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Wolfe Tones 1-8 – Kilmihil 0-7 at Lissycasey

BEFORE a ball was struck in this year’s club football year the men from Shannon were being tipped as one of the most likely to struggle – it had all to do with a hemorrhage of playing resources due to emigration.

How wrong we all were, because in the adversity of losing a clutch of quality players to the Americas and the antipodes, they’ve really shown that where there’s football there’s hope, with Lissycasey being the venue for consolidation and progress.

First there was the win there against the Shams, now this that gave them the distinction, along with Kilmurry Ibrickane, of being in the quarter-final stages with a game to spare.

And they deserved it, on the strength of their showing in both halves – the first when a blistering start that yielded a goal inside a minute against the gale gave them a cushion for the rest of the half; the second when they restricted Kilmihil to a pointed free one minute in and they turned around and hit five points without reply to record a comfortable victory.

Kilmihil were game and tried to the end, there cause never being so lost in the second half that a goal wouldn’t have brought them back into things with a bang, but in the end their fate was effectively sealed with nine minutes remaining when Mark O’Connell received his marching orders for swinging a leg at Chris Dunning, leaving John Hannon with no alternative but to give him a second yellow and then red.

It was game over, but in truth Wolfe Tones probably felt that as early as the ninth minute of the game when they had opened up a 1-1 to no score lead. Against the breeze it was huge start – the goal coming when a good move against the breeze was finished to the net by full-forward Darren Ryan.

Kilmihil were rocked and it wasn’t until the 12th minute that they got going with a David Ryan point, by which time Daniel Gallery had made his first mark on the game for the Tones with good point from play.

Kilmihil’s revival was continued by free by Declan Downes after 18 minutes and a well-worked point from play a minute later when Timmy Ryan and Enda O’Halloran teed up David Ryan for his second.

However, it was the Tones’ strong running game against the breeze that really paid dividends thanks to inspirational points from both Patsy Keyes and Chris Dunning in the 22nd and 24th minutes respectively.

They led by 1-3 to 0-4 at that stage and while Kilmihil hit back to level matters at half-time thanks to a Mark O’Connell solo effort from play and another Declan Downes frees, the force was still most definitely with the Shannon men, thanks to the wind that was to come.

And, that’s just how it panned out, because save Declan Downes’ lead point for Kilmihil 50 seconds after the re-start, it was all Wolfe Tones as they gradually ground the west Clare men into submission.

And, it was two players from that golden minor generation of a few years back that showed the way – Chris ‘Chippy’ Dunning levelled matters by the 37th minute before the prodigal son that is Stephen Mona ghan really stepped up.

He’s had more comebacks than Planxty or Moving Hearts, but the class touches are still there as he proved with points in the 41st and 47th minutes to ease the Tones 1-6 to 0-7 clear.

By this stage Kilmihil were struggling to break out of their own half – a struggle that became steeper when Daniel Gallery rifled over a 45 with ten minutes left and then became mission impossible when O’Connell say red.

All that was left was for the Tones to see it out and look ahead to the quarter-final draw – they did that with a Darren Ryan finishing the game as the started it, this time landing a point to make the cushion in the 59th minute to make the cushion more comfortable again.

Clooney/Quin 3-15 – Ballyea 1-14 At Clarecastle

BALLYEA came with an expected charge but it was Clooney/Quin who showed their maturity to weather the storm and eventually power to victory on Tuesday.

Ballyea, with an enviable collection of the last two year’s county minors including Tony Kelly, Gearoid O’Connell, Jack Browne, Niall Deasy, Cathal Doohan and Paul Flanagan allied to the experience of Tony Griffin, began at a blistering pace.

However, despite leading for the majority of the half, their eleven wides were to prove costly when fatigue set in as the game developed.

Instead, Clooney/Quin, led by their county minor Peter Duggan who ended the evening with 1-9, finished the game with a 2-6 to 0-1 last quarter flourish that finally got them off the mark in the championship.

The winners were at sixes and sevens early on however as Ballyea opened up a 0-5 to 0-2 advantage with Tony Kelly to the fore with two of those scores.

They also had a glorious goal opportunity which Gearoid O’Connell sent just wide of the post but their profligacy in front of the posts allowed Clooney/Quin to settle with four successive frees giving them a brief 0-6 to 0-5 advantage by the 17th minute.

After putting so much into the game. Ballyea were not about to let their advantage slip and while the wides kept coming and Francie Neylon struck the post with an optimistic effort, they did hit back, helped by Tony Kelly’s 26th minute goal from a 20 metre free to restore their advantage at 1-8 to 0-7.

Crucially however, Clooney/Quin were given a major boost before the break with a stunning Mike Daffy strike in injury-time to cut the deficit to only two at the break at 1-9 to 1-7.

