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Banner Ladies 4-19 – Burren Gaels 0-06 at Corofin

THE BANNER Ladies grip on Clare ladies football strengthened even further on Saturday when capturing their fourth successive Under 18A crown. Titles in all grades from Under 14 to senior this year is made all the more impressive when considering that many players on show here were instrumental in more than one of those championships wins. Eva O’Dea, Grainne Nolan, Niamh O’Brien, Aoife Keane and Emma Neylon have taken laurels at Under 14, Féile, Under 16, Minor and Senior while Eve Copley, Orlaith Martin and Emma Kavanagh did likewise except for Senior grade.

With such championship winning knowhow surging through their side, they were red hot favourites for another historic honour and while Burren Gaels made the Banner fight for every inch in the first half, a dipping ball on the 13th minute from the Banner’s Rebecca Culligan found the net from which the Northerners never recovered and the Banner went on to claim their fourth successive Minor A title.

Difficult weather conditions dampened the flow of the game from the outset but fighting a headwind, the Banner had registered five points from four of the six forwards, Eva O’Dea’s opener, Sister Niamh’s two points from frees, Orlaith Lynch and Karen Roche all picked off points before the Gaels Niamh Considine put one up on the board. The indomitable Niamh O’Dea tacked on another two points, one from a free and as the Burren Gaels found their flow, they put some nice passages of play together down the left wing inspired by captain Fiona Loughman at centre-back, Joanne Howley at wing-back, Niamh Considine at centre-forward, midfielder Roisin Howley, and forwards Katie Connole and Niamh Carrucan, they all registered consecutive scores except for one interjection by Banner poacher Orlaith Lynch. At twenty five min- utes gone, The Banner still hadn’t really pulled away from the Gaels, protecting a two point cushion and it was all to play for. Captain Aoife Martin and Rebecca Culligan played impeccably at midfield to snuff out any further incursions into Banner territory and after Niamh O’Dea had pointed again, Rebecca Culligan’s 30 metre shot scraped the underside of the cross-bar, surprising custodian Kanisha Flanagan and bringing a ray of sunshine to the Banner side just as Damien Fox sent the teams in for their half time rest in the middle of a terrible squall.

The Banner Ladies defence had weathered some heavy pressure in the first half and the half back line in particular Niamh Walsh, Aoibheann Malone and Sinead O’Keeffe did very well with a lot of ball coming in on the breeze. Another sign of dominance in the first half came in the confidence from senior championship winning captain Laurie Ryan when the lines parted as she steamrolled a path from one 20 metre line to the other on a number of occasions.

The game restarted with the wind behind the Banner and they maximised the advantage to the limit. O’Dea opened her second half tally with a pointed free but time and again her distribution to corner-forwards Orlaith Lynch and Karen Roche caused havoc for Amy O’Brien, Niamh Tierney and Amy Cassidy in the Burren Gaels full back line. In a frantic third quarter, Lynch would point and rocket in two goals and then Roche would goal and point three time from play. With no real response, O’Dea controlled the proceedings in the Burren Gaels half and added a further three points to her tally. The Banner’s Aoibheann Malone had her hands full with Roisin Howley but was never more than an arms length away and rarely leaked a ball into full backline Niamh Cahill, Helen Hehir and Laurie Ryan. Malone was to cap a great performance with the last point of the game.

Several of the Banner lineout had two and three previous Minor A titles in the bag and the experience of this proved too much for any team in division one. Ryan, O’Dea, Hehir, N. Cahill, Walsh, O’Shea, Martin and K. Cahill will all move on after three years service at this grade and are already established senior players. They, including Culligan, now get ready for their participation in the Munster Clubs first round meeting with Cappawhite of Tipperary on October 1. They leave Culligan, Roche, Lynch, E O’Dea, Malone, Nolan, Keane, to form the core of a great minor panel into next year and with Emma Neylon, Elaine Casey (injured), Eve Copley, Niamh O’Brien, Shauna O’Connor, Orlaith Martin and Emma Kavanagh all subbing for the game, they bring their experience in 2012.

