Month: September 2011

ON it goes. The Cratloe carousel where players flit between kicking ball one week and pucking it the next.

Occasionally the lines become blurred, like they did when Cathal McInerney showcased his prodigious talent with one swing of his left leg on the sliotar to finally kill off Tulla’s challenge, but in Cratloe’s case it’s always a case of one game com- plimenting the other.

So it is that they’ve two county semi-finals to look forward too, and an under 21 final too. “It is like 2009,” admitted manager Mike Deegan, “but this year we’re used to it because we’ve done it before. We have more experience and hopefully that will pay to us in the end.

“All we want to do is keeping winning. It’s basically the same panel of players for both. Every day you win you get confidence and hopefully they’ll be able to carry that through to the next round.”

The footballers got to their penultimate round with a facile win over Lissycasey – the margin of victory here may have been nine points, but it was far from facile, as Deegan was quick to admit.

“It’s championship hurling and you’re not going to win a match very easily. The couple of goals at the end weren’t really fair on Tulla because they played really well and were very tough in the second half.

“Our guys started very well and then dropped off a small bit. When you go out in championship you hope that there will be an improvement everyday and we’ll be hoping for that the next day.”

Cratloe only managed 0-7 in their final group game against Inagh/Kilnamona – to say a haul 4-12 represented a massive improvement is putting it mildly. When asked for an explanation Deegan put it down to “the real important end” of the 2011 hurling year.

“Every match counts. The nervousness was there in the last couple of matches that we played, especially after the bad start we got against Tubber. After being beaten by Tubber we knew what we had to do. Every match we played was a knock-out game for us – obviously there were nerves there because we were afraid to lose but now it’s great to be back in a semi-final.”

Cratloe 4-12 – Tulla 0-15 at Cusack Park, Ennis

WITH three minutes of normal time left – not to mind the four injury time minutes to be added – it’s safe to say that Tulla scented an escape to victory. They still trailed by three, but had just reeled off hat-trick of points from the mercurial Andrew Quinn (2) and David McInerney and had Cratloe shaken.

But not stirred – they never are and by game’s end they had rattled the Tulla net twice more to cruise to a nine-point win and into their third successive county senior semi-final.

It’s true that the final scoreline flattered Cratloe and did a grave disservice to a battling Tulla, but at the same time the 2009 county champions certainly rediscovered their swagger as they closed to within 60 minutes of a remarkable third county final appearance in a row.

Just reward too because Cratloe’s class up front was visible all through and it meant that Tulla seemed to be chasing the game for most of the hour – building their challenge of raw intensity, while Cratloe had the craft.

Early on Cratloe raced into a 1-3 to no score lead after only six minutes – the goal coming when Podge Collins teed up Cathal McInerney the first of his hat-trick that ultimately ripped the heart out of Tulla’s brave resistance.

It looked routine enough for Cratloe at that stage in they way they’d hit back from Aidan Lynch’s opener for Tulla with points by Conor McGrath (2) and McInerney before the latter struck for his goal.

However, Tulla were resolute all through, slowly cranking to life thanks to an effort from play by Cathal Dinan and two placed balls from Andrew Quinn as the game settled down into a really competitive contest.

Tulla’s tour de force continued with points from Andrew Quinn (2), Danny O’Halloran, David McInerney and Darragh Corry. With the only riposte coming by way of points from Martin ‘Ogie’ Murphy and Conor McGrath, it meant that the 2007 champions had overcome their dreadful start to move 0-9 to 1-5 ahead by the 25th minute.

However, crucial to the outcome was Cratloe’s response before the break when they reeled off three on the trot from Conor McGrath, Podge Collins and Cathal McInerney to edge 1-8 to 0-9 clear.

Cathal McInerney’s second goal two minutes into the second half when he pounced on a rebound after Philip Brennan foiled Conor McGrath moved Cratloe 2-8 to 0-10 clear but try as they might they couldn’t shake off Tulla’s dogged pursuit for much of the half.

A brilliant display of point taking from Andrew Quinn helped keep Jim McInerney’s charges alive, while points from Danny O’Halloran and David McInerney also aided their cause as they chased the game in the second half.

Quinn’s eighth in the 50th minute, which was followed by an inspirational effort from McInerney seven minutes later had the game back in the balance, with Tulla threatening to steamroll past Cratloe’s faltering challenge.

