donovan (0-1),Alan Duggan (0-1).

Subs
Damian Noonan for Bryan Donnellan, Kevin O’Callaghan for Fergus Donovan

Man of the Match
Gearóid O’Connell (Ballyea) Referee Fergie McDonagh (St Joseph’s Doora-Barefield)

Clare 6-24 – Kerry 1-08 at Austin Stacks, Tralee

THE CLARE Minor hurlers stormed into a Munster semi-final after a more than convincing win over Kerry as they defended their Munster crown in this opening round tie at Tralee last Wednesday evening.

In a competitive first half the sides exchanged points in the opening ten minutes before Clare took the lead through Aaron Cunningham and Colm Galvin. A goal from Kerry dual star Padraig Boyle meant they actually led the Munster champions in the 13th minute 1-2 to 0-4.

However, Clare pulled clear with a brace of scores from Cunningham, team captain Tony Kelly and Cathal O’Connell before a great Oisin Hickey goal 23 minutes in which meant Clare went in at the break seven points clear, 1-12 to 1-5.

The second half was a dominant Clare display as they pulled away significantly and put the result beyond doubt early on. Two more goals in as many minutes as the half got under- way saw the completion of a hat-trick for Oisin Hickey while Cunningham also added to his tally causing major problems for the Kerry defence.

Clare were able to make use of all five substitutes in this encounter and Alan Mulready added two more goals with another coming from Eire Og’s Shane O’Donnell as Clare made sure there was no hope for the Kingdom.

Clare ran out eventual winners by a 31 point margin, 6-24 to 1-8. They will now look ahead to a Munster semi-final at the end of June where they will play the winners of the losers group involving Cork, Kerry and Tipperary.

Clare
Eibhear Quilligan (Feakle); Jack Browne (Ballyea), Niall O’Connor (Newmarket), Seadna Morey (Sixmilebridge); Martin Moroney (Parteen), Jamie Shanahan (Sixmilebridge), Gearoid O’Connell (0-1) (Ballyea); ColmGalvin (0-3) (Clonlara),Tony Kelly (0-3) (Ballyea);Alan Mulready (2-2) (Sixmilebridge), Cathal O’Connell (0-6, 4f)

(Clonlara), Frank Melody (Newmarket);Aaron Cunningham(0-6) (WolfeTones), Oisin Hickey (31) (Meelick), Shane O’Donnell (1-1) (Eire Og).

Subs
Peter Duggan (Clooney-Quin) for Melody, Jarlath Colleran (0-1) (Doora-Barefield) for Moroney, Shane McGrath (Feakle) for Cunningham, Damien Moloney (Meelick) for Morey, Dave Barry (Clooney-Quin) for O’Connell.

Kerry
Kieran Fitzgibbon;Tadgh Moore, Dougie Fitzell, Mikey O’Halloran; Daniel Collins,Tommy Barrett, Kevin O’Sullivan; Eric O’Connor, Muris Delaney; Ricky Heffernan, Pa Joe Connelly, Luke Fitzell; David Goulding, Padraig Bolye, Shane Dunne.

Subs
TomMcElligott for O’Halloran, Paul McGrath for Goulding, Darren Leahy for Fitzell.

Referee
John O’Brien,Tipperary.

Clooney/Quin 0-13 – Crusheen 0-12 at Crusheen

WHAT WAS expected to be little more than shadow boxing ahead of the championship clash at the end of May actually turned out to be quite costly for both sides in terms of injuries which overshadowed the narrow victory for the traveling side. After suffering several injuries against Whitegate last time out, Clooney/ Quin’s jinx continued on Monday, albeit that it spread to the county champions as well with a total of five players being forced to retire early due to injury.

Otherwise, it was a typically tight derby game that was somewhat dour until the final 20 minutes when the tension heightened with the game in the balance. Indeed, the sides were locked on nine occasions during the game before Fergal Lynch continued his recent good form to pop up with the winning point in the 61st minute and break Crusheen’s unbeaten record in the process.

