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WITH Lifford A rooted firmly to the foot of the Premier Division table, a huge performance was on the cards to restore some much needed confi- dence.

Lifford are normally associated with being in contention for the title, however, this year they are in a Se- rious rough patch and have not cap- tured a single point from their open- ing four league games.

Limerick side Askeaton were fully aware of this ahead of their journey to Cassidy Park and looked to capi- talise on a dodgy defence that has been breached an astonishing 13 times in those four outings.

The first-half was a dull and weary affair with neither team creating any real opportunities. Mike O’Connell found himself with space down the left flank for Askeaton on more than one occasion but was unable to de- liver an end product.

In the first 45 minutes Lifford failed to test Danny Fitzgerald in the Askeaton goal and it looked as though the visitors from Limerick would leave victorious with Lifford playing some stagnant football.

Lifford should have grabbed a goal just before the break when Scott Hennessy made a clever run down the left touchline and crossed to TJ Abisomo, who failed to connect with a ball that should really have been planted in the back of the net.

This encounter was an intense phys- ical battle and its effects were shown throughout the match with Stephen O’Halloran having to limp off at the beginning of the second-half.

Lifford began to string together a few passes and were able to exert some pressure on the Askeaton de- fence that had previously remained untested.

Roberto Pinto was a handful for the centre-backs all afternoon and he came close to giving Lifford the lead with a free kick that was fired just over the crossbar.

Pinto was deployed as Lifford’s target man with Abisomo living off the breaking ball he created. Ten minutes into the second-half, Scott Hennessy delivered a floating free kick from central midfield which was glanced across goal by Pinto and headed home with real conviction by Abisomo, who made amends for ear- lier misses.

The game began to open up from here, with Hennessy able to carve up

the opposing defence with intelligent passes and good execution from set plays. It only took five minutes for Lifford to double their advantage with Hennessy spraying the ball out to the right wing for Ryan Boyle to chase, the latter then beat two play- ers and fizzed the ball across the goal mouth but was unable to get the touch it deserved.

Liam Meaney was still able to col- lect the ball and cross to the near post where Pinto was unmarked and never in doubt of missing from that range.

Moments later Boyle again found himself with space down the right for Lifford and was darting towards

the box until he was brought down by Robert Whelan who in turn was booked for his troubles.

Hennessy once again delivered a killer ball which was volleyed past the despairing Danny Fitzgerald by Gary McNaboe. At this stage of the match Lifford held a firm grip over proceedings and were display- ing some fine football until Mike O’Connell finished superbly with a well placed header past Mike Heath on the counter attack for the away team.

Twenty minutes were still on the clock and Askeaton were given a glimmer of hope by O’Connell’s

goal, but a huge task was still at hand if they were to overturn a two goal deficit.

Lifford began to look more limited on the ball as the second-half drew on, but Askeaton could not find a way past Heath who pulled of a fine save from a deflected shot.

On the stroke of the 90th minute, Mike Fitzgibbon played a through ball over the Lifford back four for striker Ray Foley to chase but Ha- mad Kuku was able to sweep back and clear the ball for a corner.

Left-back Brian Corrigan, who had been solid all afternoon, dispatched the corner towards the back post where Dave Kenwick was lurking unmarked and nodded home for the visitors. Five minutes of injury-time were announced and panic was en- graved on all the home sides’ faces as the Limerick team heaped men deep into Lifford territory in a vain search of an equaliser that wasn’t to come.

At the sound of the final whistle Lifford were able to draw a sigh of relief and hopefully build on this hard fought win.

A PERFORMANCE built on hard work, commitment and some ex- cellent score-taking saw Kilmaley crowned Minor A champions in Cu- sack Park on Saturday evening.

With match favourites Sixmilebri- dge two points ahead and in the as- cendancy, Kilmaley were forced to dig deep in the final quarter to claim the club’s third ever Minor A title.

After struggling to create oppor- tunities in a tense second-half, Kil- maley rattled off four unanswered points to storm into the lead.

Pre-match favourites Sixmilebri- dge were left to rue eight-second half wides as they suffered their second straight loss in the minor A decider after last year’s defeat to Inagh/Kil- namona.

Yet while the Bridge’s errant shoot- ing was a factor, just as important was the tenacity of Kilmaley’s defending, exemplified best by the performances of Colin McGuane at centre back and Niall McGuane at corner back.

