Category: Sport

Kerry 0-13 – Clare 1-07 at Dr Crokes Ground, Killarney

KERRY rolled out eight of their artillery who have won All-Ireland medals on the field of play – with such firepower they then rolled over Clare with the minimum of fuss on Saturday afternoon to retain the McGrath Cup.

That’s the negative aspect of this largely pedestrian tournament final from Clare’s point of view – the positive was that they battled to the very end and with a bit more accuracy in front of goal could have been closer than the three points separating the sides at the end.

Be under no illusions though, had Clare somehow produced a comeback akin to what they managed against Leitrim in last year’s league, it would be been a larceny on a very grand scale.

Kerry controlled this game once they weathered Clare’s early enthusiasm, moving into an impregnable seven-point lead early in the second half as this contest drifted towards its inevitable conclusion.

The combined influence of Tomás Ó Sé pulling the strings at centreback, midfield domiance thanks to David Moran and Seamus Scanlan and Daithí Geaney running riot in the full-forward line were the essential differences between the sides as the 36-time All-Ireland champions showcased the appetite of some grizzled All-Ireland veterans and the enthusiasm of those hoping to join them on the pantheon.

For Clare the hope was to be competitive – that they achieved at the start and then at the end when the kept going. The hope was also to try and take a catapult to Kerry – they never really looked like ticking that box.

It was Kerry’s ability to string the points together that killed Clare – they hit five in a row in the first half to turn an early 0-3 to 0-1 deficit into a 0-6 to 0-1 lead.

With that Clare’s hugely positive start that saw David Tubridy, Cathal O’Connor and John Hayes hit brilliant points from play inside the first five minutes came to nothing.

Kerry’s forwards buzzed, especially 2009 All-Ireland winning captain Darran O’Sullivan in the half-line and newcomer Dáithí Geaney who tormented the Clare full-back line over the 70 minutes with five points from play.

The Kingdom cranked to life with points by Geaney (2), David Moran (2) and Mike O’Donoghue, while Clare were made to endure a 28minute scoring drought in the first half before Alan Clohessy pegged back a point in the 33rd minute.

The real pity was that Cathal O’Connor failed to convert a chance a minute later after a determined burst through the middle. It would have left only a point in it at half-time, but as it was another Daithí Geaney point just before the break that edged Kerry into a 0-7 to 0-4 lead that always looked like being enough to buttress them for anything Clare might summon on the turnover.

This was certainly the case when Kerry responded to a thumping point from distance by Niall Browne after five minutes with another five-point salvo in a devastating seven-minute spell.

With that this McGrath Cup was won and lost.

Again Daithí Geaney was the scourge of Clare – the Dingle man may only have been borrowing Colm ‘Gooch’ Cooper’s number 13 geansaí in this McGrath Cup competition, but such was his influence in this final that he might be thrown another number come the real business of the 2011 season.

Tomás Ó Sé teed him up for this fourth point from play in the 44th minute, while a Darran O’Sullivan effort and Geaney’s fifth made it double scores of 0-10 to 0-5 by the 47th minute.

Clare’s challenge had faltered badly and entered in the mixed zone of damage limitation. To that end they achieved respectability as this game petered out, but it was only after Kerry eased up in the closing 20 minutes after further points by Paul Geaney and David Moran put them 0-12 to 0-5 clear that Micheal McDermott’s side became competitive again.

The mini-revival was ignited in the 62nd minute when Cathal O’Connor, who had been moved from midfield to full-forward, fielded a high delivery from Shane Brennan , bustled his way past Marc Ó Sé and forced the ball over the line.

It was down to four points – but it should have been two, only for Alan Clohessy to miss two scoreable frees either side of the goal.

It meant that instead of a nervy finish for Kerry, Daithí Geaney’s sixth point eased them five clear once more by the 68th minute, while two late Alan Clohessy frees ensured that the scoreboard didn’t have a lopsided look to it from Clare’s point of view.

WATERFORD continued to be Ger O’Loughlin’s bogey team after his Clare side slumped to their third successive defeat to Davy Fitzgerald’s side in the space of twelve months. And while Waterford deserved to triumph in the opening two clashes, Clare looked to have turned the corner on this occasion when leading by 11 points by the interval, only for a second half collapse to maintain their poor run against the Deise.