Inbetween the injuries, the visitors opened up a 0-5 to 0-4 half-time advantage with substitute Peter Duggan and John Earls scoring a brace each and Lynch got the other point while the home side looked to Joe Meaney to keep them within a point while David Forde also got in on the scoring action.

The second half continued in the same vein with never more than two points separating the sides at any stage. Ciaran O’Doherty converted three frees that were equalled by Peter Duggan’s placed balls skills including a sideline and as the game moved into injury-time, a draw seemed like the most logical outcome. Up stepped Fergal Lynch however to take the spoils and give his side a welcome boost ahead of their championship rematch in Round 2.

Clooney/ Quin
Damien O’Halloran,Tony McMahon, Shane McNamara, Brian McInerney, Adrian Fleming, Cillian Duggan, Enda Harrison, Sean Conheady, Padraig Ward, Cathal Egan, Mike McNamara, Ronan Gallagher, Martin Duggan, Fergal Lynch (0-3), John Earls (0-3)

Subs
SeanWard for P.Ward (inj), Mike Daffy for S. Ward (Inj), Peter Duggan (0-7 1/sl) for C. Duggan (inj), Ruairi McNamara for Fleming

Crusheen
Donal Tuohy, John Brigdale, Cronan Dillon,Alan Brigdale, Ciaran O’Doherty (0-3 2f), Cian Dillon, Cathal Dillon,Tony Meaney, Fergus Kennedy (0-1), Gearoid O’Donnell, Joe Meaney (0-5 1f), David Forde (0-2), Paddy Meaney, Gerry O’Grady (0-1), Conor O’Donnell

Subs
Jamie Fitzgibbon for P. Meaney,AlanTuohy for G. O’Donnell, Patrick O’Grady for Forde (inj), Jason Greene for Cronan Dillon (inj)

Referee
AndrewMonahan (Tubber)

Tulla 1-20 – Clarecastle 1-15 at Dr Daly Park, Tulla

A PRECURSOR to their second round championship meeting at the end of May and it was the home side who continued their recent good form with a second successive win while subjecting the Magpies to their third straight defeat in the process.

The writing was on the wall for Clarecastle when finding themselves 1-11 to 0-09 in arrears at the break despite having the aid of a slight breeze. Danny O’Halloran was the goalscorer for the home side midway through the half and it meant that Tulla was always that bit ahead of their group rivals on the turnover. Jonathan Clancy made it interesting when striking a late goal to reduce the deficit to three but Tulla had in vested too much in the game to let it slip at that stage and upped the ante once more to cement another confidence boosting victory ahead of their championship opener against the Mills.

Tulla
Philip Brennan, Eugene Cooney, Sean Torpey, John Fahy, Donnacha McNamara, Mark Quinn, Paul Lynch, Conor O’Halloran, Cathal Dinan, EannaTorpey, David McInerney, Daragh Corry, Danny O’Halloran, Kieran Brennan,Aidan Lynch

Subs
Raymond Stewart for D. O’Halloran, Trevor Vaughan for McInerney, Mike Murphy for K. Brennan (Inj)

Clarecastle
Donnagh Muprhy, Seanie Moloney, Conor Plunkett, Ollie Plunkett, Stephen O’Halloran, Patrick Kelly, Fearghus Ryan, Eric Flynn, Danny Scanlon,Tyrone Kearse, Kieran O’Dwyer, Darragh Moloney,Aaron Considine, Derek Quinn, Jonathan Clancy

Subs
Kevin Clohessy for C. Plunkett (inj), Jamie O’Connor for Flynn

Referee
Seanie McMahon (Newmarket-on-Fergus)

THE OLD saying that goals win games was evident in this Clare Cup clash as Éire Óg managed to put four past Bodyke and claim a win which will give them a boost as they head into the first round of championship.

It was Bodyke that started the game better getting the opening score and they put Éire Óg under severe pressure for most of the first half. Scores coming from Keith Quigley and John Fitzgerald gave Bodyke a deserved lead and a poor first half display from Éire Óg meant they trailed at the break, 0-9 to 1-5.

