Category: Sport

IT WOULD have been so easy for Clare joint managers Donal Moloney and Gerry O’Connor to grumble. Not being made aware of the possibility of extra-time, not to mind having to watch their All-Ireland dreams vanish in that additional period would have developed a certain level of bitterness for most defeated managers but true to form, they were as magnanimous as always despite being understandably crestfallen.

“We were in the dark about the extra-time,” admitted Donal Moloney, “and I suppose maybe it should have gone for another day and both teams deserved another day but look, we have no complaints at the end of the day. Galway deserved their win.

“We weren’t going to kick up. We felt that in the last five minutes of normal time, we had momentum so we said ‘look we will go ahead and we have a very good level of fitness’ but unfortunately the sheer physicality of Galway had us worn down and that’s what it came down to on the day.

“It took everything out of us to battle through for the first hour so there was very little left in the tank. They are big men and all well able to hurl. And you know, in normal time we had it won and a late goal went in while the width of an upright denied us and that’s the way it goes. We’ve maybe had some strokes of fortune over the last two years as well so that’s the way it goes.”

Gerry O’Connor took up the point about Galway’s presence.

“It was the biggest team physically we have faced but in fairness we have no real excuses because we had been well warned. We played Galway twice this year already and we had it well flagged that how we handle their physicality was going to be the biggest challenge we faced and that’s how it proved ultimately.

“But I think as well as that, Galway showed the actually depth of their panel as well whereas we were probably trying to regurgitate our subs that we had taken off in the first half or early in the second half back on again. Galway probably used about eight substitutions during the course of that game whereas we only used about four so again the large panel really came into play in relation to what Galway were able to do on the day.”

And the Éire Óg man wouldn’t be drawn on the worthiness of victory or indeed the weight of favouritism either.

“The result dictates who wins and who loses and ultimately, as far as we are concerned, the best team won and that’s the case and always has been and we told them [Galway] that in the dressing room that we wish them the very best and hope that they win the All-Ireland now. They had to be a very good team to beat us today because we knew the value of our team coming into the game today and fair play to them, they were better than us on the day.

“We don’t take any notice of who’s favourites at all. The reality is that the odds are dictated by Paddy Power and somebody in an accountant’s office in Dublin. I never saw Paddy Power at a training session in Clareabbey so we don’t take any great notice of bookies odds or expectations, we just go out to hurl and try to get a performance out of our lads. And we got a performance out of our lads but on the day, it wasn’t good enough.”

However, despite defeat, there was also immense pride in their players for their historic achievements over the past two years.

“We are very proud of our team,” added Moloney.

“They created history by winning back-to-back Munster titles and we have some fantastic hurlers in our midst. They are some of the best to come out of Clare in a generation and they went down heroically today. That will stand to them in years to come because last year’s All-Ireland loss drove us on to win Munster this year and if we look ahead, people like Kelly, Galvin, Cunningham, Shanahan, Jack Browne and all those guys, you are going to be hearing a lot more of those guys. They have the most fantastic attitude and we count ourselves privileged to have worked with them over the past two years.”

That reflection drew the inevitable question of whether the management themselves were willing to take up the fight for a crack at a third Munster final and possibly even another tilt for that elusive All-Ireland.”

“Come and talk to us at Christmas,” exclaimed Donal Moloney. “We are three years on the road at minor. I’m five years on the road between underage development squads and three years at minor. Gerry is eight years on the road with underage development squads and minor so it’s been a long time and we’ve had great days out of it. And today ironically, while it’s painful to lose, it’s a good day as well because we have a team and players who can perform on this pitch and for a whole decade, we haven’t had that.”

Galway 1-23 – Clare 1-18 (After Extra-Time) at Croke Park

EXTRA-TIME or not extra-time: that was the question that permeated around Croke Park on Sunday after a gruelling 60-minute struggle.

With no reference to it in the match programme or offical fixture notification, the entire media section and supporters also in the dark and even the teams not aware of the extra period, it was left to a delayed postmatch official notification to eventually dictate the extention.

Unfortunately for Clare, it was to be the rock that they would perish on as Galway’s physicality had taken its toll and in truth, there was only one side in the additional 20 minute period. It was a heartbreaking end to another memorable year for the county minors as they had thrown everything into the budgeted hour but their luck just ran out in the end.