But, undeterred, Ballyea were also on the front foot on the resumption with points by Kelly (2) and Cathal Doohan extending their lead to four by the 39th minute.

However, once Peter Duggan scored a 45th minute rebound goal after Daffy’s shot was initally saved, Clooney/Quin turned the tide and gradaully eased away to record the win that keeps their championship hopes very much alive.

A third goal in the 54th minute decided the game with veteran Cathal Egan putting the finishing touches to a move that also involved Fergal Lynch and Daffy and while Tony Kelly had another 20 metre free saved at the other end soon after, Ballyea were unable to halt Peter Duggan’s matchwinning display that saw him excel from both placed balls and play.

It means that Clooney/Quin are still in the hunt for honours while Ballyea’s young side will have to build on their experience in their final two matches.

Clooney/ Quin
Damien O’Halloran (7), Joe O’Loughlin (7), Conor Harrison (8), Shane McNamara (6), Mike McNamara (7), Donncha Murphy (6), Enda Harrison (7), Padraig Ward (6) (0-3f), Martin Duggan (8) (0-2), Peter Duggan (9) (1-9 5f), Fergal Lynch (7), Sean Conheady (6), Mike Daffy (7) (1-0),Adrian Fleming (7), Cathal Egan (7) (1-1)

Subs
Cillian Duggan (7) for Ward (HT), John Earls (7) for Conheady (HT)

Ballyea
Shane O’Neill (7), Paul Flanagan (7), Brian Carrig (7), Jack Browne (6), James Murphy (6), Paddy O’Connell (6), Cathal Doohan (7) (0-1), Gearoid O’Connell (7) (0-1), Francie O’Reilly (7), Tony Griffin (7) (0-2), Niall Keane (7) (0-2), Niall Deasy (6) (0-1),Tony Kelly (8) (1-6 1-2f), Kevin Sheehan (6), Francie Neylon (6) (0-1)

Subs
Brian Murphy for Deasy (55 mins),Alan Carrig for P. O’Connell (57 mins)

Man of the Match
Peter Duggan (Clooney/ Quin) Referee TomStackpool (Ennistymon)

Clonlara 2-19 – Killanena 1-06 O’Garney Park, Sixmilebridge

THE LAST time these sides met at championship level, the thrilling 2007 intermediate decider, will live long in the memory and essentially could have gone either way.

Their paths since then have differed however, with the intermediate champions going on to claim a senior double the following year, another final appearance in 2009 before being edged out in last year’s semi-final after a replay.

Killanena on the other hand, finally got over the intermediate line last year but unfortunately due to emigration, have been unable to do themselves justice at the top tier. However, to their credit, despite missing Mark and Ronan Flaherty, Noel Sheedy, Gerry McNamara and John Noonan, they certainly made it more difficult for Clonlara than what was generally expected before the throw-in, even if the dam broke as the second period developed.

Much like their previous tie against Broadford, Clonlara struggled to put away their opponents early on which against more seasoned opponents might have cost them dearly. Granted, they were without county seniors Domhnall O’Donovan and Darach Honan, whose loss would devastate most sides but their lacklustre first half allied to 16 wides gives them a lot to work on ahead of this weekend’s tie against Smith O’Brien’s.

On the plus side, they never looked like losing the tie and in the end, all but goalkeeper Ger O’Connell and the full-back trio got on the scoreboard. Nicky O’Connell and Cormac O’Donovan dominated proceedings while Shane O’Brien completed a memorable three days of debuts with a solid display.

What seemed like a procession at the time began with Clonlara converting five points in eight minutes to open up an early lead but Killanena dug in and through the accurate freetaking of David McNamara, they pulled it back to a two point game by the break at 0-7 to 0-5 following a succession of poor wides from the leaders.

Killanena’s resolve appeared to be broken on the restart when Cormac O’Donovan (2) and Pat O’Hare hit three unanswered points in as many minutes while Donal Madden had a shot smothered in front of goal. However, when the hardworking Fintan McNamara picked out substitute Eoin McMahon to cancel out that early work, Killanena were handed a lifeline.

It was a lifeline that they didn’t cling to however and would only score one more point for the remainder. Instead, that goal apeared to anger the beast and Clonlara lashed back with a further 2-9 in the final 22 minutes.

Essentially, Cormac O’Donovan’s 43rd minute goal was the killer blow in a move that had both greatness and fortitiude at its roots. Pat O’Hare and Nicky O’Connell started the move that gave O’Donovan a lot of work to do around the centre.