However, it was in the second half that Éire Óg began to open up and play hurling with some nice scores from Danny Russell and David O’Halloran. Bodyke stayed in touch as Quigley added more points to the board for his side but it was not to be their day. Three goals, two from David O’Halloran and one from Niall Daly meant Éire Óg ran out eventual winners by six, 4-11 to 0-17.

Éire Óg
Kevin Brennan; Kevin Hally, Marc O’Donnell, Cathal Whelan; Ronan Cooney, Fergus Flynn, Mark Fitz; Noel Whelan, Ronan Keane; John Lawlor, Ciaran Russell, Danny Russell; Niall Daly, AdrianWalsh, David O’Halloran.

Subs
David Ryan for Lawlor,Tomas Downes for Ciaran Russell.

Bodyke
Seamus Ryan; Keith O’Donnell, Shane Walsh, Sean Doyle; Paul Boland, Colin Molloy, Colm Madden (0-1); Manus McGuire (0-1), PJ Kelleher (0-1); Keith Quigley (0-7); Ian Harte (0-1), Ciaran Walsh (0-2), John Fitzgerald (0-2), Ian Molloy (0-1), Danny McGuire (0-1).

Subs
Oisin Molloy for C Molloy, DiarmaidWalsh for I Molloy, Gavin Moroney for Boland, Sean McGrath for Walsh, Brian O’Grady.

Sixmilebridge 5-14 – Whitegate 0-10 at Whitegate

IT WAS back to business for Sixmilebridge who brushed off their first defeat of the season and put their Under 21 silverware away in the cabinet on their way to a straightforward victory over Whitegate on Friday evening. The defending champions started and finished with a goal and largely controlled the tie with a fluid team display that saw Niall Gilligan return in commanding fashion allied to scoring flourishes for Declan Morey and debutant Jamie Shanahan.

Whitegate, without their most influential player, Brendan Bugler, failed to capitalise on their chances particularly in the first half and therefore, there was a certain inevitability about the result once Niall Gilligan snuck in for the opening goal inside two minutes. Whitegate rallied and through George Waterstone (2), Michael O’Brien and Ian Fahy, they only trailed by the minimum by the tenth minute at 1-2 to 0-4.

Sixmilebridge’s superior movement and eye for goal would separate the sides however, epitomised by Rory Shanahan’s 17th minute strike when teed up by namesake Jamie and Gilligan. The third goal duly arrived two minutes later when Declan Morey picked out Jamie Shanahan with an inch perfect crossfield pass for the county minor to knock past goalkeeper Andrew Fahey for his first senior goal on their way to a 3-7 to 0-6 interval advantage.

Any murmurings of a recovery were soon quashed only minutes after the restart when Shane Golden soloed through the centre of the Whitegate defence before laying off for Declan Morey to rattle the net. And the ‘Bridge punished further with a flurry of points from Gilligan (2), David O’Connor (2), John Fennessy, Pa Sheehan and the tireless Shane Golden to open up a 19 point advantage by the turn of the final quarter before easing off the gas.

Credit Whitegate for not throwing in the towel and they hit back with three successive points while Stephen Malone also had a flick saved by goalkeeper Fahy. However, the gulf between the sides on the night was emphasised by Sixmilebridge’s ability to go up the other end of the field and cancel out that fightback in one fell swoop with a Declan Morey goal that completed the rout and gave the ‘Bridge a sizeable boost ahead of the championship, even without the services of Caimin and Danny Morey, and Páidi Fitzpatrick.

