This article is from page 62 of the 2011-08-16 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 62 JPG
Liscannor 1-9 Lissycasey 1-8 at Pairc Naomh Mhuire, Quilty
LAST year’s finalists Liscannor returned to their game-edging best after a late surge got their championship campaign back on track on Saturday. Agonisingly overturned by the minimum in the opening round against Ennistymon, this time it was Liscannor’s turn to come back from a two point deficit in the final quarter to snatch a dramatic victory.
It was a cruel twist on Lissycasey who for the second successive game, failed to hold onto a match winning position and in the end, it was predominantly their inexperience that cost them dearly. Inexperience is something that cannot be labelled at Liscannor however as 16 out of the 17 players used on Saturday had featured in last year’s county final and they used that match winning knowhow and patience to eventually get them over the line.
Their strong finish was matched by an equally impressive opening when surging into a 0-4 to 0-1 lead by tenth minute thanks to Alan Clohessy, a superb Michael Foley point and one apiece from the towering full-forward duo of Johnny Considine and Alan Flaherty who posed a major aerial threat everytime the ball was lofted in their direction. Lissycasey meanwhile used placed balls to settle them into the tie through Enda Finnucane and Niall Kelly and by the interval, they had gained parity at 0-5 to 0-5.
Again Liscannor took control on the restart and should have troubled goaleeper Joe Hayes with a flowing move involving Niall Considine and Alan Flaherty that was teed up for the onrushing Gerard Considine to strike just over the crossbar after only 30 seconds. Two poor wides along with a Clohessy smothered shot ensured that Liscannor would not profit further on their period of dominance and they were to be punished to the maximum at the other end in the 36th minute with a bizarre goal against the run of play.
It stemmed from a hopeful Michael Melican effort from 45 metres that swirled in the wind and eluded the despairing Noel Kilmartin in a moment that almost seemed like slow motion. It was to be the kickstart that Lissycasey so badly craved and they capitalised on that fortune to open up a four point lead by the 40th minute following points from Paul Nagle and Niall Kelly.
Liscannor didn’t panic however and utilising their aerial advantage in the full-forward line, they grabbed a lifeline only five minutes later when a Dara Blake high delivery was caught and offloaded by Johnny Considine to Alan Clohessy who did well to hold off the attention of several defenders before getting a successful shot away to the left corner.
With that, Liscannor’s match winning character came to the fore and while they were perhaps fortunate to maintain their full side after Brian Considine threaded a thin line to avoid a second yellow, pressure didn’t seem to bother them when it came to taking their chances from frees when it mattered most.
1-8 to 1-6 down with six minutes remaining, a Clohessy free was matched by one from Kieran Considine in the 57th minute to equalise. And there was almost a sense of inevitability in a tumultuous, ill-tempered finish when Niall Considine was fouled 35 metres from goal and Clohessy stepped up to get Liscannor off the mark in the championship.
Liscannor
Noel Kilmartin (6), Dara Blake (7), David McDonagh (7), Michael Foley (8) (0-1), Shane Canavan (7), Ronan Slattery (7), Denis Murphy (7), Brian Considine (8), Niall Considine
(7), Joe Considine (6),Alan Clohessy (8) (1-4 3f), Gerard Considine (7) (0-1), Kieran Considine (7) (0-1f),Alan Flaherty (8) (0-1), Johnny Considine (7) (0-1)
Subs
Robert Lucas (7) for Joe Considine (HT), Paul Guerin for Johnny Considine (60 mins)
Lissycasey
Joe Hayes (7), Martin O’Connor (7), Gerry Moran (7),Alan Nagle (7), Cathal Hill (7), Michael Melican (8) (0-1), Cyril Sheehan (6), Enda Finnucane (7) (0-2f), Danny Clohessy (7), Paul Nagle (7) (0-2), Francis Hayes (8), Matt O’Shea (7), Derek McMahon (7), Niall Kelly (8) (0-4 3f), Fergal Talty (6)
Subs
OisinTalty (6) for F.Talty (36 mins), Martin Moran for Sheehan (36 mins), Dermot Nagle for Clohessy (54 mins)
Man of the Match
Alan Clohessy (Liscannor) Referee Michael Talty (Kilmurry Ibrickane)