Banner
Orla Hennessy, Laurie Ryan, Niamh Cahill, Helen Hehir, Sinead O’Keeffe, Katie Cahill, NiamhWalsh,Aoife Martin (Capt), Rebecca Culligan, Eva O’Dea, Niamh O’Dea, Grainne Nolan, Karen Roche,Aoife Keane, Orlaith Lynch, Suzie O’Shea, Shauna O’Connor, Niamh O’Brien, Eve Copley,Aoibheann Malone, Emma Neylon, Orlaith Martin, Emma Kavanagh, Meghan Fitzgerald.

Management
JJ O’Dea, Louise Henchy,Alan Copley.

Burren Gaels
Kanisha Flanagan,Amy O’Brien, NiamhTierney,Amy Cassidy, Caolinn McCormack, Fiona Loughman (Capt), Joanne Howley, Kayleigh McCormack, Roisin Howley, Megan Byrne, Niamh Considine, Katie Connole, Niamh Carrucan,Amy Moloney, Lisa O’Brien. Roisin Kelly, Leanne Lafferty, Shannon McCormack, Sarah O’Gorman, Ella Barrett.

Management
Anthony Geraghty, David Flanagan, Patsy Carrucan, Deirdre Jordan, Mark Mulqueeny.

Referee
Damien Fox (WolfeTones)

Newmarket-on-Fergus 1-14 – Clarecastle 1-09 at O’Garney Park, Sixmilebridge

IT’S FIVE years since Newmarket and Clarecastle met in an adult championship final and it seems that the Blues still have the indian sign over their great rivals as they finished strongly to claim their first silverware of the year.

It didn’t appear to be going Newmarket’s way either as the Magpies held a two point advantage heading into the last ten minutes. However, four successive Donagh Keogh points, three from frees, along with a late Gary Collins goal turned the tie on its head and ensured the trophy went Newmarket’s way.

For long periods of the game, it seemed as if this game was heading towards a replay as the sides were level on six occasions before Newmarket’s clinical finish. But in the end, Newmarket proved they had the greater strength-in-depth as they emptied the bench to good effect in the final quarter while Clarecastle, without key players such as Barry Guinnane, Patrick and Michael Casey and Patrick Galbraith, simply ran out of steam.

All so different early on when three Pakie Healy frees along with a point from Brendan Murphy had Clarecastle 0-4 to 0-2 clear by the tenth minute. Newmarket finally found their range however and despite nine first half wides, the Blues hit back with five unanswered points of their own to take control, with Peter Roache claiming his second of the half, Keogh converting two frees while impressive displays from Oisin Pender and Alan McInerney were also capped off with points by the 19th minute.

Indeed, they also had two glorious goal chances in that period as well but Roache pulled wide from close range while Pender’s effort soon afterwards was repelled by veteran goalkeeper Tommy Hegarty.

The Magpies brought on another former senior championship winner Mark Scanlon to boost their flagging challenge and it had the desired effect as Mika Malone and Pakie Healy added points before a 27th minute goal reclaimed the lead. Pakie Healy was intrumental in the build up as he took on Newmarket’s last line but when he failed to get his shot away, in stepped his cousin Jeff to pull to the net.

Credit Newmarket though as they fully reovered before the break with Shane McDermott and Keogh reply- ing with points to gain parity at 1-6 to 0-9. The second period began in a similar busy pace as Keogh and Pakie Healy swapped scores by the 33rd minute. There were also goal chances for either side that could have significantly atlered the narrative of the game. A Donagh Keogh free from the ’65 was excellently caught by Rory Murphy but struck his shot wide and in the next passage of play, Jeff Healy had a shot excellently turned away by goalkeeper Brian Tierney.

Clarecastle did finally nudge ahead when Alan Considine and Pakie Healy pointed by the turn of the final quarter to give their side a two point advantage. However, with Newmarket freshening things up, they got a crucial second wind that would see Keogh convert four unanswered points while Gary Collins cemented victory when finishing to the net in the 57th minute.

