This article is from page 75 of the 2009-03-17 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 75 JPG
BEATING Kilkenny at any level is a memorable feat. Beating the cur- rent All-Ireland intermediate cham- pions Kilkenny in only their second game therefore has to go down as a momentous achievement and finally gives the management, players and even the county board justification for their forward planning of enter- ing a second team.
This was as good and surprisingly comfortable as it 1s every going to get for Clare’s second string. Last time out, they perhaps lacked some leadership as Tipperary eased to a seven point victory but that fraility was rectified on Sunday with the in- troduction of six new starters. Carol O’Leary, Aiveen O’Shea, Niamh Corry, Louise Hayes, Aine O’Brien, Chloe Morey and Roisin O’Brien were all brought in to add more ex- perience and balance to the side and it certainly had the desired effect as Clare were far superior and sharp- er than their Leinster opponents throughout.
Chloe Morey, who was playing her second game in as many days, was utilised as a third midfielder and along with partners Louise Hayes
and Niamh Corry, Clare really con- trolled this tie. Another highlight was the performance of Carol Kaiser who really began to come into her own when switched to centre-back to curtail Kilkenny’s playmaker Eileen Fitzpatrick, who had got Kilkenny’s only score of the game in the 34th minute.
Aside from that scare, it was a straightforward stroll to victory as Kilkenny’s expected fightback never really materialised. Clare can only beat what’s put in front of them though and really that fear of a Kil- kenny recovery benfitted Clare who remained focused right up to the fi- nal whistle.
Clare were 0-6 to 0-0 ahead at the break, taking advantage of a slight breeze that blew towards Limerick. Danielle Sheedy opened the scoring in the fourth minute with a free and inadvertently turned provider for the second, sending in another long free that was batted by goalkeeper Siob- han Murphy to Roisin O’Brien who continued her impressive scoring run with a point. In all, the Ogonnelloe player hit four points of Clare’s to- tal, making her Clare’s only scorer from play in the league so far with Six points.
Danielle Sheedy almost secured a goal for her side in the 10th minute when she caught a Niamh Corry pass over the top of the Kilkenny defence and took on her marker before un- leashing a shot but it was saved by Murphy for a *45 that Chloe Morey converted.
Kilkenny did have their fair share of possession but a lack of a reliable freetaker and some aimless shooting frustrated them in their endeavours. Instead, Clare kept plugging away and frees from Morey, Sheedy and an injury time point from O’Brien eased Clare to a six point half-time lead.
The only real tension for Clare came four minutes after half-time when a revitalised Kilkenny attempted to grab a lifeline. Three early wides were eventually made up for when Niamh Byrne’s shot was saved by Denise Lynch and Eileen Fitzpatrick was on hand to hit the rebound to the am
Fitzpatrick was by now starting to pull the strings for the Leinster side and had another shot on goal in the 38th minute but this time Lynch was equal to the effort. It caused Clare to switch Carol Kaiser to centre-back and it proved to be the turning point
of the game as the Newmarket player nullified her threat for the remain- der.
From that point on, Clare gradually regained their confidence and the trio of Chloe Morey (2), Roisin O’Brien (2) and Danielle Sheedy were again on target as Clare eased up to victo- ry. A significant result that will give Clare great confidence for the rest of the campaign.