Category: Sport

Braodford 1-12 – Killanena 0-09 at Cusack Park, Ennis

BROADFORD booked their passage into the quarter-final stage for the second time in three years thanks to this workmanlike victory over a Killanena on Saturday evening.

It was a turgid affair throughout, with Killanena’s fourth successive defeat ensuring that they go into their relegation battle on the back of a depressing campaign in their first year back in the senior ranks in over 100 years.

For Broadford, it’s a totally different hurling world as they can now look forward to trying to build on their 2009 performance when they so nearly reached a first county semifinal in 64 years.

That’s for another day – this was about getting over the line, something they did thanks in the main to a first half when they forged a 1-5 to 0-4 clear courtesy of a brilliant individual goal from Padraig Hickey.

The All-Ireland intermediate winner is the main plank of the Broadford attack, something he showcased when bursting into the game in the closing minutes of the half when putting daylight between the sides for the first time.

First he lofted over a great point into the Stamer Park goal from underneath the shed terrace in the 25th minute to edge his side 0-4 to 0-3 clear; two minutes later he showed his determination in bursting through two tackles before blasting to the net from 15 yards to change the complexion of this game completely.

Up until then a brave, however, limited Killanena team had taken the fight to the favourites, more than holding their own in the first 20 minutes until a protracted delay of over five minutes after Mark Flaherty suffered a serious knee injury took the wind out of their sails.

Points by Flaherty and David McNamara to a reply from a Padraig Hickey free had them 0-2 to 0-1 ahead after ten minutes, while Niall Moloney and Mikey Noone then swapped points in the 16th minute before Broadford finally moved up a few gears in the final ten minutes before the break.

James Gunning’s long range free levelled matters in the 22nd minute before Hickey’s 1-1 blast put four points between the sides. That gap was still intact at half-time after Donie Whelan and John O’Mara traded points, while the game was effectively put out of Killanena’s reach inside seven minutes of the second half thanks to points from Hickey and Aonghus O’Brien that put them 1-7 to 0-4 clear.

All that was left for Broadford was to avoid conceding goals, something they managed comfortably despite Killanena’s valiant attempt to claw their way back into the game in the closing 20 minutes.

They did have the gap back to five with 15 minutes still on the clock after a David McNamara free was followed by points by Eoin McMa- hon and Mikey Noone, while further points by McNamara and Martin Glynn after Padraig Hickey’s fourth of the hour ensured there was only four points between the sides entering the last ten minutes.

But the goal they needed to have any chance of avoiding a whitewash in this group never came, leaving Broadford comfortable winners after Padraig Taylor and Alan McMahon added points in the closing minutes.

Smith O’Brien’s 1-13 – St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield 2-09 at Shannon

IT’S REMARKABLY how much a team can be transformed when their lives on the line. Smith O’Brien’s were almost the forgotten side as the focus of the pre-match talk was predominantly on St Joseph’s who required the points and also needed Killanena to do them a favour by beating quarter-final rivals Broadford in the adjacent group tie.

However, the Killaloe based side needed the points just as much as their opponents to avoid relegation and that superior hunger and determination eventually saw them snatch all the points in a dramatic finale.

You could sense from the outset that Doora/Barefield were all but resigned to the fact that they would miss out on a quarter-final place for the second successive year. Indeed, the writing was on the wall from the early stages as St Joseph’s failed to lift their heads above mediocrity aside from impressive county minor Jarlath Colleran who was a constant threat and Ivor Whyte’s accuracy from placed balls, one of which flew into the net from 40 metres midway through the half.

Smith O’Brien’s meanwhile were intent on taking a scalp even without the presence of Pat Vaughan and while they left it late to seal the victory, there were constant indications throughout that they had sufficient prowess to get something out of the game.

They attacked from the outset but luck didn’t appear to be on their side even as early as the opening minute when a Mark Stritch free from his own ’65 was scrambled onto the post and cleared. Through Micheál Ryan, their most impressive performer of 2011, they did finally settle to open up a 0-3 to 0-1 advantage by the 13th minute before being hit by a frustrating sucker-punch.