Newmarket- on- Fergus
BrianTierney, John O’Looney, Paudie O’Looney, Anthony O’Donoghue, Ruairi McInerney,Alan Leamy, Ronan McCarthy,Alan McInerney (0-1), Shane McDermott (0-1), Donagh Keogh (0-8 7f), Peter Roache (0-2), Cathal Fleming, Cathal Kilmartin, Rory Murphy, Oisin Pender (0-2)

Subs
Darren Hayes for J. O’Looney (46 mins), Shane Collins for Fleming (46 mins), Gary Collins (1-0) for Kilmartin (49 mins)

Clarecastle
Tommy Hegarty, Gary Casey, Patrick Hayes, Michael John Reynolds, EoinVaughan, David Geraghty, Emmet Considine,Alan Considine (0-1), Barry Lynch, Sean Dilger, Brendan Murphy (0-1), Pakie Healy (0-6 4f), Bernard Scanlon, Jeff Healy (1-0), Mika Malone (0-1)

Sub
Mark Scanlon for E. Considine (21 mins)

Man of the Match
Alan McInerney (Newmarket- on- Fergus) Referee Jack Chaplin (Cratloe)

Sixmilebridge 5-5 – Éire Óg 0-09 at Cusack Park, Ennis

SIXMILEBRIDGE’S ‘Drive for Five’ was completed on Saturday with another flurry of goals proving decisive at Clare headquarters. After Brian Corry’s four goal haul saw off a much fancied Clarecastle side in the semi-final last weekend, the ‘Bridge’s keener eye for goal again came to the fore in the first half to kill off their opponents, with joint captain Conor Deasy claiming two while Corry and Eoin Flynn also raised green flags.

Playing with a strong breeze in the opening half, Sixmilebridge took full advantage. A 20 metre pointed free from Deasy in the opening minute set the tone while two more in quick succession from tight angles on either side of the pitch by Deasy and Corry had them three clear by the fifth minute. Now gathering momentum, Deasy scored his first goal in the 12th minute while only seconds later, a Stephen Mulready shot rebounded off the post for Eoin Flynn to first time to the net.

A shellshocked Éire Óg finally settled with a Conor O’Halloran opening point in the 17th minute while Nathan Murray cut the deficit further four minutes later when accurately converting a 40 metre free.

However, just as it seemed that Éire Óg would rally to the interval, disaster struck for the Townies in the 25th minute when a Conor Deasy ‘65 was allowed to travel to the net while Brian Corry poured further misery on their opponents when hitting a fourth major to give his side a 4-4 to 0-3 half-time cushion.

With time to regroup, Éire Óg reemerged a more determined side on the restart and with the wind now at their backs, they made inroads in the large deficit through points from Nathan Murray (3), substitute Shane O’Connell and their best performer on the day, Dara Walsh.

However, they still needed a brace of goals to make a full recovery but found Sixmilebridge goalkeeper Jason Loughnane in stubborn form. He made crucial saves in the 43rd as well as the final minute to frustrate the Townies. Sixmilebridge had no such misfortune in front of goal and duly completed their five-in-a-row when substitute Tony McNamara was fouled while bearing down on goal and Conor Deasy completed his hat-trick of goals from the resulting penalty.

Afterwards, County Bord na nÓg Iomaint PRO and Sixmilebridge clubman Tom Sheehan was given the honour of presenting the Fr. McNamara Cup to joint captains Conor Deasy and Alex Morey.

Sixmilebridge
Jason Loughnane, Mark Quinn, Barry Fitzpatrick, Cathaoir Agnew, Stephen Mulready,Alex Morey (Joint-Captain), Shane McInerney, Brian Corry (12), GavinWhyte, Eoin Flynn (1-0), Eoin McMahon, Kevin Fennessy, Cathal Lynch, Conor Deasy (JointCaptain) (3-3), Robbie Corry

Subs
Tony McNamara for Lynch,Tomás Sheehan for R. Corry

Éire Óg
Sean Smyth, Jack Keating, Kieran Malone, Cian Ó Ceallaigh, Dara Walsh (0-1), Dylan Casey, Conor O’Halloran (0-1), Lee Quirke, Michael Moloney, John Allen, NicholasTwumasi, James Wylde, Liam Lynch, Nathan Murray (Captain) (0-6), Paddy O’Malley

Sub
Shane O’Connell (0-1) for Wylde

Referee
Ger Lyons (Ruan)