Dara Keane was Kilmaley’s top scorer on the day with nine points. The corner forward stepped up to the plate when his side really needed it during a nervy final quarter.

There was plenty too to admire about the Bridge with the perform- ances of Shane Golden, Pa Sheehan, Timmy Crowe and Seadhna Morey catching the eye.

It all made for an engrossing 60 minutes of hurling in Cusack Park.

The first half whizzed by in a blur of quality scores and urgent tackling from both sides.

Kilmaley got off to a great start with points from a Dara Keane free and a great strike from Killian Mc- Namara.

The Bridge settled into their stride and hit the front through points from Pa Sheehan, Shane Golden and two

superb strikes from Timmy Crowe.

Keane, Kilmaley’s liveliest pres- ence in attack, shot three points on the trot between the 19th and 25th minute, to nudge Kilmaley O-7 0-5 ahead at half time.

As Pa Sheehan and _ Cathal O’Connor gained the edge around midfield The Bridge wrestled back control of the game after the break.

Sheehan slotted over a free before a point from Jamie O’Gorman tied the game in the 34th minute.

By now the Bridge were well on top and their superiority was underlined with Shane Golden striking over two points to put them 0-9 0-7 ahead.

It should have been more but the Bridge were having problems hitting the target.

If the first-half had showcased scor- ing prowess then the second half was a testament to the virtues of hook- ing, blocking and closing down. But despite their resilience in defence, things weren’t quite happening for Kilmaley further up the field.

All that changed in the 46th minute when Keane converted a free for Kilmaley’s first point of the second half. Just a point separated the teams and Kilmaley, buoyed on by a large and very vocal bunch of supporters, lifted their performance.

Keane picked of a point from a dif- ficult angle before Michael O’Neill landed an inspirational point from the left touchline to send his side into the lead.

There was greater vigour about Kilmaley’s forward play now and the scores kept coming. Enda Finnucane signed his name to the scoresheet with a huge effort and Keane con- verted a free to leave Kilmaley 0-12 Q-9 ahead. With five minutes left, Sheehan struck over a monster free from halfway.

As the Bridge poured forward, Kil- maley’s backs defended like their

lives depended on it. O’Neill’s injury time clearance eventually lifted the siege as Ger Hickey’s full time whis- tle sparked huge celebration among Kilmaley’s players and supporters.

Sixmilebridge will be disappointed but having tasted success at under 12, under 14 and under 21, already this season and with finals at under 15 and under 16 still to come, the club’s status as the dominant force in Clare underage hurling remains intact.

Saturday, however, belonged to this season’s deserving minor A champi- ons Kilmaley.

WHITEGATE deservedly assumed the role of championship favourites after winning out in the battle of the heavyweights in Tulla on Saturday. After meeting twice already this year in the Clare Cup, both sides were well accustomed to one another and that familiarity was exploited by Whitegate who seemed to have more homework done on their opponents.

This was supposed to be Eire Og’s year. They were determined to bounce back to where they believe they belong, competing in the senior championship however these desires will have to be put on hold for an- other year at least as it is now the men from east Clare who, barring a Shock, look to be the team who will be competing for the title.

Eire Og started the brightest and rushed into an early four point lead after six minutes. Danny Russell from two frees secured a point and a goal to give the Townies the perfect SIE a

However, Whitegate soon settled with some placed balls of their own. George Waterstone with two frees and two 65s levelled the game after 13 minutes. The comeback was un- derway. It took another five minutes for the first score from play. Davy O’ Halloran finally brought an end to the personal duel that was beginning to develop between both sides’ free takers with a fine point. Two more points from Fergus Flynn and a well taken over the shoulder effort by Ni- all Daly completed Eire Og’s scoring for the first -half.

However, with ten minutes of the half still remaining, Whitegate turned the screw in what was to

prove a decisive match winning pe- riod of dominance. Despite the fact that Eire Og still had a significant amount of possession, they could not convert this control into scores whereas Whitegate took their chanc- es. Waterstone added to his tally this time from play, John O’Brien added his name to the scoreboard and of course two inspirational points from impressive midfielder Ian Fahy all resulted in Whitegate leading on a score of 0-10 to 1-4 at the break. The second-half commenced like the first with Waterstone and Russell exchanging points. From the inten-

sity illustrated by both teams, it was inevitable this game would go down to the wire. Forty minutes gone and Whitegate suffered their first big blow. Waterstone had to be replaced due to injury. This could have been disastrous but Whitegate kept fight- ing and his loss was absorbed by the extra effort given by all his other team mates. Suprisingly it wasn’t the last we saw of him either. When the pressure really was on, he returned with a few minutes remaining, even managing to convert another °65 in the 58th minute.