Instead, fortune favoured the brave as an injury-time scrambled goal handed Galway a lifeline while only inches denied Tony Kelly a final winner.

Ironically, Clare’s golden era in the 90’s had begun with a free from 65 metres that rebounded off the upright for Eamon Taaffe to grab a goal but this time, Kelly’s free from the opposite side rebounded to safety.

Galway’s timely use of their strong bench, who ended with a combined total of seven points, allied to key displays from Pádraig Brehony, Jonathan Glynn and Shane Maloney saw them finish the stronger side and they carried that momentum into the extra period when outscoring their war weary neighbours by 0-8 to 0-3.

In truth, despite leading for the majority of normal time, Clare never reached the heights of their masterful Munster final display and as has been highlighted throughout their campaign, the central diamond of Jamie Shanahan, Colm Galvin, Tony Kelly and Cathal O’Connell were critical to Clare’s hopes.

Hence it was something that Galway had obviously done their homework on as they were able to curb that quartet’s influence and as the game developed it was to be the springboard to gaining a major foothold in the game.

There were to be other shining lights for Clare however, with Aaron Cunningham arguably Clare’s best player over the 80 minutes while Peter Duggan, Jack Browne and full debutant Shane O’Brien showed well.

With Galway threatening early on without hitting the target as often as they should have, Clare were the more efficient side. Cathal O’Connell (4), Cunningham (2), Shane O’Donnell (2) and Tony Kelly helped them to a 0-9 to 0-5 half-time advantage while the full-back line kept the Banner from leaking a goal.

Having perhaps paid too much respect to their opponents in that opening half, Galway smelled blood, hitting five of the next six points by the 42nd minute to gain parity for the first time in 32 minutes.

The physical presence of Glynn, Brehony and Jack Carr had Clare on the backfoot and they did finally take the lead when substitutes Carr and Dean Higgins put them 0-12 to 0-11 clear by the 48th minute.

An inspirational reply from Clare substitute Martin Moroney on the left wing leveled matters once more a minute later and if a Clare team ever needed a goal in Croke Park, it was Oisin Hickey’s in the 50th minute after an incisive Aaron Cunninham run opened up the defence.

A Shane Maloney 20 metre free intended for goal went the wrong side of the crossbar and after Aaron Cunningham’s 60th minute point, Clare held a three point advantage heading into injury-time.

There was to be another twist in the tail and after defending admirably for the hour, Clare will be disappointed with conceding such a scrappy 61st minute goal when Jack Carr bundled the ball out of a melee for Gerard O’Donoghue to pull past Quilligan.

Further drama was to follow when Tony Kelly was fouled out on the left touchline, only to see his resulting free from 65 metres rebound off the crossbar before the half came to an end.

Both sides would have taken a replay and in hindisght, Clare should have perhaps held their ground in that regard as there was only one team on the front foot in extra-time, led by Shane Maloney who hit four of his side’s eight points to earn Galway the coveted final spot.

BEFORE Galway manager Mattie Murphy could settle comfortably into his chair, the inevitable quizzing of extra-time was broached. Did he know there would be an additional period and more to the point, when did he know?

“Nobody knew. RTÉ didn’t know, we didn’t know but sure, they only tell us these things. They can turnaround and reschedule matches as they go along. If you look at the schedule for matches, the Munster champions are supposed to be in Croke Park next Sunday and we had budgeted for that. All of a sudden, out of the blue, they move it.

“We would have gladly taken a replay at that stage because I thought the advantage might be that they had been through a strenuous Munster campaign and had two games since the Leaving Cert, I thought maybe it would be an advantage to them in terms of conditioning and fitness but thanks be to God, we matched them in that anyway.”

Once the teams were told and refocused, was he surprised how strongly Galway finished?

“I leave the conditioning of the lads and the training of the lads to Mike Haverty. He was happy enough with their levels of fitness but I think, no matter what level of fitness you have, if the head and the heart isn’t right, then you are going to be in trouble. Even if you were a couple of sessions short of physical fitness, the heart and head will carry you through if you are mentally strong and we showed in extra-time that we are mentally very strong.”

Very strong finishers in normal time too thanks to Gerard O’Donoghue’s injury-time scrambled goal that earned his side that extra chance.

“The goal was one of those dithery ones that was kicked over the line but they are all three points. Even if you hit a cracker from 40 yards to the net, it’s still only three points you get but I was still happy to see it going over the line anyway.