However, they needed to take every chance that came their way, meaning that Brian Lynch’s 58th minute wide was the break that Cratloe needed – a fact they hammered home less than 30 seconds later when Conor McGrath stroked the sliotar home to an empty net was another Brennan save, this time from Cathal McInerney, fell invitingly into his path.

Game over, but the highlight was yet to come, when McInerney crowned his brilliant individual display with a wonder goal.

Controlling a high delivery with his hurley, the dual star then eschewed handling the sliotar and instead met the dropped ball with a full volley into the top left corner of the net.

What Cathal McInerney the footballer would give for a few of those against Kilmurry Ibrickane on Saturday.

Cratloe
Sean Hayes (7), John O’Gorman (7), Barry Duggan (7), David Ryan (8), Enda Boyce (7), Michael Hawes (7), LiamMarkham(7), Sean Chaplin (7), Martin ‘Ogie’ Murphy (7) (0-1), Damian Browne (6) (0-1),

Sean Collins (6), Conor Ryan (7), Cathal McInerney (9) (3-2), Conor McGrath (8) (1-6, 5f), Podge Collins (8) (0-2).

Subs
Tomás O’Connor (6) for Browne [50 Mins], Padraigh Chaplin (6) for Collins [59 Mins], Gearóid Ryan (6) for Conor Ryan [62 Mins]

Tulla

CHRISTY ‘Rusty’ Chaplin was braced. His team too, once the draw pitted a ‘Bridge team with Tony Carmody in its ranks against Inagh/ Kilnmona. Braced for a battle to the last.

Against this backdrop, it’s always about coming out the right side of the battle, something Chaplin hammered home to his players when dragging them up to the Stamer Park end of the field for a talk after that battle was over.

Chaplin wasn’t to know that medical prognosis was that goalkeeper Derek Fahy has fractured cheekbone and right half-back Barry O’Connor a double-break on his wrist and out of the semi-final.

“Look, it’s over, it’s done with,” he says before hearing the bad news. “We move on from here. We are delighted we’re in the next round. What we came up here to do was to get to a semi-final. We’re there. We didn’t play that well and that’s down to In- agh/Kilnamona.

“It was a tough, tough battle. We coming up to his all week that it was going to be a serious battle. We played Inagh/Kilnamona once or twice in the cup and you get nothing easy.

“They have a great bunch of hurlers and they were never going to die. They were going to used everything they could. We played it down, but they were going to use the Tony Carmody thing. They hounded us and won a lot of personal battles all over the field.

“We gave away a lot of stupid frees that were were punished for. That was our ill-discipline and we could have suffered for it. We knew young Arthur would punish us – he did it in the last round against Tubber and we had our lads warned but we gave away stupid frees.

“We turned up a bit flat today and it’s very hard to push the button when you’re not going well. We have two weeks to get ready and have a lot of work to do on that display,” he adds.

But what better way to focus the minds of his players than dangle Cratloe blue in front of them. “The ‘Bridge and Cratloe,” smiles Chaplin. “We’ll be drinking with them tonight and we’ll be enemies in two weeks time. It’s a game of hurling. We live together. We have players with some Cratloe women, they have players with Sixmilebridge women. There’s a lot of families tied up. It’s going to be a battle. We’ll enjoy this but two weeks time will be a different day and a different situation.”

Sixmilebridge 0-17 – Inagh/Kilnamona 0-15 at Cusack Park, Ennis

THERE were some very ugly scenes with hurleys flying and men going to ground before and after the final whistle when Cathal Lafferty saw red for Inagh/Kilnamona, but clichéd as it may read, it wasn’t really that kind of game.

Yeah it was tough, edgy even as a pumped up Combo thundered into the ‘Bridge as if there were 15 Tony Carmodys in saffron and blue, but Christy Chaplin’s emerging side didn’t flinch, gave as good as they got and came out the other end of a pulsating encounter by two points to edge closer to a first county final appearance in nine years.

It’s too simplistic to say that it went the ‘Bridge’s way because of a missed Inagh/Kilnamona goal chance at a crucial stage – but certainly a goal could have made all the difference to the Combo in the second half in their valiant efforts to reel a ‘Bridge side that always kept their noses in front.