Éire Óg 2-06 – Kilmihil 0-10 at Labasheeda

2006 CHAMPIONS Éire Óg preserved their senior football status for 2012 with a hard fought two point win over Kilmihil on Saturday evening. Played in blustery condi- tions, Éíre Óg played with the elements in the opening half and duly dominated for large periods only for poor finishing including seven wides to see them only a point ahead after ten minutes. However, this game would be ul- timately decided by two defensive mistakes by the Kilmihil defence in the 11th and 13th minutes. Firstly a lineball for the west Clare side on their own 13 metre line was intercepted by corner-forward Eoin Glynn to convert to the net. Then just two minutes later, a free kick from the full-back line was again intercepted by Glynn and after a one-two with Sean O’Meara, he cooly slotted the ball past the advancing goalkeeper. The goals made up for the amount of poor wides as both sides exchanged a flurry of late points to leave the Townies seven clear by the break at 2-4 to 0-3 but would it be enough? Kilmihil resumed full of determination and straight from the whistle, they went on the attack but must have caught Éire Óg’s poor finishing bug as they kicked six wides early in the half. Gradually their forwards began to find their range and as they ate into their opponent’s lead, it became clear that this game was going to go right down to the wire. Kilmihil came in droves and with every passing score, they began to believe as they laid siege to the Éire Óg goal. But the goal that they craved never came, with a Martin O’Leary shot that was parried by goalkeeper Eoin Slattery their best chance and they will now play St Joseph’s Miltown in a final chance at consolidating their senior status.

Éire Óg
Eoin Slattery, Michael O’Regan, Donie Lyne, Saran Butler, Conor Healy,Alan Malone, Dean Ryan, Shane Daniels (0-3f), Brian Frawley, Sean O’Meara (0-1), David Russell, David Monaghan, (0-1f), Eoin Glynn (2-0), Sean Crotty (0-1), Brian McMahon

Subs
Darren O’Neill for Frawley, Darren O’Meara for Monaghan, David Ryan for S. O’Meara

Kilmihil

Kilmurry Ibrickane 0-07 – O’Curry’s 0-05 at Captain Tubridy Memorial Park, Kilrush

KILMURRY IBRICKANE’S dream double of senior and intermediate took another leap forward on Saturday when upsetting the odds to see off favourites O’Curry’s. And it was the second team that showed example for their senior side by grinding out victory in the final minutes when scoring the last two points to seal a memorable victory,

With a swirling gale and intermittent rain making conditions difficult, it was never going to be a classic. Only two points from play over the hour empitomised a titanic struggle that really could have gone either way.

Kilmurry Ibrickane made life difficult for themselves in the first half when failing to sufficently supply their forward line and so depended on the free-taking accuracy of their most experienced player, Odran O’Dwyer to give them a 0-4 to 0-2 half-time advantage.

However, it was in the second period that the Bricks really showed their mettle and despite being pegged back to 0-5 to 0-5 by the 55th minute, they didn’t panic and got their rewards with late points from O’Dwyer and substitute Senan McCarthy,

O’Curry’s only have themselves to blame for not taking advantage of a host of second half chances but their decision to attempt shots from distance was ill-fated as they kicked eight wides in the final 30 minutes, and 12 overall.

In saying that, on another day, Kilmurry Ibrickane might have raided for three goals as livewire Adrian Murrihy proved a constant thorn in O’Curry’s side. He could have been awarded a penalty in the first half while twice in the second half, he was clear on goal but was given a free rather than advantage to finish to the net.

O’Curry’s too had no fortune in front of goal as an early Michael Carmody shot went straight at goalkeeper David Talty while in the 20th minute, he appeared to be pushed in the back as he shot and the ball trickled wide of the far post.

Those incidents merely added spice to an already tense occasion which took six minutes to record the opening score when county senior Ger Quinlan played a quick one-two from a free with Michael Carmody to dissect the posts.

With Sean Haugh playing as a sweeper for O’Curry’s against the conditions, Kilmurry Ibrickane were frustrated by the final ball to the forwards, with their only joy coming through Odran O’Dwyer and Murrihy in the inside line.