Waterstone cannot take all the

credit though as the scoring was well distributed in the closing period of the second-half. Michael O’Brien, Stephen Malone and even goalie An- drew Fahy with a monster free from inside his own half added points for his team.

Two other factors were key to MWA TTR ere eekcean bbe oplmp keel Lae D hop Firstly two Eire Og 20 metre frees were stopped. Russell with the first attempt and Barry Nugent with the second were both prevented as the Townies desperately pushed for the goal they required to have any chance of winning.

The second factor was the perform- ance of man of the match Tommy Holland. His duty for the day was to man-mark Nugent and try to neu- tralise his effect on the game. That is exactly what he did as Nugent’s influ- ence was kept to a minimum by the former county senior panelist.

For the final minutes, Eire Og huffed and puffed but they could not prevent an impressive Whitegate from progressing into the semi-final after aQ-19 to 1-11 win. By many, this was billed as the real county final for 09, well if that is the case Whitegate won’t have long more to be declared champions officially.

TIME and time again during this hard fought and scrappy quarter-fi- nal, hurdles were placed in front of Ruan. And time and time again they found the energy to vault clear and beat Bodyke to the finish line.

Ruan conceded three goals at three vital stages, each time handing Bod- yke the lead and a vital lift.

On each occasion though Ruan re- sponded. Johnny Howard profited from some cheap Ruan defending to find the net early in the first-half to edge Bodyke two points clear. By half time, Ruan, fired on by the sharpshooting of John Punch and Co- lin O’ Donoghue, led by four points.

Liam Doyle and Thomas MacCo- namara pounced for a goal apiece shortly after the break as Bodyke surged into a two point lead. But Bodyke could not press home their advantage. Instead their purple patch served only to bring out the best in NaUEOR

Staring with Eoin MHanrahan’s Strike, Ruan reeled off five unan- swered points.

Bodyke’s desperate search for a match winning fourth goal provided for a tense finale but Ruan’s defence, led by the steady Jonathan Clohessey at centre-back, yielded no more.

Ruan probably had more posses- sion than Bodyke in the first-half but

it was the east Clare side who made the better of their chances in the ear- ly stages.

Points from Keith Quigley and John Howard were cancelled out by three John Punch frees before Bod- yke found the net in the 12th minute.

Ruan goalkeeper Patrick Roughan batted a dropping shot back into a dangerous area and Howard took ad- vantage with his low strike bouncing into the goal.

Colin O’Donoghue responded with a point for Ruan before PJ Kellher fired over for Bodyke.

Bodyke’s defence was coping well with the threat posed by Michael Vaughan’s darting runs but eventual- ly Ruan’s overall supremacy, particu- larly around midfield, began to tell.

Punch knocked over four more frees, O’Donoghue landed his sec- ond point of the day and Vaughan deservedly got on the scoresheet to leave Ruan leading O-10 to 1-3 at ne Neca ueatee

Points from Punch and Padraig Guthrie saw Ruan off to flier in the second-half.

Bodyke hit back in the 35th minute with substitute Liam Doyle find- ing the net from close range after a strong run by Howard.

The game then swung back in Bod- yke’s favour. The east Clare side moved 3-6 to 0-13 ahead by the 45th minute through points from Howard

(2), Ciaran Walsh and MacConama- ra’s goal.

Ruan refused to buckle though and hit back with five points in the trot, the pick of which involving a dynam- ic piece of hurling from wing back Killian Ryan.

Roughan produced a superb save late on to keep Ruan in front. A semi-final with either Ennistymon or Feakle now awaits.

AS tense an encounter as you are ever likely to witness – an injury- time point from Clare minor Cathal McInerney deciding the issue just as the game appeared to be heading for a replay. It was yet another charac- ter-filled display from the south east Clare side who have belied an in- tensive fixture pile-up to reach their third adult football final of the year.