In a game of few goal chances, the one that presented itself to Conor Tierney in the 39th minute was a potential turning point. Inagh/Kilnamona were trailing by 0-12 to 0-10 at the time, but opportunity knocked when Cathal Lafferty put Tierney through, and with Derek Fahy advancing he snatched his shot into the side netting with a goal at his mercy.

There were still 20 minutes left, but a goal would have really thrown down the gauntlet to the ‘Bridge, but as it was Inagh/Kilnamona who were always chasing the game in the sec- ond half once points inside the first minute of the second half from Seadna Morey and Shane Golden fired the championship favourites into a 0-10 to 0-8 lead.

Inagh/Kilnamona had their chances in the first half too when playing with the breeze. An even opening saw the sides level on four occasions inside the first 15 minutes before points by Ger Arthur and Conor Tierney edged Inagh/Kilnamona 0-6 to 0-4 clear by the 18th minute.

By this stage Tony Carmody had been shunted from centre-forward to full-forward and back again, but each time he was met with fire as Inagh/ Kilnamona relished his presence on the field and were playing the better hurling as a result.

However, when failing to press home this advantage on the scoreboard the ‘Bridge played the masterstroke of substituting the injured Carmody in the 24th minute and for a few minutes, at least, the passion ebbed from Inagh/Kilnamona’s play and allowed the ‘Bridge pounce for three points.

Two came from the livewire Danny Morey who hit four points in the half and another via a Niall Gilligan free as the ‘Bridge moved 0-7 to 0-6 clear. Niall Arthur stopped the rot with a 65 before Seadna Morey and Cathal Lafferty swapped points in the final minute to leave matters delicately poised at 0-8 apiece at the break.

What followed was essentially a game of cat and mouse – the ‘Bridge buttressed themselves with those early points from Seadna Morey and Shane Golden; Inagh/Kilnamona plugged away thanks to Niall Arthur who hit four points in the first ten minutes of the half, but all the while it was just to keep in touch.

For each of Arthur’s strikes there was a ‘Bridge riposte with Caimin Morey, Niall Gilligan and Rory Shanahan on the mark as they maintained their two-point advantage with 20 minutes remaining.

A scoreline of 0-13 to 0-11 in the ‘Bridge’s favour became 0-15 to 013 after the Arthurs swapped points with John Fennessy and Jamie Shanahan by the 50th minute. A brilliant point by Fennessy in the 53rd minute looked to be decisive but back came Niall Arthur with two more by the 58th minute, while Ger Arthur missed a great chance to level matters in the 59th.

A let-off for the ‘Bridge, with their escape confirmed when Danny Morey hit his fifth from play in the 61st minute.

All that was left was the agro. And plenty of it, with county secretary Pat Fitzgerald and PRO Syl O’Connor intervening to try and broker peace between the warring factions on the field.

Sixmilebridge
Derek Fahy (6),Tadhg Keogh (7),Aidan Quilligan (7), Paul Fitzpatrick (7), Barry O’Connor (7), Padraig Fitzpatrick (7), Robert Conlon (7), Shane Golden (7) (0-1), John Fennessy (8) (0-2), Seadna Morey (7) (0-2),Tony Carmody (6), Caimin Morey (7) (0-1), Jamie Shanahan (7) (0-2), Niall Gilligan (7) (0-3f), Danny Morey (9) (0-5).

Subs
Rory Shanahan (7) (0-1) for Carmody [24 Mins], Stephen Fleming (7) for Fahy [43 Mins],Trevor Purcell (6) for Paul Fitzpatrick [50 Mins].

JOHN Carmody’s name has become synonymous with Kilmaley successes in recent years.

He was manager when they captured only their second ever county title in 2004 and after being part of the backroom team under Patsy Fahey that got to the semi-final two years ago, he took the reins once more last year to lead his side to a nine match unbeaten run that culminated in Sunday’s two point victory over Clonlara.

“The players have put in a huge commitment since the 15th of January so I think it was just rewards for what they have put into it.”

In a tense final quarter, a replay appeared to be on the cards until Kilmaley showed their character late on

“Our experienced players stood up and in fairness to our fitness coach David O’Brien, the team is in good shape.

“In the last couple of matches, we have finished strongly and hopefully we will continue in that vein.”