Inevitably it was Ivor Whyte that dealt the blow as his sideline cut from 40 metres was allowed to nestle in the far corner of Jonathan Hayes’ net, a goal that would be the differ- ence for the remainder of the half. Between two points from the lively Colleran, Smith O’Brien’s got their challenge back on track with three successive points from John Cusack and Liam ‘Goose’ Walsh to cut the deificit to the minimum by the break at 1-4 to 0-6.

The second period was a seesaw affair with Smith O’Brien’s taking control early on after points from Kevin Walsh and Cusack before Doora/ Barefield replied in kind through a brace of Whyte frees. Liam Walsh had a 20 metre free stopped by Marty O’Regan in the 39th minute but he would make amends only three minutes later when Anthony Sullivan put him in for a goal from close range.

St Joseph’s response was almost immediate as an Ivor Whyte free was followed by a superb opportunistic goal from substitute Enda Lyons who outpaced the defence to find the net and take back the lead once more at 2-8 to 1-9.

However, despite holding the advantage, St Joseph’s lack of options up front meant that Smith O’Brien’s were never far from their opponents, with Seamus Gleeson sweeping up everything at the back. In one final push, Liam Walsh cut the deficit to the minimum in the 58th minute while a good move involving Mark Stritch, Kevin Walsh and replacement Willie Neary allowed Anthony Sullivan to pick off the equaliser in the 61st minute.

Tensions were heightened as both teams scrambled for the winner but after a throw-in on St Joseph’s 20 metre line, Smith O’Brien’s substitute Shane O’Brien gathered possession and offloaded for the onrushing Mark O’Halloran to improvise off the hurley and give his side the win and more importantly safety at senior level.

And as things worked out, Smith O’Brien’s also bypassed their opponents in the final group standings. One just wonders why they could have shown such determination earlier in the competition when the group was in the melting pot.

Smith O’Brien’s
Jonathan Hayes (6), Michael Culhane (6),Trevor Howard (7), Cian Nolan (7), Seamus Gleeson (8), Mark Stritch (7), Brian McInerney (7), Mark O’Halloran (8) (0-1), KevinWalsh (7) (0-1), Mark McInerney (6), Micheál Ryan (8) (0-5 3f), John Cusack (7) (0-3), Eoin Ryan (6), LiamWalsh (8) (1-2),Anthony Sullivan (7) (0-1)

Subs
Aiden McKeogh (6) for Culhane (28 mins), Shane O’Brien (6) for E. Ryan (33 mins),Willie Neary (6) for M. McInerney (41 mins)

St Joseph’s Doora/ Barefield
Paul Madden (7), Cathal O’Sullivan (7), Marty O’Regan (7), Sean Flynn (8), Damien Kennedy (6), Alan O’Neill (7), Darragh O’Driscoll (7), Kevin Dilleen (7), Mark Hallinan (6), Emmet Whelan (6), Noel Brodie (6), Ivor Whyte (7) (1-7 1-0 lineball, 6f), Niall DeLoughery (6), Ken Kennedy (6), Jarlath Colleran (8) (0-2)

Subs
Enda Lyons (8) (1-0) for Brodie (30 mins), Eamon Clohessy for K. Kennedy (51 mins, inj), Gary Hassett for Colleran (60 mins, inj)

Man of the Match
Seamus Gleeson (Smith O’Brien’s) Referee Seanie McMahon (Newmarket-on-Fergus)

Inagh/Kilnamona 0-22 – Tubber 1-12 at Cusack Park, Ennis

SAME old, same old for Tubber as they failed to reach the quarter-final stages yet again, but for Inagh/Kilnamona it’s a case of being back in the business end once more as they showed there’s life after Tony Carmody when cruising to this sevenpoint success.

They did so on the back of their deadly accurate full-forward line of Messrs Arthur and Conor Tierney, who accounted for all but one of their points in a command performance that re-affirmed their status as real darkhorses for this championship.

Re-affirmed, because the poverty of their previous display when they were edged out 0-7 to 0-6 by Cratloe in a thoroughly forgettable affair had seen them slip down the pecking order.

