This article is from page 101 of the 2009-05-05 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 101 JPG
IT’S still early days in the season but there is already the feeling surround- ing Clooney/Quin that they have fi- nally turned a corner. Last year, their significant rise up the senior ladder was halted by their inability to hold onto leads and win tight games, re- sulting in their exit from the champi- onship despite being in total control of their own fate and again in the senior B final against Wolfe Tones, that unwanted tag reared it’s head to cost them the title.
Somehow, Clooney/Quin appear
to have remedied that fraility this season as in all their three Clare cup games, they have edged close matches. It happened against Doora/ Barefield and InaghKilnamona but perhaps Thursday’s late usurpation of the points against Tulla was their most significant result.
Having to concede home advantage due to flooding, Clooney/Quin’s ap- peared second best for long periods of the second half but an injury- time haul of three successive scores floored their opponents and contin- ued Clooney/Quin’s perfect start to this year’s campaign.
On the flip side, Tulla will wonder how they actually came out on the losing side. Granted, they were for- tunate to be only a point behind at the break as a sun dazzled Clooney/ Quin hit seven first half wides but on the resumption, it was the home side, backed by Andrew Quinn and substi- tute Brian Lynch, who took the inia- tive. In fact, after going ahead for the first time in almost thirty minutes shortly after the break, they stiffled Clooney/Quin and forced the play to lead until the final minute. Fun- damentally though, they hadn’t the firepower to cement the win and only
leading by the minimum approach- ing the hour mark, they failed to win valuable clean possession.
Clooney/Quin levelled it up in the 59th minute when Cathal Egan hand- passed outside to John Earls to point and after an Eanna Torpey wide, the game finally turned with a hotly con- tested free against Danny O’ Halloran that Derek Ryan gladly converted for his sixth free of the day. Tulla needed to win the puck-out but instead Sean Conheady gathered at halfway and his delivery was caught by Mar- tin Duggan to seal the win. A stark difference to last year’s mentality, Clooney/Quin are now flying high near the top of the division and only a fortnight away from their open- ing championship tie against Smith O’Brien’s, that resilience could be the spark they need to get to the next Aro F