The Blues will now face county champions Crusheen in the last four and after drawing on the opening day of the championship, Carmody’s men won’t fear the holders.

“Being in a county semi-final, it’s a huge prize to get to a county final. No more than any club that starts out the championship, we want to be there on county final day and we will prepare well for the two weeks.

“We are going in to win, we are certainly not going in to make up the numbers.”

With Carmody’s record, you wouldn’t doubt him for a second.

Kilmaley 1-13 – Clonlara 1-11 at Cusack Park, Ennis

ANYONE EXPECTING fireworks was not to be disappointed on Sunday evening. Not on the field mind you, that was dogged, intense stuff, but behind the Aldi goal where a number of youths took advantage of the lack of a Garda presence to make intermittent loud bangs throughout the final last eight tie.

The game itself could have done with a spark to get it going too as for a finish, neither side seemed to want to win it. In the end however, it was the new and old of the Blues that stepped up to the plate to clinch a semi-final place as Clonlara misfired at an alarming rate. The new came in the form of 19 year old Niall McGuane who picked up a 56th minute clearance to put Kilmaley ahead for the first time in 30 minutes while in injury-time, the ever-reliable Diarmuid McMahon was fouled under the stand from the same distance for Kenneth Kennedy to convert and cement the win.

It was an impressive finish to a game that for long periods seemed to be going away from them, despite having a man advantage for the last 17 minutes of the game. After a bright start, the 2004 champions lost their way as the opening half developed and only for goalkeeper Kieran Dillon who pulled off a number of fine saves, they would have been more than four points down at the break.

However, they weathered the storm and the turning point came with Seamus Hurley’s 41st minute equalising goal that coincided with the sending off of Clonlara’s Tomas O’Donovan. Their momentum and numerical advantage should have inspired a strong finish but it was Clonlara who actually rallied to dominate the next ten minutes before Kilmaley finally found their feet again.

Clonlara will simply be kicking themselves that they didn’t make their dominance count in the final quarter but time and time again they either struck wide or their shots dropped short into the welcoming hand of Dillon. In all, they had seven second half wides that cost them very dearly in the final analysis but more than that, they should have also capitalised further late in the opening half when Oisin O’Brien went clear on goal only to see his point blank shot somehow saved by Dillon.

The leadership of Diarmuid and Brian McMahon was instrumental in Kilmaley’s start as All-Ireland minor winner Brian teed up Niall McGuane to open their account in reply to a Nicky O’Connell opening free while Diarmuid scored the second when controlling a lineball to convert.

County senior Diarmuid was roaming deep from his centre-forward position to gather possession and it aided Kilmaley’s cause, with Kenneth Kennedy and Colin Lynch adding points to open up a three point advantage.

Clonlara were strangely lethargic, despite playing with the conditions, but as the half progressed they got into their stride with points from John Conlon, Tomás O’Donovan and Cathal O’Connell to pull level by the 19th minute. Brian McMahon restored Kilmaley’s lead periodically before Clonlara found the net in the 26th minute. It had been coming really as a John Conlon shot was repelled before the resulting goalmouth scramble earned a 20 metre free for the 2008 champions. Up stepped Paul Nihill to rifle to the net and with that, they never looked back until the break.

Dillon’s 28th minute save kept his faltering side in the game but he was helpless to stop Clonlara’s relentless attacking waves that yielded successive points for Conlon (2), Cormac O’Donovan and the lively Colm Galvin to hold a 1-8 to 0-7 interval lead.

Eoin Enright did have a goal chance just before the break to buck that trend but shot wide and with patience, Kilmaley’s turn would eventually come. It didn’t seem likely when Daire Keane put a 33rd minute penalty over the bar after Niall McGuane had been fouled but after Alan Markham and Keane swapped points with Conlon and Tomás O’Donovan, Kilmaley finally made the breathrough.

It stemmed from a Kennedy free from halfway that broke to Niall McGuane on the right side of the square. And after attracting Clonlara’s last line, he passed inside to the inappropriately named Hurley to kick past the onrushing Ger O’Connell.

Before the ball had been pucked out, Clonlara were to suffer once more as an off-the-ball altercation between Tomas O’Donovan and Conor McMahon saw the pair yellow carded, the Clonlara man’s second of the evening.

