This article is from page 82 of the 2009-11-03 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 82 JPG
WITH a little over five minutes to go, this game rested on a knife-edge. It shouldn’t have. Just three points separated the two, Smith O’Brien’s ahead on a scoreline of 1-5 to O-5.
A total of 16 minutes had passed with neither side able to register a score. The opening quarter aside, Smith O’Brien’s — beaten finalists in this competition last year after going down in a replay against Ennisty- mon — were by far the fitter and more creative team. By all reckoning, they should have wrapped up the game before their late onslaught arrived. That they didn’t close the door on St Breckan’s meant the north Clare side would always believe they could get back in the game. With 12 minutes gone in the second-half, they al- most did. Tony Shannon had just put them back to within three of Smith O’Brien’s when he almost levelled things up. He latched onto a low ball 15-yards out from goal, kicking from the ground soccer-style and his shot looked destined for the net. Eugene Cusack, in goal for the Killaloe club, made a fantastic save to keep the ball out. It broke to Sean Neville who aimed for goal but his shot slid left and wide. Ten minutes later, Brian Scanlan produced another goal save for Smith O’Brien’s when he blocked what looked like a certain goal for St Breckan’s and Smith O’Brien’s — though running their luck to the max — remained in control.
If Cusack and Scanlan’s contribu- tions were crucial then so too were the displays from John Cusack, Kevin McCarthy and, in particular, Shane Byrne. The latter produced a quality display, popping up in all
areas of the field but his distribution remained the key component of the game.
While the focus among those dot- ting the inexcusably unlined “‘side- line” may have been on the former Munster and Ireland rugby interna- tional Anthony Foley — who clocked in a muted enough game at full-for-
ward — the work-rate of Byrne and John Cusack, the power of McCarthy and the agility of Eugene Cusack are what really caught the eye.
As early as the 15th minute Mc- Carthy had Smith O’Brien’s in the driving seat. He goaled after eight minutes and pointed on the quarter hour with another score from An-
thony O’Sullivan — a cousin of the Kerry All-Star Declan O’Sullivan — wedged in between. In total, it gave Smith O’Brien’s a four-point lead. John Stack with three and Eric Mur- rihy were the only names on the St Breckan’s scoresheet by the time the break rolled around.
After those goal opportunities for
St Breckan’s slid by, Smith O’Brien’s re-focused once more.
Trevor Howard kicked his side four ahead with five minutes left and 60 seconds later, Stephen McCarthy — who was influential after coming off the bench early in the game — pro- vided an insurance goal.
Into injury-time but there was more to come. Fittingly, Byrne stepped up for the final two scores. Firstly, a point and two minutes into time add- ed on, a beautifully taken goal.
A ten-point win, deservedly so, and yet another football title wintering in the east of the county.