Against that backdrop this was the perfect riposte by the Combo in a free-scoring performance that was up there with the best seen this term, as the free-taking prowess of Niall Arthur combined with some exquisite points from play by older brother Ger and All-Ireland under 21 winner Tierney provided the mortal blows against a brave Tubber side.

Tubber’s chance looked to be gone at half-time when they trailed by 09 to 0-5 after playing with the wind. Leaving aside their inability to cope with Tierney and Ger Arthur and coughing up frees that Niall Arthur punished, it was Tubber’s wide count that crippled them.

Seven over a half hour in which they showed very well was the story of the half, because with each shot that went astray Inagh/Kilnamona seemed more determined to punish their profligate opponents.

And so they did when turning on the gas in the closing ten minutes of the half as a couple of Niall Arthur frees to bring his tally for the half to 0-4, Tierney’s third of the half and two more Ger Arthur efforts moved them four clear at the break.

This was a very poor reflection for Tubber, for whom Blaine Earley (2), David O’Donohgue (2) and Patrick O’Connor were on the mark. However, the combination of raw spirit and a huge second half display by Patrick O’Connor ensured that this game was in the melting pot with ten minutes remaining.

Tubber posted their intentions early with a David O’Donoghue point, but it was a hat-trick of O’Connor points from distance by the 40th minute in reply to two more Niall Arthur frees and another from Tierney that teed up the prospect of a rousing final 20 minutes.

The game was delicately poised at 0-12 to 0-9 in Inagh/Kilnamona’s favour. They did move five clear thanks to Niall Arthur, with his sideline cut over the bar in the 46th minute be- ing the score of the day, but Tubber were back with a bang when Shane O’Connor drove through the middle and crashed to the net a minute later.

Patrick O’Connor’s fifth point from play in the 50th minute after Niall Arthur’s ninth seemed to herald a titanic finish. A dramatic comeback win looked possible for Tubber, but this very threat was Inagh/Kilnamona’s cue to turn on the style once more with five points in the final five minutes to finally snuff out the challenge of the Burren boys.

Of course, it was the Arthurs and Tierney show once more – the only exception coming when sub Dermot Gannon pointed in the 59th to ensure there was no clean sweep of scoring for the rampant full-forward line.

Scariff 1-12 – Whitegate 0-09 at Cusack Park, Ennis

TO the loser would go the unwanted territory of being thrown deep into relegation country, but it was much more than a basement battle in Group 2 – it always is when these neighbours cross sticks.

So it was that Scariff turned up the temperature to romp home to the two points and safety in the senior ranks for another year against a Whitegate team that’s now two defeats away from dropping back to the intermediate ranks after only two years.

Scariff won here because they effectively beat their neighbours out the gate in the first half when playing with the breeze blowing towards the scoreboard end, racking up an impressive ten-point as Whitegate totally miss-fired in front of goal when hitting six wides.

More than that, however, Scariff seemed to want it more, thundering into proceedings from the opening minute when Conor McNamara raided up the field and fired over the opening score.

It set the tone – they had three points on the board inside the first ten minutes with Mark Mulvihill pointing in the eighth, making up for a missed goal chance two minutes earlier and Ross Horan having his first impact on proceedings with a point in the ninth.

Indeed, it was a portent of things to come – Horan was a constant threat down the right flank and chipped in with two more points in the half, while Muhvihill landed the pivotal score of the hour in the 14th minute when blasting low to the net beyond Andrew Fahey to put his side 1-4 to 0-1 ahead.

Opportunity for a Whitegate goal knocked three minutes later, but Andrew Fahey’s penalty that was awarded after Conor McNamara had taken down John O’Brien was kept at bay and cleared.

From there Scariff upped their game appreciably, hammering home their let off with points from play by Alfie Rodgers and Barry Murphy (2) to stretch their lead to nine, before John O’Brien lifted the siege with a point in the 23rd minute.

Alas, this strike, coupled with Thomas McNamara’s opener in the 11th is all a disappointing Whitegate could muster in the half as Scariff tacked on further points from Diarmuid Nash and Ross Horan to move into a virtually unassailable 1-10 to 0-2 interval lead.

