This article is from page 62 of the 2011-04-05 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 62 JPG
LOSING is always hard to take, while the cruellest cut of all in cup football is failing at the semi-final.
Failure wasn’t the word though as Clare had a brilliant year that brought them to the cusp of a first Inter-League Youths decider in 40 years.
No wonder then that pride was the over-riding emotion of manager Mike Moloney after Clare’s agonising defeat.
“I couldn’t have asked for more from the lads in terms of what they put into it – the six and half months they put in,” he told The Clare People .
“Obviously you don’t want to go down there and fall 1-0 down after four minutes and 2-0 after 18 minutes.
“We had to expend so much energy chasing the game and got ourselves back in it with goals from Darragh Corry and Ruairi Norrby, but you can’t just keep up that pace for 90 minutes. We ran out of a bit of steam in the second half.
“Where we were getting a bit of joy was around set pieces. We needed a couple of better deliveries in the second half into the box from the free kicks that we won. We never seemed to get those deliveries in to get that third goal.
“I reckon if we got that third goal you wouldn’t have known what would happen. They were rattled when we got it back to 2-2, so it would have been nice to get the third to see how they would react to going behind,” added Moloney.
And, the Clare manager has said the preparation undertaken by his team since last September is the benchmark for the future as Clare bid to compete at the highest level in national competition.
“I believe the talent is there every year but you have to give them the platform,” Moloney said.
“They have to get good preparation, they have to be taken care of, the same as they would be if they were hurling or Gaelic football team at minor level. You have to spend a bit of money to do that, but if you do the rewards are there.
“We had a group of players who were able to play at a very high standard against a really good side. With a break or two here or there we would be in a national final now,” he added. Pr ego Menswea r Cup Thir d Round Br idge Celt ic A V Br idge Unit ed B @ Br idget own, Sunday 11a m TWO SIDES probably more concerned with league relegation issues than advancing in the cup as Bridge Celtic are hovering dangerously near the basement of the Premier Division while Bridge Utd’s second string are in a more perilous predicament at the rear of the First. In saying that, sometime the cup can be a welcome freedom from the toils of the league and so a home win might be able to boost confidence ahead of a tricky league run-in. Ver dict : Br idge Celt ic A Pr ego Menswea r Cla r e Cup Qua r t er -Fina ls Cor ofin Ha r ps V Bur r en Unit ed @ Cor ofin, Sunday 3. 30pm A MUCH anticipated north Clare derby due to the familiarity of the sides in the First Division battle for promotion. Corofin have had the better of their previous meetings this season by winning 5-3 at home while the corresponding fixture in Lisdoonvarna was a 2-2 draw. Burren Utd have several games in hand in the league to make up if they are to leapfrog Corofin so that alone might preoccupy their priorities and allow Corofin to snatch victory. Ver idct : Cor ofin Ha r ps Avenue Unit ed A V Ma nus Celt ic B @ Lee’s Road, Sunday 2. 30pm THE REWARD for Third Division giantkillers Manus Celtic B for beating a Hermitage side 33 places above them is to play defending Premier Division and cup champions Avenue Utd who are only 32 places above the Clarecastle side. If the formula worked once, it could conceivably work again but the odds are certainly stacked against Manus Celtic as Avenue appear to be hitting form at just the right time to possibly hone in on another double. Ver dict : Avenue Ut d