It was clear from manager Ger O’Loughlin’s face upon exiting the dressing room afterwards that this was another inexplicable and frustratingly bitter pill to swallow but equally he was happy to suffer such defeats in January rather than June.

“We’re very disappointed with the result. After 35 minutes of tremendous hurling in the first half when they had no answer to us, the one thing we said was to not take our foot off the pedal in the second half, push it on and try to win by ten or eleven points but we did the opposite.

“So that’s very disappointing but look, I think the game itself will bring us on a tonne. We need to start learning to win because it isn’t the first time that we have done this. Last year against Wexford as well in the Park, we threw away a big lead and again we had a very young, inexperienced team out there today but in general in Clare hurling we have to start learning to win. Until we do that, we are going to put the crowd and ourselves under major pressure.

“They got on top of us then and we lost our way big time. They got six or seven unanswered points in rapid succession in the second half and Seamus Prendergast inside full-for- ward was posing serious problems for us and again we have to learn from these games because they are invaluable in January and they will stand to us for the league.

“I was just telling the lads inside in the dressing rooms that we have to learn from this and we have to put it behind us and say that we threw away a big lead, we were way better than them and yet we are coming out on the receiving end of a point beating. So that’s disappointing but we got a good run out of the Waterford Crystal competition and can take a lot of positives out of it and remind ourselves often enough as well that we just have to be more ruthless.”

One of those positives was the threat of Cratloe duo Cathal McInerney and Conor McGrath, who were only making their second ever competitive appearance in a Clare senior jersey.

“They were very good and as I’ve said last week, they are natural forwards, they just create that space and they are very good young lads. I think that’s what really bodes well for the future of Clare that if we have them and another three or four lads, we are not a million miles away but we just need to be putting away teams.

“We were on the backfoot in the second half and that’s something we have to look at and be truthful and say that we are not the finished article by a long way but at the same time, we are learning fairly quick.”

So while attempting to put this disappointing defeat behind him, O’Loughlin and his management team will now hone in on their crucial National League campaign, backed by a full squad for the first time this season.

“We probably have ten or eleven guys to come onto that team and be pushing for places but I would prefer if we had those guys today as well because that sort of match is invaluable. It was helter-skelter and it was a good game for both counties so it will sharpen them up and while there were lads that missed out on that today and who are playing with their colleges, at the same time I would prefer to see them here on days like today.

“We have some good lads to come onto the squad as well this year and push for a place. We’ve had seven or eight lads like Ciaran O’Doherty, James Gunning and Mark Earley, together with the Cratloe lads who have shown exceptionally well at times in the games. So as I say we have a lot of positives we can take out of the Waterford Crystal competition and hopefully we’ll be a team to contend with in the coming months.”

LAST weekend the Clarecastle handball club paid host to the girl’s county handball singles championships 2011. In excess of 40 players from different clubs in county Clare gathered last Saturday to compete in the A and B county championships. This was a tremendous turnout, and showed that girl’s handball is strong in County Clare. Two finals have yet to be decided and they will be played this week.

There was some exciting and competitive handball played at the week- end, which is promising for the future of girl’s handball in Clare.

This week also sees the trials commencing for the secondary schools Munster competition, which will commence in early February. Also, Clare’s top Minor players such as Ciaran Malone and Jamie Lynch will be in action this week along with a host of other bright, young county stars as they seek to try and capture the minor county title. The boys singles B competitions in the county also got underway last weekend, with each club in the coun- ty hosting a particular age bracket. These games will be run over the next couple of weekends and will culminate into one weekend of final action that will feature all age brackets in the competition.

Results
U12 A – Final To Be Played Between Ella Donnellan And Evelyn Duggan U13 A – Final To Be Played Between Clodagh Nash And Doireann Murphy U14 A – LaurenTouhy U15 A – Natasha Coughlan Beat Michelle Nihill U16 A – Alice Akers Beat StaceyWright U12 B – Amy Barrett Beat Ann Harrid Loughnane U13 B – Aoibheann Duggan Beat Joanne O’gorman U14 B – Eilish Cullinan Beat Mauve Clune U15 B – Clodagh O’halloran Beat Gail Mccarthy

THREE Clare students are among 50 who have won sports scholarships in Waterford Institute of Technology. The scholarships given to Clare are for three different sports – athletics, hurling and Gaelic football. The Clare students are Jason Fahey(Athletics), Aaron Considine (Gaelic Football)and Enda Barrett (Hurling) who were presented with their scholarships at the WIT Awards Ceremony for 2010 – 2011 last week.