“I thought we were hesitant and paid them too much respect in the first half and we really didn’t settle into our pattern. We let them dictate the trend of the game in the first half. They were very busy, they were getting in tackles, left, right and centre and they were in our faces and some of our lads didn’t like that. All of a sudden, we found out that if we put ourselves on the front foot that they weren’t too happy with that either.”

Then there was the substitute factor that only highlighted the strengthin-depth of this Galway squad, with four different replacements grabbing a combined seven point haul.

“That wouldn’t be a surprise to us now because in the last few training matches, the B team beat the A team so there was a couple of fellas who were kind of half perplexed why they weren’t on the first fifteen and so they had an agenda when they did get on and thank God, they took it that way and went out to prove us wrong.

“We have a serious job picking 24 not to mind a team for the final. There are fellas not making the 24 that are quality hurlers and would be welcomed in any county. So these fellas that are writing the obituary of hurling in Galway, if there is anything wrong, it’s not at Under 18 or 16 level.”

Nothing at all wrong with their minor squad who must now be hot favourites to capture Mattie Murphy’s sixth All-Ireland minor title.

AS players endure the rigours of preseason training details have been announced of the first round of competitive fixtures in the Clare District Soccer League (CDSL) season.

The season will kick off on August 31 with a full round of matches in the premier, first, second and third division league cups. While league cup competitions have been run for lower league teams in recent seasons, the Premier Division league cup is a new addition to the season’s calendar.

The CDSL decided to run the competition after new sponsors, the Corofin based Shannon Trophies, agreed to sponsor the trophy and winner’s medals.

The FAI will provide 25 match tickets for the winners to attend an international match at the Aviva Stadium.

PK Travel have agreed to sponsor a bus to take the 25 people from the winning club to and from the Aviva Stadium.

Prior to that six teams will take part in the inaugural Hugh Kelly Memorial Tournament. A key figure in Clare soccer The Derry native passed away at his home in Sixmilebridge last April. The former Derry City player led Clare to the county’s first ever Oscar Traynor trophy in 2004. The draws for the Hugh Kelly Memorial Tournament are as follows: August 16, County Grounds; Rhine Rovers v Bridge United. August 17, County Grounds; Coole FC v Avenue United. August 20, County Grounds; Rhine Rovers or Bridge United v Shannon Olympic August 21, County Grounds; Coole FC or Avenue United v Newmarket Celtic August 27, Sixmilebridge; Final. The groups for the premier, first, second and third division league cups are below.

Premier Division Cup Group A
Avenue Utd A, Burren Utd, Rineanna Rovers, Ennis Town Rock, Hermitage A

Premier Division Cup Group B
Mountshannon Celtic, Lifford A, Newmarket Celtic A, Shannon Olympic A, Tulla Utd A

First Division Group A
Connolly Celtic Rhine Rovers Manus Celtic A Kilrush Rangers Turnpike Rovers

First Division Group B
Bridge Celtic

Bridge Utd A Bunratty Cratloe FCA Avenue Utd B Corofin Harps

Second Division Group A

Crusheen 3-10 – Newmarket-on-Fergus 1-11 at Cusack Park, Ennis

GREAT backs, middling forwards.

That’s the perceived wisdom around much of Clare hurling country about 2010 county senior champions Crusheen, but it could be said that this theory was finally blown out of the water on Saturday evening thanks to a storming final ten minutes of their dramatic clash with Newmarket-on-Fergus.

By any yardstick, hitting 2-3 is hugely impressive. Crusheen were that in a rousing finish that saw them turn a 1-10 to 1-7 deficit after 50 minutes into a comprehensive five-point victory over the shell-shocked Blues.

It was brilliant stuff by a Crusheen side, but hugely disappointing for a Newmarket side that looked to be on their way to a second victory in the campaign when a goal on the stroke of half-time from Colin Ryan gave them the impetus to kick on in the second half.

That strike put them 1-5 to 1-4 ahead at the interval after Crusheen had looked much the better team, with their defence being outstanding in the face of what Newmarket could throw at them.

However, there were cracks in the Newmarket full-back line as early as the tenth minute when Joey Meaney robbed Stephen Kelly in possession, jinked his way clear and slammed to the net from 14 yards.