A buzz of anticipation beamed from the Kilmaley support but surprisingly it was Clonlara who held the whip hand for the next ten minutes. They simply couldn’t score though as Nicky O’Connell (3), Oisin O’Brien and Cathal O’Connell hit wides before substitute Barry Moloney edged them ahead in the 50th minute. However, after throwing everything at Kilmaley, Clonlara faded and after Kennedy gained parity once more in the 51st minute, it was left to McGuane and McMahon to guide their side to a second county semi-final in three years with a bang. Not the fireworks this time thankfully.

“JOB done” was the primary mantra of Crusheen manager Michael Browne after his sides’ quarter final victory over Broadford last Saturday afternoon.

There appeared to be no exaggerated mood for celebration from the Crusheen players or Browne himself who instead was far more eager to get to Cusack Park as quickly as pos- sible to suss out possible semi-final opponents, who were playing in the second quarter final of the day, later in the evening.

“It was a very good win. It was a work-man like performance. All the lads put in a tough shift and never gave in.

“The first half was particularly pleasing after playing against a very strong wind we still managed to be in contention. The team has to be com- plimented for their efforts.”

This was the real winning of the game in Browne’s view. The elements were always going to affect the outcome of this crucial knock-out tie and it was his side that made the most of the natural advantages.

“At the start of the game when we realised we were playing against the wind in the first half all we wanted to do was to be in touching distance at half time.

“Whether we were level or only trailing by a few points and not too far behind we would have accepted it.

“When we managed to have a one point lead at half time that was a big bonus for us.

“Still there was a lot of pressure on us before the second half got underway. There was a lot more to do. They were playing very well and putting us under pressure.

“In the end we got the hard working performance that we had talked about in training and before the game. It was a good result in the end.”

A county semi-final and a chance of retaining their county title still very much alive, with Browne in optimistic mood.

“Thanks be to God we’re still there anyway. We will enjoy this one for a few days and we will start worrying about that after another while.”

Crusheen 1-24 – Broadford 0-10 at Clarecastle

CRUSHEEN cruised into yet another senior hurling championship semi-final after accounting for a spirited but limited Broadford challenge on Sunday afternoon. The champions would have always been favourites to progress from this tie but the 17point winning margin alone, does not tell the whole story of this clash.

The first half of this encounter was highly competitive with Broadford merely trailing by the minimum at the interval. The second half, however, saw a combination of Crusheen’s class and experience steamroll their young and often naïve East Clare opponents to progress to the next round of this season’s championship with relative ease.

Broadford needed a positive open- ing half to establish themselves in the game but to also make the most of the advantage of having a powerful gale at their backs. Despite this obvious requirement it was Crusheen who notched a score on Clarecastle’s electronic scoreboard first. Paddy Meaney in his usual typical manner side-stepped his loose marker to get free on his trusty left side and pointed from 30m out to set Crusheen on their way.

Mark ‘Mouse’ Moloney however quickly responded for Broadford. A minute later and his high lobbying effort sailed between the posts the level the game. This pattern continued for the opening quarter with both outfits matching each other’s efforts and exchanging scores.

Padraig Hickey grabbed a couple in a row while Niall Moloney made the most of a poor Donal Touhy puck-out to add their names to the Broadford score sheet. Crusheen at the other end of the field were equally accurate. Jamie Fitzgibbon found his first of five points from play while the skillful adopted son David Forde drew on all of his experience to drive the sliotar low into the breeze over the black spot on the crossbar.

Broadford were fighting hard and would have been in front only for a terrible miss-firing patch in front of goal for the remainder of a half. A quarter-final victory was never going to be achieved with an incredible total of ten first half wides. It could have even been harder if two clear cut Crusheen goal chances had been converted.

Both were wasted by Gearoid O’Donnell and Gerry O’Grady but still they managed to at least steal a point on each occasion. The 31st minute saw the last score before the break with Meaney also finding his range at the end of the half to leave Crusheen in front on a score of 0-8 to 0-7.

Crusheen were always going to be pleased with their opening half and with the wind now at their backs they quickly shifted into cruise control and took over proceedings. Broadford’s challenge from the throw-in did not have the same intensity as had been seen in the first 30 minutes of hurling. Crusheen managed 1-16 in the second half while Broadford could only muster up a very disappointing three points.