“This year marked the tenth year of the Sports Scholarship Scheme and from an original ceremony involving 8 students we now have 65 students

on the scheme, this sends a clear message of the value WIT places on sport, “ said Robin Croke, Clubs and Societies Officer at WIT Sport and Recreation.

The scheme was established to attract some of the best young sporting talent in the country to WIT as well as rewarding a number of existing students who have excelled in their sports during their time at the Institute.

Fahy has been awarded a Gold Level award winner; Considine won a Bronze Level award, while Barrett is the recipient of a WIT/Munster Council GAA Scholarships for hurling.

DARRAGH Kelly (below), the St. Flannan’s manager remained on a positive note heading into Wednesday’s quarter-final clash with Kerry’s Tralee C.B.S as we spoke with him after their last training session before the big game

After losing their first match of the campaign Colaiste na Sceilge they bounced back in their second group game to overcome Clonmel comfortably insuring them of the quarter-final spot. However, as they had lost their opening encounter they were runners-up of the group which resulted in them coming up against group winners Tralee C.B.S.

A worrying factor for Darragh and the team last week would have been the amount of dual players in the college playing hurling and football who also took part in the Harty Cup victory over St. Colman’s. There are nine players on both panels but luckily for them there are no major injuries as a result and St. Flannan’s will have a full strength squad for Wednesday’s game.

The Kerry side will be a strong one and a tough task lies ahead. They have reached many underage colleges finals in recent years and they also captured the O’Connor cup this year, the Kerry Colleges tournament, so the St. Flannan’s boys will have their work cut out for them going into the game.

Some of the St. Flannan’s squad will have had experience from playing last year and they hope that will help them through. They will be relying on players such as Jarlaith Colleran and Tony Kelly who are joint captains of the side along with Gearoid O’Connell, Eoin Enright and Cathal Doohan who impressed with a tally of 3-2 in their last outing.

Although they see themselves as underdogs for the occasion there is no fear from this team and they believe they have what it takes to overcome the Kerry side on Wednesday evening and progress to the semi-final stages of the competition.

SPEAKING ahead of the game, manager Micheál McDermott said he just wanted his players to remember their previous two losing visits to Waterford in both league and championship.

They must have been listening and while the revenge of a McGrath Cup win over the Deise in January is small in the grand scheme of football things, this win was still significant in the Clare scheme of things.

Another game that showcased the prodigious talents of David Tubridy, whose two booming points in the second-half showcased the difference between the sides.

Another victory – the third in as many weeks – and a game in which Clare finally unfurled second generation talent in the persons of David O’Connor and Niall Browne, who more than played their part in teeing up the county’s first McGrath Cup final against Kerry in 14 years.

And, Clare were full value for the three-point win – recovering from a very poor finish to the first-half, when they coughed up three unanswered points to trail by 0-6 to 0-5, to kick on to victory on the turnover thanks to a goal from debutant David O’Connor and Tubridy’s two wonder points.

Waterford were left to rue their profligacy of hitting 12 wides over the 70 minutes, double Clare’s total, but they were always playing second fiddle after O’Connor’s 42nd minute goal drove them 1-6 to 0-6 clear.

The goal was the product of a sweeping move down the field before David Tubridy gave the final pass to the St Brigid’s player, who was only on the field 11 minutes, tapped home from point blank range for a dream start to his inter-county career.

Order was restored after that goal – it was a repeat of the first-half in which they had hit back after early Mike Donnelly frees for Waterford inside the fifth minute saw Clare hit four points from play on the trot to lead by 0-4 to 0-2.

And, it was another one of the imports who got Clare going – Kildareborn Niall Browne when a great run by centre-back and captain Gordon Kelly created the point-scoring opportunity in the 12th minute.

With Alan Clohessy, Rory Donnelly

THREE games in as many weeks – three victories and a final to look forward to this coming Saturday. No wonder it’s all smiles from Clare manager Micheál McDermott after the Waterford bogey is laid to rest.