Ultimately it was these full-back line frailties that came back to haunt the Blues in the end, with both Crusheen’s match-winning goals in the final moments coming via route one ball over the full-back into space for Gerry O’Grady and Paddy Meaney to provide the killer blows.

Crusheen’s impressive first half showing against the wind was franked by some good points from play, with Patrick Vaughan, Fergus Kennedy and Gearóid O’Donnell on the mark by the 32nd minute as they moved 1-4 to 0-5 clear.

Save an early Martin O’Hanlon point, the Blues’ only scorer up to then was Colin Ryan with three frees, before he struck his all-important goal in the 33rd minute after being put through by the impressive Shane O’Brien.

From there Newmarket were never headed until Gerry O’Grady’s 56th minute goal. The sides were level early on thanks to a Gerry O’Grady point, and again on 40 minutes after Patrick Vaughan punished a slack Kieran Devitt puck-out with a point, by the 50th minute the Blues looked to be motoring to the two points.

A fine Enda Kelly point put them 1-7 to 1-6 clear in the 41st minute, while David Barrett then chipped in with two by the 43rd. Fergus Kennedy stemmed the tide with a point at the three quarter stage, but it looked to be the Blues’ day when wides from David Forde and Cian Dillon was followed up by a Colin Ryan sixth point to leave his side three clear entering the last ten minutes.

However, the hour of need is when the confidence of being county championship roared to the surface. Within five minutes they were level thanks to points from Vaughan (2) and Paddy Meaney, before Gerry O’Grady put them on the high road.

Fergus Kennedy was the provider with a sublime 40-yard pass over the defence to the former Clare captain, who then rifled past Kieran Devitt. The Blues did reduce the deficit with a Sean O’Connor point, but last year’s goal hero from the county final, Paddy Meaney, finally killed them off when running on to a long ball from Ciaran O’Doherty and hammering home.

Broadford 2-15 – Smith O’Brien’s 1-14 at Shannon

BROADFORD’S first competitive victory of the season kept their championship hopes alive while also alleviating the threat of relegation worries in the process on Saturday evening. After nine winless Clare Cup ties, Broadford seemed to have saved their best for championship fare but while they lost a game that arguably they should have won against Clonlara, this time they dug out the result despite a strong second half fightback from Smith O’Brien’s that threatened to usurp the points.

Broadford didn’t make it easy for themselves despite taking the game to their opponents against the breeze when building up an impressive 2-8 to 0-7 half-time advantage. The difference in that first half was the finishing from both sides, with Broadford’s two goal haul from Mark Moloney in stark constrast to Smith O’Brien’s wastefulness in front of Cian O’Brien’s goal, with the shotstopper producing at least four meaningful saves.

Micheál Ryan was by far Smith O’Brien’s most encouraging performer but he had to carry the majority of the scoring responsibilities on his young shoulders as opposed to Broadford’s more balanced attacking unit that saw Paurig Taylor, Declan Teefy, Aonghus O’Brien, Niall Moloney, Mark Moloney and Padraig Hickey to the fore for much of the opening period.

Moloney’s two strikes in particular in the final nine minutes of the half were both assisted by O’Brien, with the first carried by momentum over the line after an initial save by goalkeeper Jonathan Hayes while the second in the 28th minute was as a result of good positioning from the lively forward.

And after Hickey and Teefy extended Broadford’s advantage to nine inside two minutes of the restart, it seemed like game over for the Killaloe based side. However, Smith O’Brien’s somehow found an extra gear and aside from a very dubious Niall Moloney point that even confounded the umpires, Smith O’Brien’s would hit 1-7 in the next 17 minutes to gain parity.

Kevin Walsh, Willie Neary and inevitably Micheál Ryan, who began the fightback in earnest with a 43rd minute 20 metre free to the net, saw Smith O’Brien’s take the reins but just as it seemed that their momentum would carry them over the line, Broadford crucially stopped the rot.

A Padraig Hickey 50th minute free halted the freefall, substitute Kieran O’Connell added another three minutes later and while the Smith O’Brien’s support thought that they had replied with a goal in the 56th minute, Kevin Walsh’s shot had actu- ally hit the sidenetting.

Wiping their brow from that scare, another Hickey free and an excellent Craig Chaplin lineball finished the job for Broadford who will have to build on this victory by taking the scalp of Doora/Barefield in the next round if they are to really compete for a much needed quarter-final spot.