Pulling from the same pool of play- ers who have represented the club ad- mirably on both hurling and football fronts as well as representing their county at various levels, fatigue was expected to be a factor but it didn’t show as Cratloe finished the stronger with just enough in the tank to see off the spirited challenge of last year’s Junior A champions Kildysart.

The manner in which the game fin- ished was cruel on Kildysart but in hindsight, while they arguably de- served another day out, the fact that goalkeeper Liam Griffin was their stand-out performer said a lot about the amount of goal chances Cratloe spurned.

In all, Cratloe produced eight clear- cut goal opportunities over the hour but only took one as they found Grif- fin in inspired form. However, the one chance they did take was wor- thy of winning any game as Martin ‘Oige’ Murphy was allowed to raid down the right wing unchallenged before rifling a shot to the top left corner from distance.

Outside of McInerney’s eventual winner, Murphy’s goal was the deci- sive score of the game as it dragged Cratloe back into a contest that ap- peared to be slipping away from them. Right from the throw-in, Kildysart appeared to have the edge on their opponents and their full-for-

ward line in particular were causing Cratloe untold problems. Ger Kelly (2), Noel O’Grady, Christy Clancy and Brian O’Sullivan had them O-5 to no score clear by the 14th minute, with Cratloe proving luckless in front of goal as a shot from Cathal McIn- erney was turned away by Griffin before Padraig Chaplin blazed wide from close range.

Two Liam Markham points and one from Kieran Browne soon settled

their side though and as half-time ap- proached, Murphy grabbed that stun- ning goal in the 28th minute. Then Padraig Chaplin had an effort cleared off the line before Cratloe were pun- ished when Brian O’Sullivan handed Kildysart a one point half-time ad- vantage at 0-7 to 1-3.

The second-half proved a more even contest as the sides were level twice before Kildysart made one last burst for glory with a Kelly free and

a long range effort from O’Sullivan that prompted the biggest cheer of the afternoon. Now 0-10 to 1-5 clear by the turn of the final quarter, an- other final appearance appeared to be on the cards for Kildysart but they visably tired and although Cratloe failed to take advantage with some sloppy shooting, they still had an ace up their sleeves with the introduction of county senior Sean Collins.

His influence was to prove the dif-

ference for the remainder as Cratloe laid siege to the Kildysart goal, even- tually pulling level once more with points from Conor Ryan and a McIn- erney free by the 55th minute. The tension was palpable now as further Cratloe wides and another save from Griffin kept the tie on equal terms entering injury-time.

Kildysart were hanging on, but they were eventually outdone in the 62nd minute when Conor Ryan caught a kick-out before being fouled and through the quick thinking of Sean Collins, his free found Cathal MclIn- erney who cut inside and kicked over the bar from 30 metres to keep their dream of a clean sweep of football titles alive.

TURNPIKE Rovers soccer club are expected to appeal a 12-month sus- pension given to a player following a game in Ennis earlier this month.

Rovers player Danny Russell was sent off after receiving two yellow cards, the second of which was for dissent, during a tie against Avenue United B on September 11.

The club were informed last week that the player was being suspended under rule 79 of the FAI rulebook, which governs misconduct against match officials.

The Ennis club were also fined €200 for what league officials say was a failure to control their player.

However, Rovers Chairman Frank Gormley said the club are stunned by the severity of the sentence.

“We have no problem with the sending off. Danny was going to ac- cept it and we were. You can’t abuse the referee and that’s something we support absolutely but 12 months is very serious’, said Mr Gormley yes- Ker he

He added that the club intend to appeal the suspension and the €200 fine to the Munster Football Asso- ciation.

“From our understanding rule 79 only deals physically assaulting the referee. That’s not what happened. If the FAI brought in a rule for sus- pending players for 12 months we would support that. But at the mo- ment what he’s being suspended for doesn’t match up with what actually happened”.

Speaking last night, Chairman of the Clare District Soccer League, Jim Madden said the punishment had been handed down for “serious verbal abuse of the referee”’.

“Verbal abuse is as it serious as it gets’, he said.

that classes will be

commencing at the end of this week at the new gym.

In recent times, pole dancing has

been synonymous with strip bars and gentlemen’s clubs.

However, Mr O’Malley said that “pole dance fitness is huge on the continent but has taken a while to spread to us here. It is a great fitness class with a huge emphasis on fun. We have clients of all ages signed up and there is a great buzz about the class.”