Eyes are still fixed firmly on the league opener in Páirc Sean MacDiarmada in Carrick-on-Shannon on Sunday week, but suddenly, with news having come in that Kerry have beaten Cork in the other semi-final, it’s a clash with the 36-time All-Ireland winners that looms larger on the horizon.

“I know it was only in the month of January in the McGrath Cup, but it was important as regards our development,” he says. “To be playing Kerry in the final is great and we’re looking forward to it. Playing Waterford and now going on to play Kerry is great preparation for going away in the first round of the National League.

“It was important to have an away win under our belts. What happened last year with Waterford beating us twice and even beating us five times out of the last six, it was important that we beat them. They’re a proud bunch of players and it’s been quoted locally and nationally that we down in the bottom rung of the pecking order in Munster at the moment and they want to start climbing that ladder again. That’s why beating Waterford may be the start of that climb.”

And, while victory is all-important, McDermott is quick to point out that the quality of the performance is just as significant. “What pleased the management most was our support play and the football we played,” he says.

“It didn’t yield scores all the time and the final pass went astray, but our support play was another notch up on what we produced against UCC and CIT. We seem to be moving in the right direction. The workrate was fantastic by the whole team. When we defended we defended in numbers. When we attacked we broke with numbers. Ger Fannin got on the scoresheet from wing-back, Gordon Kelly got up the field and was unlucky not to score. It’s great to see players prepared to have a go and have no fear of going out and trying to play good, open football.

“The new lads who came in and played their first game with the county have been training away, but they were under pressure. Coming into the county, they want to do well for Clare. Niall (Browne) started well and worked really hard and played a prominent part in some of the moves, while David (O’Connor) showed his natural scoring instincts when he came on. He took his goal very well – even though it was a tap-in, it was a quality score because of the amount of hands it travelled through on the way within a 30 second period.”

St Flannan’s College 4-13 – St Colman’s 2-10 at Dr Mannix Park, Charleville

A DESERVED victory masked by a flattering nine point winning scoreline as St Flannan’s pulled through this tricky assignment on Wednesday.

Occasionally inspiring but unable to maintain that level of concentration throughout, the Ennis school were undoubtedly the more balanced side but just as easily could have been outdone by a relentless St Colman’s side led by the impressive Michael Spillane.

Only a point clear with only minutes remaining, St Flannan’s were on the backfoot and were slow to make changes but received a fortunate yet timely boost when Conor O’Gorman’s effort for a point from 45 metres on the left wing dropped over goalkeeper Darragh O’Callaghan’s head into the net. With that, St Colman’s heads dropped and a rejuvenated St Flannan’s added a further 1-2 to ease up to victory.

A tough game was always on the cards between two of the most suc- cessful schools in the competition, with the Cork supporters in particular bringing an extra audible dimension to proceedings. They were soon silenced by a blistering start by St Flannan’s who hit the first four points of the game through Martin O’Leary, Peter Duggan and Conor O’Gorman (2) and indeed were 1-4 to 0-2 clear by the ninth minute.

Tony Kelly had a shot saved early on but they finally made the breakthrough when the inspirational Conor O’Gorman’s pass inside was gathered well by Jack Browne who turned his man and roofed his shot over goalkeeper O’Callaghan.

The referee’s laboured approach wasn’t doing either team any favours but St Flannan’s simply overcame such adversity to push six clear through a Peter Duggan free in the 13th minute.

The Ennis school took their foot off the pedal though and instead of killing off the game, they allowed St Colman’s back into a game that seemed beyond them in the early stages.

St Flannan’s would only score one further point in the remaining 17 minutes of the half while the Cork side simply grew in confidence through the Spillane brothers.

Full-forward Gerard Hogan almost stole in for a goal before Colm Spillane pointed and in the final minutes of the half, Michael Spillane added a further 1-1 to slash the deficit to only two.

The goal was a well crafted move, stemming from a Kieran Morrisson high ball that was won by Gerard Hogan who in turn played a clever crossfield pass for the onrushing Michael Spillane to finish to the net at the far post.

St Flannan’s freefall continued after the break when Michael Spillane eluded man-marker Seadna Morey once more to score his second goal in the 33rd minute followed immediately by a Bryan Carroll point to push St Colman’s 2-5 to 1-6 clear for the first time.