O’Dwyer was fouled for his opening score in the 12th minute and despite Quinlan doing likewise at the other end three minutes later, Murri- hy earned another free for O’Dwyer to convert from 20 metres and gain parity once more.

Indeed, he would maintain that unerring accuracy from placed balls until the break when adding two more to give his side a slender 0-4 to 0-2 interval advantage.

Now facing into the gale, Kilmurry Ibrickane changed tactics for the restart by bringing out O’Dwyer to centre-forward and using Thomas Lernihan as a sweeper. It seemed to be effective as O’Dwyer extended their lead to three in the 32nd minute but there was still a bigger storm to come.

O’Curry’s broke their 22 minute barren spell with a Ger Quinlan free from 40 metres in the 37th minute and inbetween a plethora of missed opportunities, he converted two more to level matters as late as the 55th minute.

Momentum appeared to be in the peninsula side’s favour but Kilmurry Ibrickane broke on the counter-attack in the 59th minute to alter that trend. A Lernihan free to Murrihy saw him head for goal but was fouled for O’Dwyer to give them the lead once more. And in injury-time, another Lernihan free over the top picked out substitute Senan McCarthy to finish the job and earn his side a final place against Clondegad.

Kilmurry Ibrickane
DavidTalty (7), Pat Sexton (7), John Sexton (7), Eamon Dunne (7), Thomas Lernihan (7),Thomas O’Connor (8), Mark Moloney (6), Gary Donnellan (7),Vincent Talty (7),Thomas Greene (7), Martin O’Connor (7), ColmDonnellan (7),Adrian Murrihy (8), Odran O’Dwyer (8) (0-6f),Aidan Moloney (6)

Subs
Senan McCarthy (0-1) for A. Moloney (52 mins), John McNamara for M. O’Connor (55 mins), Darragh Sexton for M. Moloney (55 mins)

O’Curry’s
Eoin Clohessy (7), Gearoid Lynch (7), Michael O’Shea (6), Paul Roche (7),TomDownes (6), Ollie Quinlan (8), BrianTroy (7), Ger Quinlan (7) (0-5 4f), DerekTroy (7), Damien Carmody (7), EoinTroy (7), Michael Foran (6), Michael Carmody (6), Jack Scanlon (6), Sean Haugh (7)

Subs
Mark Roche (6) for Haugh (37 mins, inj), JimDownes (6) for M. Carmody (46 mins), Ryan McMahon for Lynch (52 mins, inj)

Man of the Match
Adrian Murrihy (Kilmurry Ibrickane) Referee Damien Fox (WolfeTones)

Liscannor 0-10 – St Joseph’s Miltown 1-05 at Ennistymon

THERE ARE definitely a few clubs around Clare, St. Joseph’s Miltown Malbay being the latest, that would just love to see some of Liscannor’s old guard retire and hang up their boots. This batch of warriors never give up and always come up with the goods when least expected. Their latest achievement is has secure senior status for the small north Clare club for 2012 and in the process leave Miltown with a mammoth task of doing the same with one game left in 2011 to save their season and possibly the future of their club. This youthful Miltown side were fancied for greater things in this championship and championships to come with recent underage progress such as their U21A performances this year but now this has all been placed under huge scrutiny which will be further tested by Kilmihil in a few weeks time.

Liscannor the old dog with apparent football immortality found their first score of the game through Niall Considine who cancelled out an earlier one by Joe Curtin who unfortunately was forced out of the game through injury shortly after. Liscannor soon found a hat-trick of points in as many minutes with Alan Clohessy finding his first two of five for the afternoon while Kieran Considine also notched his name on the scoresheet with a marvellous effort.

Miltown however were in the mood for something unexpected against the wind and a fantastic goal against the run of play was the perfect tonic. Graham Kelly stormed off in a terrific run through the heart of the Liscannor rearguard before setting up Eoin Curtin for a perfectly taken goal. Liscannor’s opening 20 minutes of hard work and effectiveness had now been swiped clear. Surely this would spur on the West Clare men? Ultimately it was their opponents that increased to a higher gear of performance. Four points in a row restored clarity and their lead before the half-time whistle to leave it at 0-8 to 1-1.