Credit Whitegate for doing their utmost to make a game of it in the second half – halving the deficit by game’s end, but they were always fighting a losing battle against a Scariff side that was resolute against the wind.

A flurry of intensity from Whitegate in the first ten minutes and points by Ian Fahey, Georgie Waterstone, Andrew Fahey and an inspirational effort from Brendan Bugler to a lone reply from a Conor McNamara free threatened to make a game of it with the margin back to 1-10 to 0-6. However, once Sacriff weathered the storm they were home free.

They did that thanks to steadying points from Michael Moroney and Kenny McNamara by the 45th minute, which helped them into a 1-12 to 0-8 lead. Whitegate did finish strongly with poitns from Patrick Burke, Georgie Waterstone and Andrew Fahey, but they were nothing more than consolation scores, while Shane O’Rourke’s sending off capped their miserable local derby afternoon.

Scariff
Shane Mulvihill (7), Brian McNamara (7), Darragh Kelly (7), Diarmuid Nash (8) (0-1), JimMinogue (7), Conor McNamara (7) (0-2), Padraig Brodie (7), Shane Coy (7), Patrick Minogue (7),Alfie Rodgers (7) (0-1), Mark Mulvihill (7) (1-1), Ross Horan (8) (0-3), Kenny McNamara (7) (0-1), Michael Moroney (0-1), Barry Murphy (7) (0-2).

Subs
MatthewHoran (6) for Coy [59 Mins],Alan Corbett (6) for Murphy [59 Mins].

Whitegate
AndrewFahey (7) (0-2f), Cathal Mulvihill (7), John Bugler (7), John Minogue (7), Jason Malone (7), Brendan Bugler (7) (0-1), Patrick Moroney (7), Ian Fahey (7) (0-1),Thomas McNamara (7) (0-1), Michael O’Brien (6), Raymond Cahill (6), Shane O’Rourke (6), John O’Brien (6) (0-1), George Waterstone (6) (0-2f), Owen Quirke (6) (0-1).

Subs
Patrick Burke (0-1) for John O’Briean [26 Mins].

Man of the Match
Diarmuid Nash (Scariff ) Referee Rory Hickey (Éire Óg)

Clarecastle 1-18 – O’Callaghan’s Mills 2-12 at O’Garney Park, Sixmilebridge

IT’S 25 years since these sides met in a county final which will be marked at this year’s decider, but while Clarecastle and the Mills certainly won’t be in the reckoning for this year’s crown, there was still some restoration of pride to play for in this final round tie.

The inclement weather brought with it more unenforced errors than Ireland’s Rugby World Cup opener against the USA earlier in the day but it was Clarecastle’s blistering finish that really caught the eye on Sunday. Nine points in arrears at the start of the second half, it didn’t seem at all likely that the Magpies could stage a late recovery but in the last 24 minutes of the tie, they would hit 13 out of the last 15 scores to romp to a three point win.

All so different in the opening half of the game when the Mills, aided by two first half goals, set the pace. Three Alan Duggan points had them 0-3 to 0-1 clear by the sixth minute and just as it seemed Clarecastle had settled to wrestle control with three successive points from Darragh Moloney and two Eamon Callinan frees, the Mills struck for their opening goal.

Clarecastle’s tactic of playing Tyrone Kearse as a third midfielder against the breeze backfired somewhat when his marker Sean O’Gorman benefitted from a defensive mix-up to billow the net in the 22nd minute. And worse was to follow for the Magpies when Adrian Donovan rifled a 20 metre free to the net on the half hour mark followed by points from Eoghan Pewter and Gary Neville to hold a 2-6 to 0-5 interval advantage.

Early scores from Fergus Donovan and Patrick Donnellan stretched that lead to nine by the 32nd minute as Clarecastle appeared to lose their shape. However, the first signs of recovery came with Tyrone Kearse’s opening goal for the Magpies that moved from back to front through goalkeeper Donnagh Murphy, Fearghus Ryan and Derek Quinn before reaching the unmarked Kearse to find the bottom left corner of the net.