The fault-lines in the full-back line were widening but with no alterations forthcoming, St Flannan’s were aided by the leadership of Conor O’Gorman and the growing influence of Tony Kelly who both got on the scoreboard to score three points in a five minute spell to reclaim a slender lead.

This blow for blow pattern continued until the 47th minute when Shane O’Donnell put his head down and weaved his way through the St Colman’s defence to score an eyecatching opportunist goal. A minute later, Tony Kelly converted a free to extend St Flannan’s advantage to four, much to the relief of the St Flannan’s faithful.

Far from lying down however, Michael Spillane hit back with three successive points and in truth, the game could have swung either way at that stage.

In the end however, St Flannan’s were saved by that O’Gorman goal while the subsequent nine point victory shouldn’t be taken at face value as they will need a vast improvement if they are to trouble either Árdscoil Rís or Thurles CBS in the semi-final on Sunday, February 6.

St Flannan’s College
Eoin Enright (Kilmaley), Conor O’Loughlin (Crusheen), Noel Purcell (Sixmilebridge), Seadna Morey (Sixmilebridge), Enda Boyce (Cratloe), Stephen O’Halloran (Clarecastle), Gearoid O’Connell (Ballyea),Tony Kelly (Ballyea) (0-3 1f), Jarleth Colleran (St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield), Cathal Doohan (Ballyea), Martin O’Leary (Kilmihil) (0-1), Conor O’Gorman (Clarecastle) (1-4), Shane O’Donnell (Éire Óg) (2-1), Peter Duggan (Clooney/Quin) (0-4 1f), Jack Browne (Ballyea) (10)

Sub
Alan O’Neill (St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield) for Doohan (56 mins)

St Colman’s
Darragh O’Callaghan (Watergrasshill), WilliamWalsh (St Catherine’s), Cian O’Leary (Castlelyons), ColmBarry (Castlelyons), Pa Roche (St Catherine’s), Darragh O’Carroll (Fermoy), Bryan Carroll (Castlelyons) (0-1), Eoin Maye (Castlelyons), Nathan Byrne (Kilworth), Michael Pyne (Fermoy), ColmSpillane (Castlelyons) (0-1), Kieran Morrisson (Fermoy) (0-1), Michael Spillane (Castlelyons) Capt. (2-7 2f 3’65’s), Gerard Hogan (Watergrasshill), Jason Mannix (Bride Rovers)

Subs
Daniel Mangan (St Catherine’s) for Hogan (47 mins), Kevin O’Neill (Watergrasshill) for Maye (55 mins), Michael Wade (Kilworth) for Pyne (56 mins)

Man of the Match
Michael Spillane (St Colman’s)

Referee
Fergal Horgan (Tipperary)

GER O’Loughlin and Davy Fitzgerald may be former All-Ireland winning team-mates and business partners but when it comes to facing each other in competitive action, neither is willing to step aside. This was the third such duel between the pair since O’Loughlin took charge of the Clare senior hurling team last year and up to last Saturday, the Clarecastle man had failed to register a positive result, despite contrasting performances.

Almost a year ago to the day, O’Loughlin’s new-look side were humbled by Fitzgerald’s Waterford (1-17 to 0-8) in the Waterford Crystal Cup semi-final in Ballyduff but did restore a huge amount of pride by the time the championship came around in the first weekend of June, only for Waterford’s experienced bench to edge out the Banner (0-22 to 1-15) in Thurles.

So despite facing new opposition, the presence of Sixmilebridge man Fitzgerald in the opposing dug-out, made this an intriguing tactical battle than in the end, broke O’Loughlin’s management hoodoo against his counterpart and pushed Clare further along the track ahead of the National League.

“It was a good workout,” admitted O’Loughlin afterwards,

“It was an improvement from last week and it thought it had a lot more shape to it. 3-14 is a good score and as I said to the lads during the week, we are trying to cut down on the amount of scores we are conceding. There were a few scary moments there today and we have an awful lot of work to do on that side of it but you’d be happy with the improve- ment from last week and the application and everything is brilliant.”

He was also quick to commend his Clare players on both sides of the divide, especially the newer recruits to the squad.