He pointed out that “pole danc- ing is now regarded as a recognised form of exercise and can be used as both an aerobic and anaerobic work- out. Recognised schools and qualifi- cations are being developed as pole

dancing increases in popularity.”

He confirmed that the poles have been ordered to specification and that each pole will cater for four participants at the classes.

“We have a policy here of offering the very best service to our clients and this includes keeping up with current fitness trends.”

Mr O’Malley said that partici- pants are advised to dress in short pants, with no creams on the legs or Web hcaatce

According to Mr O’Malley, the pole dancing fitness “involves danc- ing sensually with a vertical pole

and is now a leading way of getting PUMA OD ome Ma DOcas REN Dla

“Advanced pole dancing requires strength, flexibility and endurance. The dancer may simply hold the pole, or use it to perform more ath- letic moves such as climbs, spins, and body inversions. Upper body and core strength are targeted and vastly improved during training Sessions,’ he said.

THE Government has turned a blind eye to An Garda Siochana’s policy of increased urbanization.

That’s the view of Clare Fine Gael TD, Pat Breen who has called on Justice Minister Dermot Ahern to review the strategy and to put gardai back into the rural areas.

“The only 24-hour Garda stations in Clare are in Ennis, Shannon, Kil- rush, Killaloe and Ennistymon. The

other Garda stations open for just a few hours each day,” Deputy Breen Sr nLe

‘In recent months, I have received a number of calls from people who live in isolated parts of the county and are worried about the increased inci- dence of burglaries in their areas.

“They are concerned that the short opening hours of their local Garda stations are resulting in gardai having to travel long distances to respond to incidents.”

Deputy Breen’s concerns were ech- oed by party colleague, Joe Carey.

He said, “There is something not quite right when almost the only in- teraction of people with the Garda is on meeting the traffic corps. There has been a conscious decision to develop elements such as the traf- fic corps, leaving rural stations and community policing to wither and die.

“Over the past number of weeks there has been a marked increase in

burglaries throughout the county.

“If you take a line from Coose in Galway through to Whitegate, Scar- riff, Broadford and Quin, roughly the R352 regional road, I can recount four individual incidents.

“Many homeowners in the east Clare to south-east Galway artery find themselves having to put more elaborate security systems in place. Sheds and storage areas resemble an Irish version of Fort Knox.

‘East Clare is a massive geographi-

cal area which has been further in- creased with the redrawing of the operational areas. This is an area served by the part-time Garda station in Scariff with just one patrol car and a maximum of five gardai.

“T am convinced that one can link what is happening to the economy with the increase in crime towards property and belongings of the per- son. No doubt this phenomenon will increase steadily if we do not do something,” he said.

CRICKET is a game that doesn’t hold up much comparison to the game of hurling. In fact, it’s not even a distant relation of the national game at full tilt but there was some- thing very cricketlike about the man- ner in which Smith O’Brien’s – after taking the game to the group leaders in the opening quarter to lead by I- 5 to 0-3 – seemed happy to declare and let Kilmaley do the batting for the remainder.

That was the most bizarre turna- round in a match that had only mi- nor relevance to the overall champi- onship as Kilmaley looked to keep their unbeaten run ticking along and possibly even top the group while a positive result of any kind for the Killaloe side would ensure their sen- ior status for another year.

However, after a fire and brimstone Opening quarter that seemed to rattle Kilmaley, Smith O’Brien’s held a five point lead but somehow were not to

score for a further 34 minutes and by the time they took up their innings once more, Kilmaley were practi- cally out of sight.

Kilmaley could even afford to pre- vail without the vast influence of Colin Lynch and it was one of those changes Conor Clancy that provided the perfect target up front. Producing the type of performance that earned him two All-Ireland titles, Clancy’s paw was seemingly a ball magnet, repeatedly set up scores for others and slow to start, Kilmaley will be thankful to Clancy who was a con- stant thorn in Smith O’Brien’s side. Still, the Killaloe side were up for this game and after pushing into a 0-4 to 0-2 lead by the 12th minute, two from Liam Walsh, a stroke of fortune earned them a crucial goal only two minutes later. It came after goalkeeper Seamus Hurley fumbled a handpass whilst burstting out from goal and Shane O’Brien stole pos- session to hit to an empty net via the stick of John Clohessy.

