This article is from page 68 of the 2011-04-26 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 68 JPG
Clare 1-10 – Limerick 0-10 at The Gaelic Grounds, Limerick
IN Clare’s darkish hour when they had been bested by Cork by five points in Páirc Uí Rinn in their maiden voyage in this year’s championship, players, management and everyone involved made a contract with one another.
Together they vowed to bounce back to have another crack at Cork in a provincial semi-final in Cusack Park – so it has happened after they won this Munster play-off game from the front which ensures they are only 60 minutes away for a first Munster final appearance in 17 years.
It was no more than this Clare side deserved too thanks to withstanding what Limerick could throw at them at various intervals of both halves before edging home with three points to spare thanks to a storming last ten minutes.
It had looked very good for Clare in the first half as they opened up a 1-2 to no score lead when playing with the breeze, but by half-time things had taken a turn for the worse by the break as Clare’s advantage had been peared back to a point.
Then the initiative swung either way in the second half before Niall Hickey kicked Clare into the penultimate round with a closing burst of three points in the closing ten minutes to bring his tally for the hour to an match-winning contribution of 0-5.
It was Hickey’s clubmate Adrian Murrihy who helped Clare get off to a flier when goaling in the eighth minute after Eoin Cleary had opened the scoring with a fifth minute point. However, Murrihy’s goal was his final contribution of the game as he got injured in the act of scoring, but this all-important strike, allied to a further points from Hickey and helped Clare exert early dominance against a flatfooted and lethargic Limerick.
However, Danny Frewen’s opening point for the Shannonsiders on the 17th minute was a sign of things to come as the impressive left-corner- forward proved to be a thorn in Clare’s side all evening.
Suddenly Clare’s early supremacy evaporated, as did their lead as three more Frewen points and another from Francis O’Riordan had the sides level by the 25th minute in Limerick’s purple patch that yielded five points in ten minutes turned this tie on its head.
Clare did stop the rot before the break with points from Cleary and Hickey, while Frewen was on the mark once more for Limerick, but a 1-4 to 0-6 lead for Clare scarcely seemed enough.
Frewen’s sixth point had the sides level inside a minute of the restart, but not for the first time in the half Clare’s battling qualities emerged as good points from play from Martin O’Leary and Eoin Cleary helped them forge 1-6 to 0-7 clear by the 40th minute.
Those points were crucial and buttressed Clare for another Limerick comeback that saw that man Frewen, with his seventh point, and Darren Roche set up a battle to the last when bringing the sides level by the 51st minute.
As it transpired, it was as if Limerick had expended all their energy to get back on terms that they hadn’t got much more to give in the closing minutes and into that vacuum gladly stepped Clare to close out the game.
A mix of fitness, that contract they’d made between themselves in Cork on May 13 and Niall Hickey’s marksmanship got them there as they out-scored Limerick by 0-4 to 0-1 in those closing minutes to seal that semi-final spot.
Clare
Darren Sexton (Kilmurry Ibrickane), Conor Gavin (Clondegad), Jamie Malone (Corofin), Oisin Vaughan (Ennistymon), Stan Lineen (Kilmihil), Darragh McDonagh (St Joseph’s Miltown), Craig O’Brien (WolfeTones),Alan O’Neill (ST Joseph’s Doora-Barefield), Conor Cleary (St Joseph’s Miltown) (0-2), Eoin Cleary ((St Joseph’s Miltown) (0-2, 1f), Ciaran Devitt (Ennistymon),Adrian Murrihy (Kilmurry Ibrickane) (1-0), Martin O’Leary (Kilmihil) (0-1), Niall Hickey (Kilmurry Ibrickane) (0-5, 4f), Dara Bolton (Kilrush Shamrocks).
Subs
WilliamFlynn (WolfeTones) for Murrihy, Joey Rouine (Ennistymon) for Bolton, Jack Scanlan (O’Curry’s) for Flynn, James Sweeney (Éire Óg) for O’Brien.
Limerick
David Condron; Kevin Brosnan, Brendan McCarthy, Kevin O’Donoghue; Eoin O’Donnell, Shane O’Connor, Sean Barrett; Dara Tracey,Tommy Griffin; Dean Lillis, Denis O’Dea, Francis O’Riordan (0-1 free); Danny Neville (0-1), WilliamShanahan, Danny Frewen (0-7, 3f)
Subs
Jamie Quaid (0-1) for Francis O’Riordan (injured), Eoin Roche for WilliamShanahan, Kieran Larkin for Danny Neville, Kevin Meade for Denis O’Dea
Man of the Match
Niall Hickey (Clare)
Referee
Joe Lynch (Kerry)