Parteen 4-17 – Clarecastle 2-10 at Shannon

PARTEEN ARE within touching distance of the last four after a powerful second half performance finally saw off a stubborn Clarecastle side on Saturday.

Contrasting form going into this tie suggested a routine victory for the south east Clare side following an unbeaten start to Clarecastle’s winless opening. However, the Magpies made it a much more uncomfortable ride that most expected by leading for a large chunk of the opening half before a late sure gave Parteen a 2-8 to 2-6 interval edge.

Parteen’s start couldn’t have been much better either after Ivan Conway’s clever flick for a goal from a Colm Quinn free after only 40 seconds followed by another free to Noel Bridgeman for a point settled them early on. However, two David Green goals in as many minutes gave the Magpies a much needed lift and with Briain Lynch causing major difficulties inside, Parteen were behind until the 27th minute when they leveled up in the goal stakes.

Two key alterations were essential to that turnaround with wing-back Colm O’Connell moving back to the corner to keep a close eye on Lynch while the straight swap of midfielder Brian McSweeney and Darragh Yelverton worked wonders for both players.

Essentially, Yelverton provided some strong back up to Joe O’Connor around the centre while it was McSweeney who grabbed that decisive second goal in the 27th minute when positioning himself well to receive the pass in front of goal from Bridgeman.

By half-time, Parteen would have considered themselves rather fortunate to be two in front but there was no doubt about the second period as Parteen produced a clinical final quarter display to finally put away the war weary Magpies.

By the 47th minute, there was still only three points separating the sides at 2-12 to 2-09 but once Parteen got a third goal through Bridgeman, Clarecastle’s heads dropped and Parteen put a glossy sheen on the final margin.

In all, Parteen would outscore their opponents by 2-5 to 0-1 in the runin as they maintained their perfect start to the championship while the Magpies will be fearful of heading in the opposite direction with only two matches remaining for both sides.

Parteen
Alan Murnane, Mark Cunningham, Cillian Conlon, David O’Sullivan, ColmO’Connell, ColmQuinn (0-2 1f),AndrewBeatty (0-1), Joe O’Connor (0-2), Brian McSweeney (2-0), Mark Boland, David Small (0-2), Ronan Conlan (0-1), DarraghYelverton (0-2), Ivan Conway (1-5 4f)), Noel Bridgeman (1-2)

Subs
Paul O’Dwyer for Conway (57 mins)

Clarecastle
Jamie Coughlan, Jamie Fahy, Cathal Lynch, Eamonn O’Connor, Paddy Donnellan,AndrewPage, Barry Lyons, John Reidy, Garrett Barry (0-1), SeanTalty (0-1),Alan O’Loughlin (0-1),AdamHealy (0-1), Niall Dunne (0-2 1f), David Green (2-0), Briain Lynch (0-4)

Subs
Stuart McMahon for Reidy (HT), Ruairi Concannon for Dunne (57 mins)

Man of the Match
Colm Quinn (Parteen) Referee Flan O’Reilly (Cratloe) Cla r eca st le 3-13 O’Ca llagha n’s Mills 0-06 at Fr Mur phy Memor ia l Pa r k, Newma r ket A STATEMENT of intent from Clarecastle who had a comprehensive 16 point victory over fellow third string O’Callaghan’s Mills on Saturday. The Magpies, led by a superb half-back line of Patrick Galbraith, Patrick Casey and Gary Casey, were always in control but only topped up their winning margin with three late goals from Alan Considine, Bernard Scanlon and substitute Mikey Geraghty. For their part, the Mills arguably showed their opponents too much respect and only for encouraging displays from midfielder Eoin McGrath and goalkeeper Martin McMahon, the damage could have been much worse. The Magpies were 0-9 to 0-2 clear by the interval, with Pakie Healy the main marksman with five points. However, with the opening score of the second half only coming in the 48th minute, the dismissals of Healy and Mills centre-back Paul Hogan diverted attention momentarily before Clarecastle finished the job with

those decisive late strikes to book their place in the last four against either Doora/Barefield or the Banner.