The second half was always going to be a hard fought battle with everything to play for. Miltown were far from out of it with the wind now at their backs.

They started positively by creating a number of scoreable chances but all ended as wasted misses as their frustration gradually increased. In truth the scores dried up for both sides after the restart with the card count instead being the only statistic that was being added to.

A haul of nine yellow cards and a few rugby like scrums inspired by Ireland’s earlier heroics displayed how much the guarantee of survival meant to these two clubs.

Miltown may have won the second half in terms of points 0-4 to 0-2 but Liscannor’s first half tally was enough to seal the win as they battled back the final Miltown goalmouth onslaught.

Liscannor
Noel Kilmartin (7), Shane Canavan (8), David McDonagh (7), Michael Foley (8), Dennis Murphy (7) (0-1), Dara Blake (7), Robert Lucas (7), Brian Considine (7), Ronan Slattery (7),Alan McDonagh (7) (0-1), Niall Considine (7) (0-1), Gerry Considine (7), Kieran Considine (7) (0-1), Alan Flaherty (7) (0-1),Alan Clohessy (8) (0-5, 2f)

Miltown
Niall Quinn (7), Michael Talty (7), Gordon Kelly (7), Gearoid Curtin (7), Seanie Malone (6), Enda Malone (7), Conor McKenna (7), Sean Meade (7), Kevin Keevy (7), Micheal Malone (7), Gary Egan (6), Joe Curtin (5) (0-1), Dessie Mollohan (7) (0-3f), Eoin Curtin (7) (1-1, 1f), GrahamKelly (7)

Subs
Enda O’Gorman (7) for J. Curtin, John Meade (6) for Egan, Kevin Burke (6) for S. Malone

Man of the match
Alan Clohessy (Liscannor) Referee John Brew(Kilmurry Ibrickane)

Miltown 6-04 – Newmarket-on-Fergus 3-07 at Corofin

MILTOWN’S large strides forward this season were finally rewarded with some silverware on Saturday as they captured the Senior B title against an ever-improving Newmarket side.

Despite the inclement weather, the foundations of victory were laid in the first half when they made full use of a strong breeze to score six goals, just as they did against West Clare Gaels in the A semi-final a few weeks back. A hat-trick from full-forward Karen Galvin as well as goals from 15 year old corner-forward Laura Rynne, player-of-the-match Fiona Lafferty and captain Michelle McCaw saw Miltown take a nine point interval lead while Newmarket kept themselves in the game through goals from Gemma McInerney and Laura McMahon and the free-taking of Jenny Kelly.

Similar to their round robin game when Miltown led by eight at halftime, a big Newmarket onslaught was expected for the second half but Miltown started the better with points from Michelle McCaw and Sinead Sexton. Soon after, Newmar- ket kicked into gear but the pressure they applied didn’t have the desired effect as combination of wayward shooting and some good Miltown defending kept them at arm’s length entering the final ten minutes. However 16 year old dual star Niki Kaiser had other ideas as she goaled to close the gap to six and also hit the crossbar moments later as the Newmarket pressure intensified but it wasn’t enough to knock a triumphant Miltown off their perch.

Newmarket were served best by Roisin McMahon, Ruth Kaiser who tried gallantly to limit Fiona Laf- ferty’s influence proceedings while up front, Niki Kaiser was a thorn in Miltown’s side all afternoon. For the winners, Katie Curtin had an excellent second half display in defence alongside sharpshooters Karen Galvin and Michelle McCaw, while player of the game Fiona Lafferty was immense throughout the 60 minutes.

It’s onwards and upwards for Miltown now as they prepare for the Munster Senior B Plate semi-final against the winners of the Cork and Tipperary champions on Saturday, October 8.

