This article is from page 66 of the 2011-07-19 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 66 JPG
Clare 2-15 – Limerick 2-13 at Cusack Park, Ennis
WINNING Munster finals is a habit that Clare are quickly getting used to after their second historic achievement in only three days. Following the minors retention of their provincial crown, Clare’s second side maintained that form by capturing a first ever Munster intermediate crown in front of a sizeable home support.
It may not have been the swashbuckling display of their underage counterparts in Pairc Uí Chaoimh the previous weekend but Clare were still deserved victors over their neighbours, having led for the majority of the tie and only falling behind once and that for a matter of seconds midway through the opening half.
Essentially, Kevin Kennedy’s side had the better balance on the evening, with the county senior experience of Niall Gilligan, captain Tony Carmody and Declan O’Rourke perfectly complementing the undoubtedly potential of Patrick Kelly, John Fennessy, Andrew Fahey, Kevin Moynihan, Shane Golden, and Daire Keane who would end the day as the side’s top scorer from play with 1-2.
Kelly was outstanding at full-back as was Fennessy outside him while Gilligan provided cool leadership and scorers when the game threatened to turn against them in the second half. That melting pot of talent was just enough to hold off a stubborn Limerick side that had they taken their chances in the second half, could have stole victory.
It was Clare that were the wasteful side in the opening half however with the wind at their backs, hitting nine first half wides that hampered their progress of building on their 1-4 to 0-2 advantage by the 12th minute. Carmody, O’Rourke and Gilligan utilised their experience to good effect in pushing the home side clear but it was 1-1 from Under 21 Daire Keane that really got Clare motoring as he fielded a puck-out to drive at the Limerick defence before billowing the net in the 12th minute.
A rout appeared on the cards at this stage but in the move of the game, Limerick pulled back corner-forward Tommy Quaid as a sweeper which had a two-fold effect. It allowed the Limerick forwards more space up front while also hindering Clare at the other end and it had an almost immediate impact as Michael Ryan thrived on the space to pick off a 18th minute goal.
The Murroe/Boher player followed up with a point to equalise while Tommy Quaid himself put Limerick into the lead for the first time in the 21st minute with an impressive point from the left wing.
With Clare’s defence fragmented, Clare were fortunate to go in level at half-time after a brace of Gilligan frees and they used the break to regroup and re-arm as they came out with all guns blazing for the second half. Gilligan, now on the forty, swapped points with Conor Allis but Clare finally pushed clear once more when Tony Carmody picked out the run of Ronan Keane who took the score of the game when finding the top corner of the net to give his side a 2-7 to 1-7 lead.
That goal seemed to knock the stuffing out of Limerick as Gilligan extended Clare’s advantage with a further brace of points by the turn of the final quarter.
However, Clare didn’t kill off the game and it had to take a Patrick Kelly clearance off the line to maintain their cushion. Two points from substitute Padraig Hickey along with another Gilligan point kept Limerick’s recovery at bay with points of their own through Seanie O’Brien (2) and Niall Maher.
Clare’s full-back line were finding themselves increasingly under pressure but through Kelly, Fahey and Fennessy, they managed to hold out. Late points from Ronan Keane, Daire Keane and O’Rourke appeared to have quenched the Limerick flames but the gloss was taken off the victory with a last gasp goal from Niall Maher.
It wasn’t enough to spoil the party but leaves Clare with plenty of room for improvement ahead of their AllIreland semi-final against Galway on August 13.
Clare