Unpeturbed, the Mills hit back with two Gary Neville points that sandwiched another goal opportunity for Eoghan Pewter, only for goalkeeper Murphy to pull off an excellent relfex save in the 34th minute.

Now a double scores game at 2-10 to 1-05, the Mills appeared comfortable but they would only score twice more for the remainder of the game as Clarecastle slowly began to chip away at their lead. The main protagonists of the fightback were Darragh Moloney, Jonathan Clancy and Eamon Callinan, with all three contributing to their side’s five point unanswered streak by the 47th minute to topple the lead to three. Mills’ substitute Kevin O’Callaghan stopped the rot in the 52nd but with the Magpies gathering momentum, they finished with aplomb with eight of the last nine points in only a nine minute spell.

Some suberb long range efforts from Callinan and Moloney in particular blitzed the tiring Mills while county senior Clancy finished the job when grabbing two late points and earning the last for Callinan to convert from a free in the 62nd minute.

It was too late in the campaign for Clarecastle to make a meaningful impact despite finishing on level points with quarter-finalists Tulla. Instead, Senior B will be these sides’ only chance of playing on county final day for this season.

Clarecastle

Kilmaley 1-20 – Ballyea 1-14 at Cusack Park, Ennis

THE real story of this game was that Ballyea gave Newmarket-on-Fergus a real dose of the blues, when not starting injury worry Tony Kelly and then hauling their other young starlet Gearóid O’Connell off at half-time.

With that and with two missed goal chances before half-time by former All-Star Tony Griffin went their chance of causing an upset, registering the first win of their campaign and bringing the Blues back into the championship race.

Hard to blame Ballyea though – Kelly and O’Connell are minors and 2011 for them has to be about winning a first ever Minor A championship and the intermediate football with Clondegad, hence this calculated decision to mind them ahead of more important battles.

Into this vacuum gladly stepped Kilmaley to book their place in the last eight, eventually reeling in a battling Ballyea side in the second half thanks to their combination of youth and experience that could make them dark horses in the Canon Hamilton race.

With seven minutes of this game remaining Kilmaley only led by 0-16 to 1-12, while the force was most definitely with a Ballyea side that had reeled off three points in as many minutes to peg it back to the minimum.

However, when in need enter Daire Keane for the defining score of the hour – his high catch, burst of pace and clinical finish from 18 yards finally killing off Ballyea’s dogged resistance.

The winning of the game, but the losing of it for Ballyea came in the first half when their failure to cash in on wind advantage cost them. That said, they were unlucky, because they played much the better hurling in the half, with Clare minor star Gearóid O’Connell being star of the show around midfield and on the scoreboard with five points to his name, while had former All Star Tony Griffin availed of two gilt-edged goal chances the black and amber would have been well down the road to a shock win.

That their challenge ultimately came to nothing was down to the perseverance of Kilmaley – they stayed in touch in the first half when recovering from a 0-6 to 0-3 deficit after the first 15 minutes to be only a point adrift at the break.

And, it was their veterans of many a battle going all the way back to their last county final victory in 2004 that showed the way – Diarmuid McMahon, Colin Lynch and Brian McMahon all registered good points from play, while young guns Daire Keane and Niall McGuane also chipped in with points as Kilmaley played catch-up in an entertaining first half.

Ballyea were very industrious in that opening half and would have been on course for a shock victory had Griffin crowned their efforts with a two-goal blast just before the break – firstly on 27 minutes he bril- liantly fielded the ball on the edge of the square but just when he was about to pull the trigger for a goal he lost possession, while two minutes later a rasping drive from just inside the 21 cannoned off the underside of the crossbar before being cleared to safety by a charmed Kilmaley defence.

However, it was game on when Ballyea got the goal their efforts deserved inside a minute of the re-start after a fumble by Kieran Dillon was kicked to the net by Francie Neylon to put his side 1-7 to 0-6 ahead.

Kilmaley were in a corner, but by reeling off six points in a row from Conor McMahon, Ken Kennedy (2), Diarmuid McMahon, Alan Markham and Eoin Enright were back in control of their own destiny by the 40th minute and leading by 0-12 to 1-7.