Miltown
SiobhanTalty, Shauna Crowley, Siobhan Lafferty, Laoise O’Malley,Tara Rynne, Sandra Malone, Katie Curtin, Fiona Lafferty (1-0), Bernie McGuire, Jean Talty, Sinead Sexton (0-2f), Niamh Coyne, Laura Rynne (1-1), Karen Galvin (3-0), Michelle McCaw (Captain) (1-1)

Newmarket- on- Fergus
Aine Lawlor, Jane O’Leary, Iris Kaiser, Carol Kaiser, Aoife Griffin, Roisin McMahon,Aimee McInerney, Ruth Kaiser, Jenny Kelly (0-4f), Gemma McInerney (1-1), Carol O’Leary (0-1), Laura McMahon (1-0), Niki Kaiser (1-0), Chloe Morey (0-1),Aine O’Brien

Referee
Sean Ryan (Kilrush) Fergus R over s 2-8 Wolf e Tones 3-2 AN EXCELLENT second half performance where they over turned a half time deficit of nine points to win by three, was enough to see Fergus Rovers crowned Division 3 Shield champions against Wolfe Tones at Cusack Park on Tuesday evening. Wolfe Tones dominated the opening half and led 3-1 to 1-1 at half time but the Ballynacally/Lissycasey outfit did not give up, adding 2-7 in the second half which was enough to clinch the title. After the game County Chairman Johnny Hayes, who is also the president of Fergus Rovers, presented the cup to Fergus Rovers captain Sarah Mullins.

Fergus Rovers
Michelle Collins, Lauren Hill, Katie Fitzgerald, Bernadette Kelly, Cathy Casey, Hannah Downes, Brid Garry, Sarah Mullins (Capt.),Alannah Hanrahan, Eimear Stephens,Aine Slattery, Ciara Sheehan, Emma Hill,Tara O’Malley, Emma Meaney, Rachael Griffin,Yvonne Collins, Grace O’Sullivan, Ashling Hehir,Andrea Sheehan

Wolfe Tones
Emma Ryan,AoifeVaughan, Ciara Byrnes, Kate Hoban, Ciara McTaggart, Mellisa O’Connor, Rhiannon McCoy, Sophie Bridges, Emma Austin, Keylann Donnlan, Hazel Meaney, Lyndsay Hayes, Emily Hayes,Aoife Searson, Emma Mulcahy, Caitlin Casey,Ashling Gough, SaoirseVaughan, Kate Johnston, Shazney Mounsey

Referee
Aoife Murphy (Doora/Barefield)

Avenue United 5 – Mountshannon Celtic 1 at Lees Road, Ennis

AVENUE United got their league campaign of to a flyer with a convincing victory over newly promoted Mountshannon Celtic on Sunday.

Centre forward Mikey Mahony was the main man for the Clare Cup champions, bagging a second half hat trick to take the game beyond Celtic. After a strong start, Avenue led 20 at half time. The home side added another goal before Mountshannon struck back from the penalty spot. That goal prompted the visitor’s best spell of the game. Mountshannon twice hit the post while Avenue goalkeeper John Healy was forced into a great save. However Avenue’s greater firepower ultimately proved decisive. David McCarthy gave his side the lead after 15 minutes but despite creating a number of opportunities, Avenue had to wait until the closing stages of the half to double their advantage. They did so when a David Smyth cross was well turned home by Sean Corry. After failing to find the net in the first half, Mahony got of the mark shortly after the re-start. The striker shook off the attentions of the Mountshannon defence to bury a shot to the top corner. The visitors were handed a lifeline when Keith Finnerty was taken down inside the box and Martin McNamara tucked away the penalty. Celtic applied some pressure but Avenue swiftly re-asserted their authority. Mahony bagged his second to make it 4-1 before completing his hat-trick late on.

Avenue United
John Healy, MatthewNugent, Con Collins, David Russell, Dylan Casey, David Smyth, Pa Wilson, Gary Flynn, David McCarthy, Sean Corry, Mikey Mahony

Subs

Cratloe 2-07 – Lissycasey 0-06 at Cusack Park, Ennis

THERE must be something about the scoreboard goal and Padraigh Chaplin – maybe he likes the look of the posts, maybe it’s the wet day, because whatever the day he seems to be the man to spring from the bench and work some magic.

He famously did it in the county hurling final two years ago with his last gasp goal that pucked them into history – ditto here with two exquisite points within three minutes of entering the fray to finally put Colm Collins’ charges on the high road into their first county semi-final in 124 years.

Chaplin’s brace within 40 seconds of one another in the 48th minute put Cratloe six clear for the first time and put paid to any slender hopes that Lissycasey might have entertained about mounting a comeback.