However, the county senior controlled the ball expertly and drove at the defence before attempting to pick out Donal Madden with a pass off the hurley that evaded both the full-forward and goalkeeper David Noone before nestling in the corner of the net.

No one could do anything about the second goal only five minutes later however as a Nicky O’Connell lineball picked out fellow county senior John Conlon who cut inside to strike a shot that was saved by Noone, only for Cathal O’Connell to bat the rebound to the net.

It was damage limitation stuff after that as a rampant Clonlara hammered home their victory but still saw a Paul Nihill penalty go the wrong side of the crossbar while Noone was equal to Colm Galvin’s late shot.

Killanena were also reduced to 14 men when substitute Stephen McMahon received a straight red late on but by that stage, Clonlara had the points well wrapped up.

Clonlara
Ger O’Connell (7), Shane O’Brien (7), John Moloney (7), Senan Nihill (7), Nicky O’Connell (8) (0-1f), Paul Nihill (7) (0-1 Pen), Pat O’Hare (7) (0-1), Cormac O’Donovan (8) (1-3), Neilie Ryan (7) (0-3), ColmGalvin (7) (0-2),Tomás O’Donovan (7) (0-1),Tommy Lynch (7) (0-1), John Conlon (7) (0-5 4f), Donal Madden (6) (0-1), Cathal O’Connell (7) (1-0)

Subs
James Hastings (6) for Madden (45 mins), Paul Collins for Nihill (50 mins)

Killanena
David Noone (7), Pat Noone (7), Joe Clancy (7), Barry Noone (7), Shane Moroney (5), John O’Mara (7),Alan McNamara (7), Mikey Noone (6), Enda Collins (7), Martin Glynn (6), Fintan McNamara (7), Declan Noonan (6), Colin McNamara (6), David McNamara (7) (0-6f), Padraig Brady (5)

Subs
Eoin McMahon (6) (1-0) for Brady (25 mins), Stephen McMahon (6) for Noonan (43 mins), John O’Brien (6) for Glynn (47 mins)

Man of the Match
Cormac O’Donovan (Clonlara) Referee KevinWalsh (WolfeTones)

WHEN the final whistle blew Padraig Hickey was billeted in his left corner forward position – it was one of the few times – nay the only time – he was stationary, because for the previous hour he’d been a ball of energy.

He was everywhere, but most of all he was the man of the match by the near marathon it is in miles from Cusack Park to his home patch in Glenomora Park in Broadford. All to do with his tour de force of 1-4 over the hour that contributed more than anything else to Clare’s remarkable victory.

“1-4,” he says, “but it should have been 1-6 because I missed a few chances at the end. I’m delighted, not for myself, but for the team to be in an All-Ireland final. It’s brilliant.

“We were really on the back foot when it started out, but for the goal the ball kind of broke out to me. As a forward it’s nice to get a break like that and we got a bit of heart from that.

“In the forward line, we were in their to do a job. Get the ball over the bar and in the net. It’s as simple as that. The boys outside trust us to do that. We did it today.

“Galway could have been more ahead at half-time, but we kept it to three points. It was very important to get that goal, but keeping the scoreboard ticking over with points was just as important, because we were in the game from then and in touch with them.

“When we went in at half-time we talked about what happened – that we had conceded those two goals, yet were still only those three points down.

“We all knew those first ten minutes of the second half were going to be very important. Luckily we tacked on a few scores and we really rolled on in the final 20 minutes,” adds, before pausing to draw some breath.

And no player rolled better than Hickey, his 44th minute point when running onto a pass from Niall Gil ligan was sublime; the point a minute later showed his determination, while the all-important goal inside four minutes was the perfect riposte and strike that threw a badly needed life buoy to Clare’s All-Ireland final ambitions.

“Once we got back level and once we got the lead we knew that we’d beat them,” he says. “It was then that the Cork and Limerick games really stood to us. Galway had no championship game, but we’d be through two tough games.

“In the Cork game with 15 minutes to go, we really kicked on to win the game. We didn’t really kick on in the Limerick game, but we knew we had to do it against Galway. It took a huge effort, but everybody just set their mind to it.” Couldn’t compete with Kevin Keehan and was in all sorts of trouble early on. But brilliant in the second half in the corner.

Clare 2-18 – Galway 2-9 at Cusack Park, Ennis

FOR a few minutes, it seemed as if all of those in the attendance of 3,554 were transported back nearly 79 years to the day that Clare and Galway last clashed in an All-Ireland semi-final in the mid west.

1932 on the Ennis Road, when Galway punched holes as wide as the nearby Shannon in the Clare defence that supporters were cowering for the exit gates before half-time as the armageddon of annihilation loomed.