From there it was just a matter of holding their nerve, despite Ballyea’s refusal to die. Further Kilmaley points by Niall McGuane, Daire Keane (2) and Colin Lynch moved them 0-16 to 1-9 clear before Ballyea’s best period of the half had favouites living on their nerves for a few minutes until Daire Keane went about winning the man of the match award for himself and catapulting Kilmaley into the quarter final stage for the first time in two years.

Newmarket-on-Fergus 2-17 – Clooney/Quin 1-09 at O’Garney Park, Sixmilebridge

DESPITE keeping up their end of the bargain, Newmarket missed out on the knock-out stages for the first time in seven years on Sunday. However, what they need to learn, ahead of their last hope of silverware in the Clare Cup semi-finals, could all be taken from this latest championship offering.

At their ruthless best, as witnessed in the final quarter when outscoring Clooney/Quin by 1-7 to 0-1, there are few teams with the pace and power of the Blues. However, there were also large traces of their wasteful deficiencies this season in O’Garney Park on Sunday as they hit 15 wides over the hour and should have put the game beyond any doubt much earlier in the contest when squandering at least seven clearcut goal chances.

Clooney/Quin for their part, ap- peared a beaten side following their disappointing championship exit to Kilmaley last time out and while they were competitive for the opening 45 minutes, they lacked any conviction apart from Peter Duggan and Fergal Lynch.

The opening half was a relatively even affair with the sides level on six occasions by the 24th minute before Newmarket pushed 1-10 to 1-06 clear by the interval. However, inbetween Fergal Lynch’s seventh minute goal after cutting in from the right and Colin Ryan’s immediate reply from a 20 metre free, the Blues also had four glorious goal opportunities to stamp their mark on proceedings. Goalkeeper Damien O’Halloran was the Clooney/Quin hero for the first two when denying Anthony Kilmartin with first, his hurley and minutes later, with his feet. However there were also chances for Eoin Hayes who shot wide while a Shane O’Brien run that opened up the defence was wasted by a poor handpass behind the waiting Kilmartin.

Fortunately, they had county senior Colin Ryan to take up the slack as he converted all of Newmarket’s 1-4 total by the 18th minute. Inevitably Ryan was also instrumental in pushing his side four points clear by half-time when picking off the last two points of the half while setting up another for Eoin Hayes.

Clooney/Quin had their chances to wipe out the deficit on the restart as the Blues found it difficult to refocus their shooting radar. Peter Duggan and Fergal Lynch chipped away with points but they were also denied a much needed goal when Adrian Fleming was hauled down for a 35th minute penalty that was saved by goalkeeper Kieran Devitt from a rasping Duggan effort.

Meanwhile, Newmarket’s woes in front of goal continued. Shane O’Brien fell when racing through on goal, Eoin Hayes found Kilmartin once more but he dropped the ball under pressure at the vital moment while late on, substitute Jim McInerney pulled wide from close range.

However, as the game progressed, Newmarket totally regained control and after three Colin Ryan frees, the county senior also set up his side’s long awaited second goal in the 51st minute when his lineball broke to Shane O’Brien to pull to the net.

That was the start of a 1-6 unanswered haul that cemented the points long before the final whistle but as news filtered through of Kilmaley’s comeback against Ballyea, in the end it was all in vain.

Newmarket- on- Fergus

Kieran Devitt (7), Shane O’Brien Jnr (7), Stephen Kelly (6), Padraig Kilmartin (8), Darren O’Connor (7), James McInerney (7), Enda Barrett (7), Martin O’Hanlon (7) (0-1), Eoin O’Brien (7), Enda Kelly (6) (0-1), Shane O’Brien (7) (1-0), David Barrett (7), Eoin Hayes (8) (0-2),Anthony Kilmartin (7) (0-2), Colin Ryan (8) (1-9 1-7f, 1’65)

Subs
Sean O’Connor (0-1) for E. Kelly (50 mins), James Liddy for Hayes (56 mins), JimMcInerney for A. Kilmartin (56 mins),Alan Barrett for D. O’Connor (58 mins)