Crusheen’s defence was rarely tested with Cian Dillion dominating without having to even draw a sweat. Since the team, who won a championship only because of their backs, were in such dominance it was the ideal time to crush this ever-lasting theory. Of the 16 second half points they created, only one was not from play and that was a super Paddy Vaughan free who by his standards had a poor day from placed balls especially against the wind in the first half.

In contrast Fitzgibbon was having a perfect day in front of goal with everything he touched turning into a white flag waving moment no matter whether it was from his role as centre forward or midfield he was shooting from. Even more impressive was Kennedy. His hat-trick of points was only outshone by his well taken goal. An excellent low cross field pass by O’Grady constructed the chance but the young attacker displayed no hesitation in slotting home a peach of a shot to firmly cement the outcome of this game three quarters through.

Broadford tried and tried but they were just not in the same level as Crusheen by the end. For the winners a place in the last four is a huge reward but many sterner tests still await if an incredible two in a row is ever to materialise.

Clooney/Quin 2-14 – Scariff 1-11 at Dr Daly Memorial Park, Tulla

ANYONE who doubted the enthusiasm for the senior B championship was silenced in this fiercely competitive last eight tie. Granted, there was a sizeable drop in standard from the last of the group games, both from the players and main official, but the will to win was beyond question as this full-blooded encounter demonstrated.

In the end, a brace of Mike Daffy goals was enough to separate the sides in the second period after an evenly matched first half. The lively corner-forward eased his side to a ten point lead as the game entered its finale and while there were question marks surrounding the build up to both goals that could have on another day resulted in frees the other way, there was no doubt about the clinical finishes that put Clooney/Quin into the last four.

Credit Scariff for never throwing in the towel and admirably slashing the deficit in a hectic final few minutes but time simply wasn’t on their side as Clooney/Quin held on.

All so different in an inch-tight first half that saw the sides level on four occasions before Clooney/Quin edged a 0-6 to 0-5 interval advantage thanks to a late Padraig Ward free. Ward’s three placed balls allied by Fergal Lynch’s clever running to pick off a brace made up the bulk of their scores while Scariff had a greater spread of scorers that included Ross Horan, Padraig Brody, Alan Corbett, Diarmuid Nash and Kenny McNamara. However, there could easily have been goals as well for either side with Daffy sending off a warning shot as early as the first minute when picking up a break around the square only to see his shot expertly tipped away for a ’65 by goalkeeper Shane Mulvihill. Four minutes later, it was Scariff’s turn as Ross Horan soloed through to attract the last line before offloading to Barry Murphy who volleyed first time just past the far post, shipping a hefty tackle in the process from goalkeeper Damien O’Halloran that could have easily earned a penalty.

The pair would eventually have to succumb to injuries sustained in that incident but it wasn’t to be the last of the goal chances. Scariff reemerged in the second half and had an early opportunity when Michael Moroney broke the ball for Alphie Rodgers but he struck wide. The east Clare side would rue that chance as Martin Duggan hit back with a point followed by the opening goal of the game in the 37th minute when substitute Derek Ryan appeared to pick the ball off the ground before offloading to the overlapping Daffy to finish with aplomb.

Scariff were incensed but used that motivation to reply with points from Alan Corbett and Ross Horan before wasting another glorious goal chance, this time through Kenny McNamara who did the hard work by soloing to the endline but his shot hit the side netting.

Again they would be punished to the full as Daffy and Lynch capitalised further. Both registered a point apiece before combining for the second goal in the 49th minute and when Cillian Duggan eventually converted a free from halfway after a farcical three minute stoppage, Clooney/Quin found themselves ten points clear.

Scariff’s charge came late but did make for a compelling climax as they picked off 1-4 including two Conor McNamara 20 metre frees that yielded 1-1. Daffy and Lynch again replied deep into injury-time to restore a six point advantage while the final chance fell to Conor McNamara who again stood over a 20 metre free in the 65th minute. However this time, he was distracted in his run-up and failed to lift the ball as Clooney/Quin marched on to the semi-final against Clarecastle.