Clarecastle
Tommy Hegarty, Michael John Reynolds, Barry Guinnane,Austin Guckian, Patrick Galbraith, Patrick Casey (0-1 1’65), Gary Casey, Barry Lynch (0-1),Alan Considine (1-1), Brendan Murphy, David Geraghty (0-1), Pakie Healy (0-5 4f), Michael Casey (0-2), Jeff Healy (0-1), Bernard Scanlon (1-1)

Subs
Mika Malone for Murphy (50 mins), Mikey Geraghty (1-0) §for Lynch (59 mins), John Sweeney for J. Healy (60 mins), Mark Scanlon for D. Geraghty (60 mins),Adrian McDonagh for B. Scanlon (62 mins)

O’Callaghan’s Mills
Martin McMahon, Martin Madden, David McNamara, Oliver O’Driscoll, Ronan Broderick, Paul Hogan, Garry Murnane, Eoin McInerney, Eoin McGrath (0-5 2f), Damien Donnellan, Robert Madden, Pa McMahon, Ian Donnellan, JimCleary, ColmMcHugh (0-1)

Subs
Neil O’Brien for E. McInerney (15 mins, inj), Dan McNamara for Donnellan (29 mins), Mike Baker for P. McMahon (36 mins)

Man of the Match
Patrick Casey (Clarecastle) Referee Flan O’Reilly (Cratloe)

Other results

Cratloe 0-20 – Whitegate 2-12 at Cusack Park, Ennis

CRATLOE may have been playing with a strong breeze in the first half, but that 30 something minutes is all they needed to put two more championship points up on the board against a Whitegate side whose interest in this year’s Canon Hamilton Cup campaign is now at an end.

Or so it seemed. They led by eight and were cruising, while by the threequarter stage they had extended that to nine as they closed in on their second victory of the campaign.

However, what happened from there to the end was bordering on a collapse as Whitegate stormed back into proceedings by bagging 2-6 in the closing 15 minutes that had the 2009 county champions hanging on for dear life in the end.

Andrew Fahy’s 47th minute goal from a 21-yard free and then Georgie Waterstone’s strike seven minutes from time plunged this game back in the melting pot and in the end only Conor McGrath’s accuracy staved off the Cratloe meltdown.

That this dramatic finale was in store scarcely seemed possible after a first half in which Cratloe were ma jestic at times, while Whitegate were simply lamentable.

Cratloe showboated at times but still moved through the gears at will to build up an 0-11 to 0-3 interval lead. Damien Browne was the man – his five points from play being the standout performance in a Cratloe forward line that could, with more ruthlessness, have banged in a couple of goals.

Opportunity knocked for Padraigh Chaplin twice in the half – first as early as the fifth minute when Conor McGrath put him through, while McGrath teed up a second opportunity in the 17th minute.

He missed both, but it mattered little as a rampant Cratloe had cruised 0-7 to 0-1 clear by the 15th minutes, with a hat-trick of Browne points showcasing their superiority after Cathal McInerney and Liam Markham had bagged points inside the first four minutes.

A ninth minute pointed free from John Minogue and two Georgie Waterstone points is all Whitegate had to show for the 30 minutes, while two more Browne efforts that sandwiched efforts from Conor McGrath and Conor Ryan gave the 2009 champions their unassailable halftime lead. Virtually unassailable that is, until Whitegate exploded to life.

The half followed the pattern of the first for 10 minutes of the second with Cratloe’s dominance moving them five points – Conor McGrath grabbed three, while Damian Browne and Cathal McInerney were also on the mark as Whitegate struggled to make any impact on proceedings.

Points by Waterstone, Thomas McNamara and Michael O’Brien did raise their spirits, but it wasn’t until Andrew Fahy goaled that they really came to life. Suddenly they took a stranglehold of affairs around the middle and thanks to Waterstone’s goal seven minutes from time had the gap down 0-17 to 2-8 in Cratloe’s favour.

It was a titanic struggle from there until the finish, only Conor McGrath’s coolness under pressure saved Cratloe’s blushes, but the final whistle couldn’t come fast enough as injury time points by Pat Minogue and Michael O’Brien had reduced the gap to two.

Inagh/Kilnamona 1-16 – Scariff 0-12 at O’Garney Park, Sixmilebridge

INAGH/KILNAMONA made it two wins out of two in the 2011 senior hurling championship after accounting for a relatively limited Scariff side. The winning margin of seven points could have been far more excessive only for Inagh/Kilnamona’s gradual dip in performance in the second half, where some poor shooting cost them a more flattering victory. Nonetheless their 100% record remains intact as progression to the knock-out stages this season now appears far more realistic, even though two greater challenges still await the Combo in the shape of Cratloe and Tubber.

