This article is from page 84 of the 2011-11-01 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 84 JPG
Cla r e Cup Fina l I na gh /Kilna mona v Newma r ket -on-Fer gus @ O’Ga r ney Pa r k, Sixmilebr idge, Sunday 2pm HISTORY beckons for either Inagh/ Kilnamona and Newmarket-on-Fer gus on Sunday. For Inagh/Kilnamona, who began their journey as a permanent senior amalgamation only three years ago, it is a massive leap forward after reaching their first ever league final.
However, winning on Sunday would be historic for Newmarket too as the most successful side in the competition’s history with 21 titles look to bridge a 37 year gap to their last Clare Cup crown. Historic as well because none of the present squad were even born when the Blues saw off east Clare amalgamation Brian Borus in 1974.
While championship success had continued to elude the Blues, it would have been easy for them to down tools two months back after exiting the title race at the group stages for the first time in seven years. Howev- er, they refused to throw in the towel and after securing a senior B title just over a week ago, they are back in a second successive Clare Cup final, determined to finish the job this time around.
They were well in control of last year’s decider as well until Niall Gilligan almost singlehandedly snatched the title from under their noses but with Colin Ryan in top scoring form, aided by David Barrett who grabbed six points at the weekend, and county senior James McInerney anchoring the defence, they will be difficult to stop.
That said, if anything, Inagh/Kilnamona have proved to be one of the most difficult sides to shake off this year. They always possessed the attacking power, with Ger and Niall Arthur and Conor Tierney to the fore but they have also tightened up considerably at the back with Brian Glynn and Dermot Lynch in particular shining this year. In this competi- tion alone, they have displayed a new stubborn never-say-die attitude in drawing with Crusheen and Clonlara in the knock-out stages before winning out both replays.
They are also the only side to have beaten Newmarket-on-Fergus in this competition all year after their opening round 1-15 to 1-12 victory on away soil, with county champions Crusheen the only other team to have got the better of the Blues in competitive action in 2011.
That will certainly give the Combo optimism ahead of the final but equally, it provides ample ammunition for Newmarket’s motivation and guards against any complacency that might have crept in following their recent impressive run.
Stopping the Blues from entering into their stride early on will be key for Inagh/Kilnamona on Sunday as in the last three games, they have been able to build up significant leads before their opponents finally settled. They were 2-2 to no score up against the Mills after only seven minutes in the Senior B semi-final, scored the first six points of the game against Clarecastle in the final and on Saturday, were 0-10 to 0-0 clear of Kilma- ley before they opened their account in the 19th minute.
A similar start on this occasion could effectively finish the game before it even starts as it is a young Inagh/Kilnamona side that crave the brighter start to settle their inevitable nerves.
For all of Inagh/Kilnamona’s considerable progress this year, it is still difficult to look beyond Newmarket for the title, even taking into account their nervy displays in recent big finals. They are the team in unstoppable form, have buckets of big game experience and certainly won’t lack motivation as they bid to banish the lengthy hoodoo that has plagued them over the last 30 years.
Win this and they can follow in Sixmilebridge’s footstep by building for a championship assault but if Inagh/Kilnamona can match them for the opening 40 minutes, it could be the Combo who will look longingly towards the future. Verdict: Newma rket-on-Fergus