Clooney/ Quin
Damien O’Halloran, Joe O’Loughlin, Conor Harrison, Shane McNamara, Donncha Murphy, Cillian Duggan (0-1f), Enda Harrison, Mike McNamara, John Earls, Martin Duggan (0-3), Cathal Egan, Seamus Conroy, Padraig Ward (0-4 3f 1’65), Fergal Lynch (0-4), Mike Daffy (2-2)

Subs
Patrick Cunninghamfor O’Halloran (25 mins, inj), Derek Ryan for Conroy (HT), Sean Conheady for Ward (47 mins),Tony McMahon for Murphy (62 mins)

Scariff
Shane Mulvihill, Barry McNamara, Darragh Kelly, JimMinogue, Padraig Brody (0-1), Conor McNamara (1-1f), Patrick Minogue, Diarmuid Nash (0-1 1’65), Shane Corry, Ross Horan (0-2), Kenny McNamara (0-2),Alphie Rodgers (0-1), Barry Murphy, Michael Moroney (0-1),Alan Corbett (0-2)

Subs
MatthewHoran for Murphy (HT, inj), Brian Corry for Corbett (55 mins)

Man of the Match
Mike Daffy (Clooney/ Quin) Referee Ger Lyons (Ruan)

Corofin 0-13 – Ruan 1-10 at Shannon

ALL’S WELL that ends well as these neighbours will gladly take a second bite of the cherry to decide who will play Éire Óg in the decider. Both sides could claim to have been unlucky not to win but equally will certainly be relieved that they are still in the championship after a thrilling yet anxious cresendo to this derby.

The sides were level on no fewer than six times over the hour but it was Cillian Ryan’s 56th minute equalising score that stood out from the pack as he took a pass on the run from Darragh Roughan to pick off the score of the game and force a replay.

The Ruan support were overjoyed to see their side gain parity as they had found themselves four points in arrears as late as the 52nd minute and in real trouble in most areas of the field after Corofin had made deci sive match-altering switches.

No better team that Ruan to grind out the result however as despite not playing to the heights of previous performances, still had enough championship experience to maintain their unbeaten run of six games. But while fading late on, Corofin will also be hugely encouraged by their display as this was arguably their most impressive showing of the campaign.

Essentially, both sides had their heroes with centre-backs Gerry Quinn and Jonathan Clohessy to the fore while respective wing (Mikey Vaughan and Neil Killeen) and corner forwards (Brendan Lyons and Cillian Neylon) also playing decisive roles in this derby. However, Darragh Roughan’s leadership in the last ten minutes also has to be noted as the main driving force behind their comeback.

Corofin had the better of the early exchanges when pushing 0-4 to 0-1 clear by the 13th minute with unanswered points from Stephen Heagney (two frees), Declan Lee and Neil Killeen following Mikey Vaughan’s third minute opener. However, they were rocked when Ruan goaled merely seconds later against the run of play through Brendan Lyons who slipped initially before getting up and finishing to the net.

That inspirational score was added to by Vaughan again as Ruan retook the lead but it was Corofin who finished stronger with Killeen, Neylon and Kevin Heagney handing them a 0-8 to 0-6 half-time advantage despite being lucky to keep their full complement of players after a hefty late Declan Lee challenge on Eoin Hanrahan just before the break.

The wet conditions played their part throughout and could have had a decisive impact on the restart when Gerry Quinn’s ’65 slipped out of Jonathan Clohessy’s grasp, only for goalkeeper Packie Roughan to come to his rescue on the line. Ruan used that let-off to their advantage though when pulling level by the 38th minute through points from Brendan Lyons and Aidan Lynch.

Corofin freshened things up with a trio of substitutions and it was the return of Daragh Clancy that really caught the eye as the former county senior went to full-back, releasing Luke O’Loughlin to the wing and Damien Ryan to midfield as they began to seize control once more. A brace of Stephen Heagney frees add ed to points from substitutes Jamie Malone and Diarmuid Daly put Corofin four clear by the 49th minute and with Ruan all at sea, it looked to be Corofin’s day.

However, last year’s finalists dug deep and led by an immense final quarter from Darragh Roughan, they began to chip away at the deficit. Roughan found John Punch for their first score in 12 minutes; Cillian Ryan and Aidan Lynch combined to release Vaughan for his third of the game and Punch converted a 55th minute free before Ryan put over a crucial 56th minute equaliser.

With momentum on their side, Ruan had chances to win it but ultimately failed to capitalise and in the end, a draw was the fairest result for both sides’ endeavours.