Back to this encounter, the eventual winners achieved the perfect start when Niall Arthur found his range immediately from placed balls when his first effort of the day split the posts to open the game’s scoring. Scariff’s corner forward Mark Mulvihill however quickly responded with a fine effort off his left side to tie the game again. This pattern of exchanging points and drawing level continued with both teams finding another two scores each in a lightening quick first five minutes of hurling in Sixmilebridge last Saturday afternoon. Scariff soon stole the first two point advantage of the clash with efforts from Padraig Brody and Diarmuid Nash but Inagh/Kilnamona were never going to let them out off their sight for too long and this brief blip inspired them into their albeit brief purple patch of some excellent hurling. The Arthur brothers shared the free-taking duties and scores as they quickly retook pole position from their east Clare rivals. Eoin Vaughan and Conor Tier- ney also added their names to the scoreboard while the dominant presence that is Cathal Lafferty finished off an almost Barcelona passage of play and passing to increase the lead to five with five minutes of the half remaining. Scariff needed the half time whistle but unfortunately for them Niall Arthur was still hungry for success in front of goal. Vaughan combined well with the talented full forward before he blasted the sliotar to the roof of the Scariff net to in many ways seal the result before the interval arrived. A Barry Murphy response left it 1-11 to 0-7 with the last puck of the half.

With the second half came a significant decrease in the overall standard of hurling as both teams only managed another five points each. As mentioned a lack of accuracy proved to be Inagh/Kilnamona’s Achilles heel but Scariff just could not handle or breech the winners outstanding defence. The half back line was incredibly solid but the full back line was even better. Dermot Lynch continued his spectacular form in his role of captain but his younger colleague Brian Glynn at number three was the real star of this brilliant defensive display.

The final moments of this encounter ended in a sour note with the deserved straight red card of Conor MacNamara after a terrible striking offence which encapsulated an awful day for Scariff overall. With two defeats the future does not appear too bright for Mike Mac’s charges with the threat of possible relegation everincreasing. Inagh/Kilnamona may have left Sixmilebridge delighted with the result but if their hopes for a truly successful season exist, a shift into a fifth gear of performance will have to materialise sooner or later.

WHEN TONY Carmody retired from senior inter-county action at the back end of 2009, it was generally felt that it would be the last supporters would see him in a Clare jersey. After nine years at the top level, the former Inagh/Kilnamona man amassed 32 championship appearances, scoring 4-48 in a glittering career that included an All-Ireland final appearance in 2002.

However, with the rejuvenation of this year’s county intermediate panel under Kevin Kennedy, the appetite to represent the county proved too tempting to pass up and along with several of his former senior teammates, he took the plunge once more, with unprecedented results.

“I suppose at the time, there was a change of management there and I felt at that time that I had been on the road for a long time and I suppose really the hunger wasn’t there.

“It was never my intention to fully give up, I was always trying to keep half fit and keep the door open if I did decide to return and I suppose the opportunity arose in an unlikely source, being the intermediate panel this year. There was a lot of interest this year with all the players getting involved and with the management that was there, it was a bit of a buzz to play again for the county and I suppose it paid off in the end in winning the Munster title.

“To be honest, in the latter stages, it would have been one of the highlights of my career. To captain your county at any grade is a huge honour and especially for a Munster final in Cusack Park, I don’t know if it has ever been done before. In particular the manner in which we won the match and obviously the great support we had on the evening for an intermediate game, I think it was a fair achievement.”

The most intriguing part of the Clare intermediate set-up this year is the unique blend of youth and experi- enced leaders in the side, something that the Sixmilebridge player is keen to elaborate on.

“This year more so than any year, there is a lot of talk about what is the role of intermediate hurling and I think if you look at other counties, they use it as a springboard for young players to make it to senior level. For the young players to gain experience, they need to be playing matches and I don’t think playing one match is good enough for those players to bring them on but as you can see, in the last couple of games, lads are really coming into their own.

“It bodes well for the future with the likes of Daire Keane, John Fennessy, Shane Golden and Kevin Moynihan, there is a fair mix there and for the likes of myself, Niall Gilligan and Declan O’Rourke, it’s great to be involved. You can never beat the winning feeling and it’s hard to put a price on that but we are really enjoying our hurling at the moment and hopefully it will continue.