Ken Kennedy and Pat Aherne Swapped points soon afterwards to give Smith O’Brien’s a 1-5 to O-3 advantage but that was a good as it would get for Smith O’Briens who began to fade and it allowed Kilma- ley to gain a foothold in the game. Alan Markham upped his game at centre-back, midfielders Conor Mc- Mahon and Stephen McNamara be- gan to dominate their sector while up front Conor Clancy, Diarmuid McMahon and Kenneth Kennedy got some much needed supply and they slowly turned the screw through Kennedy, McNamara and Conor McMahon to trail by only two at the break at 1-5 to 0-6.

The second half only reaffirmed their control as four successive points put them in front by 0-10 to 1-O5 by the 4lst minute. However, what sealed the victory was Kenneth Kennedy’s 43rd minute goal, inevi- tably broke by Clancy to Diarmuid McMahon who pulled through for the full-forward to turn and kick

past the onrushing Mark McInerney. Kilmaley were now rampant and de- spite further points from Diarmuid McMahon and Alan Markham, the damage could have been far greater only for a pelthora of wides.

Smith O’Brien’s finally broke their scoring duck in the 5lst minute through a Liam Walsh ’65 but Kil- maley were not about to let their ad- vantage slip at this stage and tacked on late points through Kennedy, Clancy and John Clohessy to lead by 1-16 to 1-07 by the 58th minute.

Shane O’Brien finished strongly with a brace for Killaloe and Pat Vaughan earned a late penalty after being stopped by substitute Sean Hehir but before the effort could be taken, Liam Walsh saw red for a needless stroke on John Clohessy. O’Brien’s penalty was saved, Kilma- ley prevailed and now approach the quarter-finals in bouyant mood as group winners as well as being the only side outside of Newmarket to remain unbeaten in the championship

so far. Even their frustrating cricket- score of wides had been halved.

IN keeping with the character of a ferociously tight group, Cratloe squeaked past Tubber to claim the runners up spot and thus a place in the quarter finals.

Injury time points from Martin ‘Ogie’ Murphy and Sean Chaplin sealed the win after Tubber had ral- lied to recover a three-point half time deficit and draw level through Barry O’Connor’s 55th minute point.

Sandwiched between Murphy and Chaplin’s strikes was a fierce goal bound drive from O’Connor that Cratloe goalkeeper Sean Hawes did well to force behind.

Cratloe survived, a feat of some significance in a group dubbed ‘the group of death’.

They join Newmarket in the knock- out stages while Tubber, who’s hopes of qualification rested on winning on Saturday to force a play-off, join heavyweights Clarecastle and Wolfe Tones on the list of early champion- ship casualties.

It wasn’t a classic by any stretch, but there was enough guile in the play of Cratloe pair Cathal McInerney and Conor McGrath and plenty of desire and overall quality about Tubber to make things interesting.

Three points in the opening seven minutes from Eamon Taaffe, Jack Neylon and Blaine Earley saw Tub- ber seize an early advantage.

Their confident start was capped in the 15th minute when Barry O’Connor tipped Patrick O’Connor’s lighted delivery to the net.

McInerney picked off Cratloe’s first point before two frees from Damien Browne, who was excellent from placed balls throughout, left Tubber leading 1-3 O-3.

A controversial decision then re- sulted in the moment that saw mo-

mentum tilt back in Cratloe’s favour.

Damien Browne appeared to bat the sliotar over the touchline only for Cratloe, to widespread disbelief on the Tubber bench, to be awarded a sideline cut.

Browne duly poured salt on the wounds by walloping the sliotar deep into ‘Tubber territory. McInerney picked up a loose break and nailed

a close range finish to the net in the 26th minute.

The goal inspired Cratloe to open up what would ultimately prove a de- cisive lead. Two frees from Browne, a point from Sean Chaplin and crack- ing strike from Liam Markham, ensured Cratloe led 1-8 1-5 at half mbealee

Barry O’Connor’s 36th minute

point drew Tubber to within a point. Eamon Taaffe scored his third point from play but a free from Browne and McInerney’s skillfully executed effort, kept Cratloe 1-11 1-9 ahead.

That lead should have been greater but Cratloe’s errant shooting saw them rack up six wides in the second halt.

As a consequence they were even-

tually caught.

Three Tubber points on the trot, in- cluding a superb sideline from Blaine Earley, levelled the game at 1-12 apiece in the 55th minute.

But Cratloe eventually found their range and in doing so secured quali- fication.