Sixmilebridge
Derek Fahy,Tadgh Keogh,Aidan Quilligan,Trevor Purcell, Barry O’Connor, John Fennessy (0-1), Paul Fitzpatrick, Shane Golden (02), Pa Sheehan (0-1), David O’Connor (0-2), Rory Shanahan (1-0), Seadna Morey, Jamie Shanahan (1-2), Niall Gilligan (1-5 1f), Declan Morey (2-1)

Subs
Anthony Liddane for R. Shanahan (34 mins), Brian Culbert for J. Shanahan (38 mins),Tommy Morey for S. Morey (40 mins)

Whitegate
AndrewFahey, Cathal Mulvihill, John Bugler,Trevor Kelly, Patrick Minogue, Jason Malone, Christy Jones,Tomás MacNamara, John Minogue (0-1), Michael O’Brien (0-1), Ian Fahy (0-1), George Waterstone (0-5f), Eoin Quirke, Shane O’Rourke, Stephen Malone (0-2)

Sub
John O’Brien for Jones (48 mins)

Man of the Match
Niall Gilligan (Sixmilebridge) Referee Ger Hoey (Killanena)

Shannon Olympic 4 – Connolly Celtic 0 at Shannon

IT WAS a big week for Shannon Olympic – first it was to secure promotion on Wednesday night, then to win the league outright on the Sunday.

The first part of the equation was duly solved with this comprehensive victory over Connolly Celitc as they showed no mercy in securing a swift return to the top flight of Clare football.

They flew out of the traps and took the lead in the seventh minute with a lovely strike from Ray Quigley. The second goal followed minutes later, when, after three attempts, Eamonn O’Neill finally hit the back of the net. Olympic piled on the pressure for the rest of the first half with chances from brothers Jay and Wayne Regan.

Olympic started the second half with great determination and were rewarded with a well deserved goal from Jay Regan in the 50th minute. Olympic put the game to bed on the hour mark with a goal from Karl Scott.

With the game and promotion secured Olympic took their foot off the gas and allowed Connolly more possession. In the 75th minute Connolly won a penalty but for the second week in a row Olympic’s keeper Gary McGettrick made a superb save denying Connolly’s Kieran Dillion.

Best for Olympic on the night was Ray Quigley and Eamonn O’Neill as they looked ahead to Sunday for another home game ane the chamce to land the title.

Shannon Olympic
: Gary Mc Gettrick, David Collins, James Fitzgerald, Ian Hogan, Karl Fogarty, Jay Regan, Donncadh Kelly,Wayne Regan, Eamonn O’Neill Ray Quigley, Karl Scott.

Subs
Alan Casey, Greg Keane, Jimmy Houlihan

Connolly Celtic
Sean Cregan, Jack Neylon, KillianTorpy, Kieran Dillion,Tola Coote, Seanan Mc Carty, Brendan Dillion, Sean Courtney, Eamon Bracken, Eoin Meehan

Subs
Bernard Field, Michael Lynch

Man of the Match
Ray Quigley (Shannon Olympic)

Shannon Olympic 3 – Avenue United B 0 at Shannon

SHANNON OLYMPIC were crowned Prego Menswear First Division Champions after a convincing win on Sunday afternoon.

Olympic had a scare in the fourth minute when Cormac Morel found himself clear through on goal after a mix-up in the Olympic defence, but the Avenue man failed to convert what seemed an easy chance.

In the 12th minute captain Jason Regan combined with strike partner Karl Scott to run clear and finish coolly to the Avenue net.

A combination of poor finishing and great goal-keeping from Greg O’Neill in the Avenue goal, including a penalty save in the 24th minute, kept the score to 1-0 at half time.

The second half started with Olympic continuing to create chances and just 3 minutes into the half Jay Regan was put through by his brother Wayne to finish for his, and Olympic’s, second goal to give them a deserving 2-0 lead.

In the 80th minute Jay Regan capped off a superb performance by him with a calm finish to complete his hat-trick and win the game and league title for his side.

With the game, and league, in the bag Olympic played some brilliant football in the final minutes and were unlucky not to increase their lead when a Lionel Messi style run from winger Alan Casey, left a trail Avenue players behind him but he shot weakly wide.

The game finished 3-0 to Olympic and the final whistle sparked jubilant celebrations from the Olympic players and fans. This win caps off a hugely successful season for Olympic who also won the league cup earlier in the season.

Best for the Champions on the day were Captain fantastic Jason Regan, and midfielders Ray Quigley and Donncadh Kelly.