Clooney/ Quin
Damien O’Halloran (8), Joe O’Loughlin (6), Shane McNamara (7),Tony McMahon (6), Donncha Murphy (6), Cillian Duggan (6), Enda Harrison (7), John Earls (6) (0-1), Mike McNamara (7), Martin Duggan (6) (0-1), Cathal Egan (6) (0-2 1f), Seamus Conroy (6) (0-1), Peter Duggan (8) (0-3 2f), Fergal Lynch (8) (1-1), Mike Daffy (6)

Subs
Adrian Fleming (7) for Daffy (HT), Brian McInerney (6) for O’Loughlin (HT), Ruaidhrí McNamara for Conroy (50 mins), Padraig Ward for Earls (53 mins), Derek Ryan for M. Duggan (58 mins)

Man of the Match
Colin Ryan (Newmarket- on- Fergus) Referee KevinWalsh (WolfeTones)

Ennis Town Rock 1 – Hermitage A 0 at Lees Road, Ennis

ENNIS Town Rock finished their league cup campaign undefeated with a victory in this all Ennis affair but it was another town team, Avenue United, who were the real winners on the day.

Town’s victory ensured they finished level on points with Avenue at the top of Section A however the Clare Cup champions superior goal difference ensures they will progress to the tournament decider against the winners of group B.

Avenue put themselves in pole position with a seven goal victory over Burren United and 3-2 midweek win over Hermitage.

To have any chance of qualifying for the tournament decider, Town had to beat Tage by eight goals, an always impossible looking target.

After much huffing and puffing, Town finally found the back of the net in the closing stages through Francis Daniels’ goal.

Hermitage, minus eight or nine first team regulars, had their moments too, notably when Paul Dinan’s fiercely struck effort forced a good save from Stephen Loftus.

Town, who also entered Sunday’s game with a depleted squad, looked bright in the early stages.

Centre forward Matthew Kearney led the line superbly, drawing a string of excellent stops from Tage goalkeeper Joe Burke.

The movement of the impressive Dinan caused problems for Town but it was the home side who almost snatched the lead through Marty McLoughlin in the closing moments if the half.

McLoughlin was denied after the break by another superb save from Burke while substitute Stephen Hickey went close with a couple of efforts.

Hickey was then involved as Town took the lead. The striker laid of to Daniels whose curled shot flew into the top corner past Burke. A win for Town but its Avenue who progress.

Ennis Town Rock
Stephen Loftus, Brian McNulty, Ronan Judge, Shane Daniels, JasonWhite, Francis Daniels,Alex Bore, Ethan Coote, Rowan Eade, MatthewKearney, Marty McLoughlin

Subs
Stephen Hickey for Kearney, Sean Kennedy for Eade

Hermitage
Joe Burke,Chris Ryan, Caomhán O’Briaon, John Maher, David Moloney, Colin Ryan, Sean McGee, Francis Franks, Eoin O’Meara Daly, Paul Dinan, Robert Dunne

Subs
Darren Lynch

Referee
Tommy Guilfoyle

Sporting Ennistymon 3 – Ruan United 2 at the Community Field, Lahinch

SPORTING Ennistymon were made to work all the way for a hard fought victory over Ruan United on Sunday.

The north Clare side raced into a three goal lead but Ruan responded in strong fashion with two goals and almost snatched a point late on

Neither side look likely to qualify for the final but that factor didn’t deter from an entertaining game played in gale force conditions in Lahinch.

It was a measure of the strength of the wind that when the ball was kicked onto the roof of the stand, a gust blew it back halfway across the pitch.

The home side adapted to the conditions quicker and took the lead when Cathal McConigley blasted a half volley to the net from just inside the Ruan half.

Ennistymon doubled their advantage through John Mullane’s effort and looked set for victory when the same player scored another before half time.

However Ruan kept plugging away and were rewarded with a goal from Karl Mahony to leave them trailing 3-1 at half time.

Ruan were back in contention after the break when Shane O’Donnell coolly finished in a one on one situ- ation. The visitors piled on the pressure in the closing stages but despite loosing their goalkeeper to injury, Ennistymon held out for victory.

