This article is from page 70 of the 2011-03-29 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 70 JPG
Clare 1-07 – Longford 0-08 at Cusack Park, Ennis
ACADEMIC IN terms of promotion for Clare but they made sure that Longford’s charge for a final spot was also severely dented in what only can be described as a gritty display on Sunday. The Leinster side came to Clare headquarters with an unbeaten record, primed to take advantage of whichever county lost the top of the table clash between Roscommon and Wicklow but Clare had other ideas and with pride at stake, they dug in admirably to somehow come away with the points.
It was a timely confidence boost for Clare who had cursed their luck up to this point of the campaign but while they were fortunate to secure the win on Sunday after only scoring one solitary point in the second half, it must be said that Longford also greatly aided Clare’s cause in their wasteful shooting and over-dependence on Sean McCormack for inspiration and scores.
In all, Longford kicked 16 wides over the 70 minutes, a criminal amount at any level and they were also Arsenal-like in their pursuit of goals in that they repeatedly tried to walk the ball into the net. In saying that, Clare’s appetite for the win was obvious from the outset and they worked very hard to close down the space at the back. No more so than captain Gordon Kelly and Kevin Hartnett who both intercepted certain goals as well as being inspira- tional for their side. However, It was Gary Brennan who literally stood head and shoulders above the rest around the centre in another leadership display and he even picked up the crucial score of the game in first half injury-time when fisting to the net to give Clare a comfortable interval lead.
Indeed, Clare had patches of real quality football in that first half when starting and finishing strongly. How- ever their dominance in possession was not reflected on the scoreboard despite pushing 0-4 to 0-2 clear by the 20th minute, through David Tubridy (3) and Brennan.
Through Sean McCormack however, Longford were level by the 25th minute and might have pushed on themselves had they their shooting boots on. In addition, John Hayes intercepted a goalbound effort while Niall Mulligan somehow fisted wide at the back post with the goal at his mercy and a relieved Clare punished on the counter-attack with the final two scores of the half.
First a Gary Brennan lineball was caught by Tubridy in the left corner who dummied onto his left before floating an inch perfect effort over the bar. Then in the third minute of injury-time, Gary Brennan was well positioned to flick a Kevin Hartnett high delivery to the top left corner of the net to ease the home side into a 1-6 to 0-4 half-time lead.
With their promotion hopes fading, Longford came out fighting and while they lifted the tempo of the game, the standard of shooting plummeted further into almost comical proportions. In between the plethora of wides, Sean McCormack slowly chipped away at the deficit with only a David Tubridy free in riposte and by the 62nd minute, the lead was slashed to only two.
However, while it was a exceedingly nervy finale that stretched into six minutes of injury-time while also seeing Alan Clohessy wrongly singled out and given a second yellow, Clare fought tooth and nail to keep their heads above water and can be thankful to Hartnett and Kelly for their vital second half interceptions.
A much needed boost for Clare who will look to further enhance their championship preparations with a trip to Fermanagh this Sunday.