Shannon Olympic
Gary Mc Gettrick, David Collins, James Fitzgerald, Ian Hogan, Karl Fogarty, Jay Regan, Donncadh Kelly,Wayne Regan, Eamonn O’Neill Ray Quigley, Karl Scott.

Subs
Alan Casey, Richie Hanley, Jimmy Houlihan, Michael Byrnes.

Avenue
Greg O’Neill, Ed Slattery, Richie O’Grady, Neil Slattery, Barry O’Neill, Craig McNamara,Alan McNamara, David Considine, Killian Culligan, Michael Byrnes, Cormac Morel

Subs
Ian Hassett, Patrick Sherlock, Conor O’Brien, Barry Cusack, Eoin O’Loughlin, Emre Zequiri.

Man of the Match
Jason Regan (Shannon Olympic)

Avenue United 0 – Tulla United 0 (After Extra-Time) (Avenue won 4-3 on penalties) at The County Grounds, Doora

IT was tense, like all semi-finals in the nervous rush to participation in the showpiece of the Clare soccer year, but it was also open with plenty of chances at both ends before it was all decided in the most dramatic way possible – the dreaded, but at the same time much loved, penalty shoot-out.

As it turned out the order of things in Clare soccer was maintained at the end – Avenue in search of a 14th Clare Cup final place edged over the line against a Tulla team bidding to reach the final for the first time.

John Healy was the man – in heroic fashion the veteran of many an Avenue battle overcame a wrist problem that struck during the shootout, breaking Tulla hearts with three saves.

Avenue will feel they should have won this game in the first half when they created numerous half-chances, some gilt-edged chances too, but spurned the lot of them that was a early replica of their first half showing against Newmarket Celtic in the league the previous week.

As early as the tenth minute David Russell headed a good chance over the bar when connecting with a David Smythe cross – it was a portent of things to come as Con Collins, Mikey Mahony also spurned chances, while David McCarthy’s decision to go for an spectacular overhead kick, instead of putting Con Collins through in the the 35th minute was more evidence of their profligacy.

Avenue did put the ball in the net on 38 minute when Russell headed home, but with the offside flag up it didn’t count.

Tulla may have been charmed, but they had their own chances, especially in the second half when opportunity knocked for Alan Brigdale and Niall Whelan, while the best chance of the day fell to Trevor Corbett with 15 minutes remaining, but he failed to breach Healy’s defences.

It was a portent of things to come for Tulla in the penalty shoot-out after the two ten-minute periods of extra-time failed to produce a goal. However, the east Clare men got the best possible start when Con Collins drove Avenue’s first penalty off the crossbar.

Gearóid O’Doherty then converted for Tulla, with David Russell reply – ing. Niall Whelan then found the target for Tulla, before Alan Roche converted for Avenue.

A turning point came when Healy saved Darragh Corry’s kick, injuring his hand in the process.

Barry Nugent made it 3-2 before Keith Lenihan replied to make it 33. Gary Flynn missed his kick was then saved by Shane Collins, but then Healy emerged as the hero, again saving from Dennis Murphy and after Pa Wilson put Avenue 4-3 up, Healy again stood firm in goal to the champions through.

Avenue United
John Healy, Simon Cuddy (Dylan Casey), David Russell Mattie Nugent (Gary Flynn), Colin Smyth, David Smyth, Pa Wilson, Con Collins, David Herlihy (Alan Roche), David McCarthy (Barry Nugent), Mikey Mahony (Jack Walsh).

Tulla United
Shane Collins,TomByrnes,Padraig O’Malley, Niall Whelan, Dennis Murphy,Tommy McKeown (Keith Lenihan),Trevor Corbett (Gearóid O’Doherty), Shane Mason (Brian Hehir), Darragh Corry,Alan Brigdale, Colin Nelson. Unused Subs Paul Whelan, PaudgeVaughan, Mike McDermott, Kevin Delohery.

Man of the Match
John Healy (Avenue United)

Referee
John Murray