For one and a half minutes, after Brian Murphy and Kevin Keehan had slammed home goals, armageddon and annihilation looked at hand, but from there this game gradually turned on its head. Completely. Utterly. Remarkably.

First Clare became competitive; then they stayed so, clinging to Steve Mahon’s men on hurling wits alone; then they reeled in the Tribesmen; then they turned the screw by reeling off the last 11 scores of the game to complete a remarkable comeback that brought the famous afternoon in ’32 back into the radar. IT was Tull Considine’s goals in ’32; it was the collective effort this time as Clare summoned something special to catapult themselves into the All-Ireland final with nine points to spare.

Improbable? Outlandish? The stuff of fairytales?

Yes, it was all of those things, and probably more, when you consider how much at sea Clare were in those opening 90 seconds when Galway bagged two goals, with Clare’s full-back line trio of Conor Earley, Patrick Kelly and Alan Brigdale having a torrid time of it.

It was a nightmare, but somehow Clare kept afloat, thanks in the main to Padraig Hickey’s goal inside four minutes and from there they stayed competitive in the first half, even if Galway threatened to cut loose on more than one occasion.

The game could have been up if Kevin Keehan’s ninth minute penalty found the net, while the Tribe’s five first half wides also helped Clare’s cause as they gradually got to the pitch of the game that was set during that blistering start.

Midfielders Shane Golden and Ronan Keane were key – they ran at Galway; they tacked on points from play, while Niall Gilligan’s accuracy from placed balls were also key, as was a hardworking half-back line that gradually stemmed some of the tide towards the scoreboard goal.

Golden’s second after 20 minutes had the gap down to 2-4 to 1-4 – an admirable recovery from Clare in the face of a tempest when Galway seemed capable of scoring anytime they launched an attack.

Kevin Keehan and Brian Murphy were their trump cards, hitting 2-6 between them in the first half, with 2-3 coming from play, but crucially from Clare’s viewpoint the gap was never more than four after Padraig Hickey’s crucial goal.

On four occasions in the first half Galway edged four clear, but each time a dogged Clare pegged back a point to stay within striking distance of only 2-7 to 1-7 adrift at the break.

Then Galway edged four clear again after 37 minutes thanks to a Joe O’Leary 65 and a Kevin Keehan free after Niall Gilligan had reduced the margin to two points in the opening minutes.

Remarkably, however, Galway didn’t raise another flag. Mark Earley, who had been relocated to fullback thundered into the game, as did Patrick Kelly in the corner, while outside them the inspiration really started to flow once Padraig Hickey bagged two brilliant points from play by the three-quarter stage.

The second brought the sides level and from there this contest had an air of inevitability about it. Niall Gilli gan was the conductor out the field, while those around him grew in stature with every passing minute.

The nett result was 1-10 without reply in the closing 23 minutes. It looked like being a rout for Galway at the start – it ended up being one for Clare.

Amazing stuff.

Clare
AndrewFahy (Whitegate), Mark Earley (Tubber), Patrick Kelly (Clarecastle),Alan Brigdale (Crusheen), Kevin Moynihan (Éire Óg), Michael Hawes (Cratloe), John Fennessy (Sixmilebridge), Ronan Keane (Éire Óg) (0-1), Shane Golden (Sixmilebridge) (0-2), Martin Duggan (Clooney/ Quin) (0-1),Tony Carmody (Sixmilebridge) (0-2), Kevin Dilleen (St Joseph’s Doora-Barefield), Declan O’Rourke (WolfeTones), Niall Gilligan (Sixmilebridge) (0-8, 4f, one pen, one 65), Padraig Hickey (Broadford) (1-4).

Subs
Joe O’Connor (Parteen) (1-0) for O’Rourke [38 Mins].

Galway
Kevin O’Grady (Beagh),Alan Leech (Kinvara), Damian McClearn (Loughrea), Pat Holland (Ardrahan), Joe O’Leary (Ardrahan) (0-1, one 65), David Hayes (Kiltormer), Brian Mahoney (Loughrea), Kevin Brady (Castlegar), Niall Callanan (Craughwell), Fergal Healy (Craughwell), Keith Kilkenny (Kiltormer) (0-1), Enda Concannon (Castlegar), Conor Kavanagh (Kinvara), Kevin Keehan (Beagh) (1-5 4f), Brian Murphy (Turloughmore) (1-2).

Subs
Joe Cooney (Sarsfields) for Concannon [21 Min], Barry Hanley (Carnmore) for Kavanagh [27 Mins], Kenneth Burke (St Thomas’] for Callanan [32 Mins], Martin Corcoran (Meelick-Eyrecourt) for Hanley [49 Mins], Rory Gantley (Beagh) for Kilkenny [56 Mins]

Referee
TomCarroll (Offaly)