“We got to see Clare players on the two sides and that’s great for us going forward in preparation for the league but I thought up front we moved a lot better today and we looked more like forward which is a bonus. It didn’t look too laboured and overall we looked sharp I thought. Conor McGrath and Cathal McInerney were great introductions for us, Diarmuid [McMahon] and Fergal Lynch fought awful hard while Adrian Donovan came in and got a great goal so that’s great and it augurs well for us. With plenty of work and improvement in sharpness, we’d be hoping that we can do the business in the league and work hard at it. We realise again that we are far from the finished article but we are working hard at it anyway.

“Most of them are strong lads and physically they should be able to hold their own now. It’s just that in my opinion we will have to improve on breaking ball and contesting high ball and I like to see natural forwards wherever possible and I think we got a good blend of it today.

“So as I say if we can build on that, we have quite a number of lads to come back in there like Darach Honan, John Conlon and fellas like that and we will be confident. We will have our ups and downs I’m sure but we are looking forward to the season anyway.”

And after finally getting one over on his former colleague, O’Loughlin and his backroom team will have to face Fitzgerald once more this weekend when his Waterford side travel to Sixmilebridge for a repeat of last year’s semi-final, with the ‘Ballyduff’ debacle still firmly in the mind.

“Those matches are brilliant for us because it just helps our sharpness for the league and with so little time to be able to hurl, the matches are bringing us on and we are beginning to play more as a team. Hopefully now we can step up another level again. If it’s Waterford, that’s one that maybe after last year, we couldn’t be as bad anyway, I’ll tell you that so hopefully we’ll improve on that one.”

IT’S rare for a defeated manager to hold a smile at the final whistle; rarer still when taking into consideration the natural competitiveness of said manager Davy Fitzgerald who in his playing career was nominated for nine All-Stars, winning three of those in 1995, 2002 and 2005 as well as two All-Irelands and three Munster titles.

That ferocious will to win hasn’t waned since entering the managerial route in 2008 but with LIT missing several key players and having bigger fish to fry in the Fitzgibbon Cup next week, Fitzgerald was more than happy with his side’s attitude and application on Saturday, despite the defeat.

“I think everyone enjoyed today’s game because it was competitive. We wanted to win, they wanted to win and that’s what you have to have.

“The score wasn’t a true reflection of the game because I was delighted with the performance. I knew that missing the three or four lads we are missing today, it would be very hard for us. Like Clare, if you are on a county panel, you have to be good enough to be on it but on a college team, you might have a good 15 or 16 that are very, very strong but not as strong afterwards.

“When we were missing Seamus Callanan, Seanie Collins, James McInerney and Joe Canning today, you are missing out on four very good lads. I felt that we probably had three or four good goal opportunities that we didn’t finish whereas I felt Clare took the two or three chances that they got. But in fairness to them, I was looking at Clare both last week and this week and there was a massive improvement in their commitment.

“We are delighted with the game because you want to play in competitive games like that. I was delighted to see Clare fighting as hard as that and Clare need those games. You need a bit of fire and I think you’ll see there was a good bit of fire out there today but definitely Clare came on a lot in a week but I expected that anyway.”

Delving deeper into the difference between chance taking, the former Clare goalkeeper offered his opinion on why his side were continually frustrated by current number one Philip Brennan.

“He saved them a couple of times but there is no excuse for him saving them because we should have finished them. You can’t hit the ball hip high at any goalkeeper. Any goalkeeper worth his salt will stop the ball hip high. We have to be hitting the balls down low where it counts but we didn’t do that today but fair play to Clare, they kept the ball out at the back and they took their chances.

“From a Clare point of view looking at it, you’d have to say they worked a lot harder there today and that was a big thing. Fellas got games that hadn’t got games before but as I say we are just delighted we got that game. I didn’t care about winning it because Wednesday week is when we want to win. It was just vital for us to get that game.”

With one half of a potential dream semi-final line-up shattered, at least Fitzgerald has a second bite of the cherry when he brings his Waterford side to O’Garney Park on Sunday. However, with over 20 squad players unavailable for last Sunday’s 1-12 to 0-11 victory over Cork IT, Fitzgerald doesn’t hold out much hope for a repeat of last year’s victory at the same stage.

“If you have to come back here, you have to come back but all I want to do at the moment is get as many games as I possibly can into it. That would be a good game again and if we meet Clare, I don’t think we’ll match them with the squad we probably have at the moment but it will be good for us to give lads a chance because these are the games to try out players.”