Sporting Ennistymon
Richard Lee, Michael O’Dwyer,Thomas McConigley, John Mullane, Mark Burke, Daniel Flannagan, Cathal McConigley, Declan O’Looney, Sean McConigley, Mícheal Crehan, Ciaran Monaghan

Subs
Michael Keating, Padraig Flynn, Eddie Crowe, Sean Crowe

Ruan United
Damien Maxwell, Conor Reeves,WillieTreacy, Hugh O’Donnell, Barry Cusack,Adrian Ballinger, Karl Mahony, Fergus Casey, Shane O’Donnell, Gavin Dinan Subs Patrick Keegan PREPARATIONS for this year’s Oscar Traynor Trophy campaign have kicked off, with the Clare team that will be managed by former Rineanna Rovers boss Colm Ryan playing a friendly recently against a Hermitage selection at the County Grounds that finished 1-1. Eoin O’Meara Daly opened the scoring for Hermitage in the first half with an excellent free kick. Clare piled on the pressure in the second half and got a deserved equalizer from Gary Collins. It was a good workout for Clare and preparations will continue over the next few weeks before a panel will be finalized for the Limerick match towards the end of September. Clare are in the same group as last season and will have a home match with

Galway towards the end of October. Ryan, who led Rineanna Rovers to Clare Cup glory in 2009 will be assisted by John O’Malley, who part of the Clare backroom team when they reached the final in 2010 only to go down to Wexford in the final played at the County Grounds. Clare John Healy Simon Cuddy David Russell Darren Murphy Ian Hogan Paul Butler Jason Regan Patrick Darcy Ryan Boyle Mikey Mahoney Colin Ryan Mattie Nugent Gary Collins Dean Gardiner Lunga Balman Adrian “Tom” White Ray Quigley Her m it age Joe Burke Neil Mills John Maher David Moloney Rhys Phillips Eoghan Ryan Eoin O’Meara Daly Richie Fitzgerald Adrian McDonagh Paul Dinan Liam Meaney Robert Dunn Colin Ryan Paul Dullaghan

A LATE October dateline has been put in place for the appointment of a new senior hurling manager, despite moves from the floor of last Thursday’s meeting of the Clare County Board to appoint David Fitzgerald to the position with immediate affect.

Moves to fast-track Fitzgerald’s appointment, only two days after he officially stepped down as Waterford manager, were knocked on the head by county board chairman, Michael O’Neill, who outlined a lengthy process by which Ger O’Loughlin’s successor will be appointed.

“I certainly haven’t spoken to David Fitzgerald about it,” said O’Neill in revealing the county board blueprint for putting a new manager in place. The blueprint will include a nomination process that’s open to the clubs, interviews by a special county board appointed committee and a final selection that will be put before a full meeting of Clare GAA for ratification.

“Between now and the 23rd of September we want all nominations for the county senior hurling management,” said O’Neill. “We will finalise it then and I will put a committee in place to interview the candidates and then come back to the county board.

“I can tell you that the chairman of the county board will be the chairman of the committee. I will be selecting the committee. It will be a combination of ex-players and officials,” the chairman added.

“I concur with what you’re doing,” said Newmarket-on-Fergus delegate Michael Clancy. “I sat down this evening and set out what I would like to see happening. In Clare senior hurling from 1932 to 1998 we won four Munster senior championships and two All-Irelands. From 1998 to 2010, a duck.

“The quality has to be in our underage structures with under age and minor producing a nucleus for a team capable of delivering. What do we do? We do up a development plan; we nurture, coach and develop these young fellas and they will deliver the silverware.

“Who does that? A manager of course. A mature, tactical, people person. The support team is critical to this guy. The county board ultimately makes the decision. Appoint a committee, ask the clubs to supply nominations, with clubs consulting the hurling people in their parish and coming back in two weeks.

“The committee screening the nominations and making a recommendation in four weeks and then the manager will be in place by 20 October 20, 2011,” he added.

“That is exactly what’s going to happen,” said Michael O’Neill.