This article is from page 68 of the 2011-11-08 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 68 JPG
Ca r r igt wohill (Cor k) v Cr usheen @ Pa ir c Ui Chaoimh, Sunday 2pm NEWLY REAPPOINTED county champions Crusheen will be determined not to be once more disappointed at the first Munster championship hurdle as they prepare for their second successive provincial assault this Sunday. After the unprecedented high of capturing a first ever Canon Hamilton crown this time last year, the Blood and Bandages were soon brought back down to earth when ousted on home soil by Tony Considine’s Kilmallock.
It wasn’t necessarily the defeat but the manner of it that cut the deepest as some basic defensive errors and injuries to key performers saw them self-destruct at the first obstacle. County final man-of-the-match Cian Dillon dislocated his thumb early in the game but came back on to help the cause while a persistent injury to chief midfield architect Pat Vaughan refused to halt another leadership display despite his obvious discomfort. However, from a position of comfort, Crusheen uncharacteristically imploded to dramatic effect before their inevitable late rally.
That game still rankles with Crusheen and now back as Clare’s senior representatives, they will be doubly determined not to let another glorious opportunity pass them by as in reality, they are only 60 minutes away from a provincial decider.
However, they aren’t the only side in this encounter to be smarting from their first foray into Munster action. Cork Champions Carrigtwohill began their Munster career in the Intermediate Club Championship quarter-final against none other than Clare champions Clonlara in 2007 and appeared to be heading for victory after rallying from a two point half-time deficit to lead by six in the second period. However, a feature of Clonlara’s emerging campaign that year was their remarkable ability to bounce back off the ropes and face adversity head on and it would stand them in good stead as they eventually powered back to win by three on their way to the Munster crown that year.
Perversely, it seems that Carrigt- wohill have learned greatly from that valuable lesson and honed a neversay-die attitude of their own to rise meteorically to the top of the Rebel hurling ladder. Their’s is a remarkable rags to riches story in itself as they struggled to fend off relegation in their opening two years at the sen- ior grade before bucking the 100/1 odds placed upon them for this year’s championship to finally bridge a 93 year gap of senior championship success.
That battlehardened exterior makes them tough opponents for Crusheen, particularly as they have grafted for every victory in their five championship outings, with three points their biggest winning margin.
Cork senior Niall McCarthy remains their inspiration at centre-forward but they are also bolstered at centre-back where Noel Furlong has been imperious all season. Added to McCarthy’s exprience up front is full-forward Mickey ‘Da’ Fitzgerald who picked up a cool six points in their 0-15 to 1-11 county final victory over CIT in the county decider while former Cork attacker Seanie O’Farrell, who grabbed three goals in the 2007 county intermediate decider and a goal against Clonlara in the Munster campaign, is still as potent as ever which he proved in the county final when popping up for the winning point.
However, if Crusheen have proven anything over the past few years, it’s that when it comes to grinding out results, there are few better around. In particular their half-back unit of Cathal and Cian Dillon and Ciaran O’Doherty have been unstoppable, County senior captain Pat Vaughan is the unquestionable engine and main source of inspiration while up front, David Forde, Fergus Kennedy, Gerry O’Grady and Gearoid O’Donnell have all been to the fore in the business end of the championship.
Clare’s record in this competition doesn’t inspire confidence as since Tulla reached the Munster decider in 2007, their three successors Clonlara, Cratloe and Crusheen have all crashed out in their opening match.
Crusheen certainly have the ability and more importantly the motivation to alter that dismal statistic and despite having to travel to Cork, they won’t be found wanting this time around. Verdict: Crusheen Sunday Oct ober 31, 2010 Munst er Senior Club Cha mpionship Qua r t er -Fina l Kilma llock 2-11 Cr usheen 0-14 at Cusack Pa r k, Ennis A SIX MINUTE horror show made this a Halloween nightmare for Crusheen as they disappointtingly exited the Munster championship at the first hurdle. Despite holding the upper hand for large chunks of the game, Crusheen’s undoing came in the six minute period immediately after half-time when they uncharac teristically conceded 2-4 and from that point on, it left a mountain to climb for the newly crowned Clare champions. Their much vaulted defence were surprisingly the villains of the piece
this time around as both goals were eminently preventable and while Kilmallock would only score two more points for the remainder, Crusheen were unable to pull back a goal that would have set up a grandstand finale.
In essense, it was the fortunes of their three county senior stars Paddy Vaughan, Cian Dillon and Donal Tuohy that would have a significant bearing on the outcome of this game. Vaughan’s persistent groin problems made him a doubt for this game but he more than played his part by scoring seven points and giving everything for the cause before being forced to retire late on. Added to that was a dislocated thumb sustained by defensive lynchpin Cian Dillon early in the contest that saw him substituted after only ten minutes, only to reappear in the second quarter. Those injuries severely dented Crusheen’s chances of advancing to the quarter-finals but the match altering goals were ultimately the nails in the coffin that buried the Clare champion’s bid.
Crusheen had dominated the first half exchanges and should have been much further ahead than the 0-7 to 0-5 half-time scoreline. In fact, defensive errors coughed up three of Kilmallock’s first half total but Crusheen still appeared comfortable going in at the break.
Whatever was in the half-time oranges however, Kilmallock emerged a completely different side and quickly tacked on four points within three minutes, including two from the stick of the impressive Graeme Mulcahy and one from his brother Jake. However, it was the hammer blow to Crusheen of conceding two soft goals in a minute that turned this game on it’s head and left them eight points in arrears.
They appeared dead and buried but somehow dug deep to muster up one final rally, scoring seven of the next eight points mainly through the leadership of Gearoid O’Donnell and the varied skills of Paddy Vaughan who was equally adept from play, frees or sidelines.
Having held Kilmallock scoreless for 18 minutes, Crusheen simply couldn’t obtain the goal they so badly craved mainly due to the outstand ing defending of Gavin O’Mahony and they were finally undone when Paudie O’Brien scored the insurance point in the 60th minute.
Ultimately, on a Halloween day that promised so much, there were more tricks than treats for the Clare cham- pions who exited the competition at the first hurdle for the third consecutive year.
Kilmallock
Barry Hennessy, LiamHurley, Philip O’Loughlin, Kevin O’Mahony, LiamWalsh, Gavin O’Mahony, Bryan O’Sullivan, Eoin Ryan (0-1), Paudie O’Brien (0-1), Paudie O’Dwyer (0-2), Shane O’Donnell (1-0), Gavin O’Sullivan, Graeme Mulcahy (0-2),AndrewO’Shaughnessy (1-3 3f), Jake Mulcahy (0-2)
Subs