This article is from page 69 of the 2011-06-14 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 69 JPG
Clarecastle 0-15 – Wolfe Tones 0-13 at Shannon
TWO SIDES badly in need of a lift after disappointing starts to the season and in the end, it was the Magpies who got over the line but only just. Nine points up entering the final quarter, Clarecastle appeared to be cruising but their failure to hit the target for the remainder allied to a spirited wind assisted recovery from the home side ensured an extremely nervy finish before finally collecting the points.
Confidence was blatantly low on both sides and no wonder as Wolfe Tones had yet to register a competitive victory all season while the Magpies fared only mildly better with one victory in seven outings.
Player losses have devastated Tones’ senior set-up but after an inspirational opening victory in the senior football championship, it was hoped that it might rub off on the hurling side as well.
Clarecastle for their part were also severely understrength, being without eight of the 17 players used against Tulla last time out, along with long term casualties Conor Plunkett and Mark McNamara but while they were the more dominant side for long periods, they will be very disappointed to rack up 21 wides over the hour, most of which were struck from close range.
In between that plethora of missed chances, the majority of Clarecastle scores came in three separate purple patches. Firstly when recovering from a 0-2 to 0-1 defecit after four minutes to hit the next six points in a ten minute period through Tyrone Kearse (2), Eamon Callinan, Patrick Kelly, Alan O’Loughlin and Aaron Considine. They also had two glorious goal opportunities in the same period but Aaron Considine’s shot was straight at goalkeeper Paul Hogan while at the end of the first quarter, Alan O’Loughlin made a superb catch but was off balance when striking his shot just wide.
The second flurry came in the five minute period either side of half-time when hitting another five without reply to open up a 0-12 0-04 advantage by the 33rd minute. Despite now playing into the sizeable breeze, the visitors appeared comfortable and had the dominance of Seanie Moloney, Patrick Kelly, Tyrone Kearse and Aaron Considine to thank for their cushion at that stage. However, even though they grabbed three more points through Darragh Moloney, Kearse and Considine to push 0-15 to 0-06 clear by the 45th minute, they were to be severely tested in the final quarter.
The switch of Daithi O’Connell to midfield was a masterstroke as the former county senior struck Wolfe Tones first point in 20 minutes in the 40th minute and followed up with three more as they slowly grew in confidence with every chip at the deficit.
Clarecastle didn’t help themselves as they were not to score for the final 19 minutes of the contest despite a host of opportunities while the Tones hit seven points without reply by the 57th minute. However, having dispatched a pack of cats to play among a flock of pigeons, Wolfe Tones were unable to find the goal that would complete a memorable turnaround, with the best chance falling to Declan O’Rourke whose pull was cleared off the line by Eric Flynn late on.
The Magpies may not have been firing on all cylinders up front but some dogged defending, particularly from Seanie Moloney, the aforementioned Flynn and Kelly ensured the visitors would hold onto the points and ease their relegation worries. However, their championship clash in August could be equally anxious.
Clarecastle
Donnagh Murphy, Seanie Moloney, Garrett Barry, Kevin Clohessy, Fearghus Ryan (0-1), Patrick Kelly (0-1), Eric Flynn,Tyrone Kearse (0-3 1f), Eamon Callinan (0-2 1f), Darragh Moloney (0-2), Jamie O’Connor,AdamHealy (0-1), Niall Dunne,Alan O’Loughlin (0-1),Aaron Considine (0-4 1f)
Sub
AndrewPage for O’Connor (43 mins)
Wolfe Tones
Paul Hogan, Joe McGauley, Patsy Keyes, Eamon O’Neill, Shane Chambers, Bobby McPhillips (0-5 4f), Barry Loughnane, Brendan Hughes, Niall Murphy,Alan Hehir, Declan O’Rourke, Garret McPhillips (0-2 1f), Paul Walsh (0-1), Ronan Hehir, Daithi O’Connell (0-4)
Subs
Mark Regan (0-1) for Murphy (37 mins), Gary Leahy for A. Hehir (48 mins), Richie Lillis for Walsh (48 mins)
Man of the Match
Seanie Moloney (Clarecastle) Referee JimHickey (Cratloe)