They were against the wind and against a vastly superior footballing side, albeit that the slippery conditions didn’t suit Cratloe’s passing game in what turned out to be a pedestrian and error-ridden encounter from start to finish.

The fact that it took Lissycasey 20 minutes to register a score in the first half and the same again in the second tells its own story – they were outclassed by a Cratloe side that could afford to stroll through this game for a victory that was every bit as comprehensive as the seven-point winning margin suggests.

In truth, it could have been over at half-time, but Cratloe’s failure to translate possession into scores ensured that Lissycasey’s late rally when they hit three points without reply before the break gave them some semblance of hope.

Cratloe weren’t duly bothered by being only 1-2 to 0-3 up at the interval – after all they were playing against the gale and at times toyed with a Lissycasey team sadly lacking the urgency and momentum they showed against Ennistymon last time out.

Cratloe should have been 2-2 to no score up inside the 15th minute. They made a fast start with 1-1 inside seven minutes – Cathal McInerney landed a free in the fourth minute, while three minutes later a brilliant move that involved Martin ‘Ogie’ Murphy and Conor McGrath was finished to the net by Sean Collins when he rifled past Joe Hayes from 14 yards.

Cathal McInerney tacked on another free in the 13th minute, but the turning point of the half came when Cratloe carved through the Lissycasey defence with McGrath making in the final pass to Liam Markham but in electing to fly-kick the ball past the advancing Joe Hayes his effort just drifted wide.

It would have been game over, but from there Lissycasey gave themselves hope for the second half with points from play by Paul Nagle and Francis Hayes in the 20th and 23rd minutes, while they also had the last say in the half with a Niall Kelly free in the 33rd minute.

Alas, they didn’t have much of a say after half-time as an early point from Conor McGrath re-asserted Cratloe’s superiority, while Chaplin’s introduction was the spark for them to kill the game with by moving 1-6 to 0-3 with still 12 minutes left.

Pride alone meant that Lissycasey kept plugging away and points from frees by Niall Kelly and Óisín Talty by the 54th minute reduced the gap back to four, but within seconds of Talty’s 35-yard effort Cratloe had waltzed down the field, with Conor McGrath teeing up Cathal McInerney for the perfect riposte.

McInerney coolly rounded Joe Hayes and slammed to the net to put Cratloe’s golden generation into the bigtime of a county semi-final.

“THESE things happen in games,” said Colm Collins afterwards. “I prefer if they didn’t but they do happen. It didn’t affect our players though – they’re very focused about what they do and we’re now looking forward to a semi-final,” he added.

Captured this game in a nutshell really. Collins was banished to the stands in the first half after an onfield altercation, but it was business as usual throughout for a remarkable bunch of players who are now on the cusp of bringing Cratloe to a first county senior football since ’87.

That’s 1887 – the first ever final way back then against Newmarket Dalgais. It shows you how far this Cratloe generation has come, even if Collins did his best to play down this whole football revolution down in this pocket of south east Clare that himself, Martin Murphy and others have stirred up from nowhere.

“It’s progress,” he said of this comprehensive seven-point win. “It’s better than where we were last year, but we didn’t play well today. We played poorly. We wasted a lot of chances and didn’t do well.

“The surface was bad, with all the rain that fell last night, but all things considered the pitch wasn’t that bad. The first goal was something we worked on and we should have created more of those, but we didn’t.

“Liam Markham should have scored a second goal, but unfortunately he didn’t. Lissycasey fought well after we missed that chance and came back into the game and showed great spirit. They showed us that we need to tidy up a lot. We’re just delighted to win, but we need to play an awful lot better.

“In the second half Padraigh Chaplin came on and did well. He’s very accurate and got two good scores. There was a very strong breeze there in the second half and it was just a matter of time before we got scores.”

So it is that Cratloe now face into Kilmurry Ibrickane in the semi-final – the team that beat them by a point in last year’s quarter-final. Not that they’re thinking of that – instead they have Tulla on their mind in the county hurling quarter-final.

“They’re a dedicated bunch and they live for sport,” said Collins. “They don’t mess around. That’s what does it for them and they have hurling to look forward to next week.”