Category: Sport

St Senan’s Kilkee 2-12 – Cooraclare 1-08 at Shanahan Memorial Park, Doonbeg

“HOW are ye fixed,” was a question posed to a former Blues great before the start of the championship encounter in Doonbeg on Monday afternoon. “We don’t know,” came the answer. “We never do.”

True too, they’re Kilkee after all – the moody Blues who can lurch from the very good to the bad.

Thankfully from their point view the good side was on show as they ground out a deserved victory over a Cooraclare side that never really got going.

It was a tough weekend for Cooraclare after the sudden death of Pat Lillis, former club chairman, championship winner and father Fergal and Cathal who put family tragedy behind them to take their place on the starting 15.

Some things are much more important than football, but it was tough out on the field for Cooraclare too as they played second fiddle to a Kilkee side that showed a clinical touch in front of goal in the second half.

Michael O’Shea was the man – his haul of 1-7 was the difference between the sides, his goal nine minutes into the second half putting his side six points clear, while he then tacked on three crucial points in the final ten minutes after Rory Donnelly’s 45th minute goal had helped bring the gap back to a point.

Things looked good for the Blues at the break after they carved out a 06 to 0-5 interval lead having played against the strong breeze blowing towards the scoreboard goal. They held the initiative early on thanks to two Michael O’Shea points, gradually Cooraclare settled down and reeled off three in a row courtesy of Rory Donnelly, Declan McMahon and Cathal Lillis by the 19th minute.

Indeed, Aidan Moloney’s side looked to have grabbed the initiative approaching half time when they responded to a levelling point from Barry Harte with points by Mark Tubridy and Rory Donnelly, but it was missed goal chance in the 29th minute when they led 0-5 to 0-4 that really cost them dear.

The chance fell to Rory Donnelly about six yards out, but he snatched his left-footed shot into the side netting.

From there the Blues raided, with Kevin Larkin storming up the field and kicking the score of the day from 45 yards and Michael O’Shea following up with an injury time point to give them the interval lead.

Nine minutes in they had stretched it to six after Chris Williamson and Michael O’Shea points was followed by O’Shea’s goal after he was put through by Senan Larkin with his first touch after coming on as a sub. From there it looked as if the Blues would close out the game but it was back in the melting pot when Sean Maguire set up Rory Donnelly for a 45th minute goal that was quickly followed by two Mark Tubridy points from frees to leave only a point in it. Suddenly the force was with Cooraclare, but Michael O’Shea restored order with a hat-trick of points by the 56th minute as Kilkee moved four clear, while Chris Williamson’s 61st minute goal finally closed out an impressive day’s work for the Blues.

Ennistymon 0-10 – Liscannor 0-08 at Hennessy Memorial Park, Miltown Malbay

IT WAS A changing of the guard in some respects, not just between these former team-mates but in the overall championship itself. In a game as tight as a submarine door, you would have expected experts Liscannor to pull through just as they have done countless times before but aging legs were replaced by Ennistymon’s fresh ones in the crucial final quarter.

With an average age of 31 and two thirds of the team the wrong side of 30, Liscannor were unable to kick on from an 0-8 to 0-6 advantage held by the 45th minute and it was Ennistymon, backed by seven of their Under 21 winning side, who kicked the last four scores to take the honours and give themselves a tremendous boost heading into the ten week break.

It was all so different in the early stages as Liscannor surged into a 0-4 to 0-1 lead by the end of the opening quarter with Niall Considine at full-forward grabbing two of those scores. However, their grip was loosened by an Ennistymon rally that saw them hit four without reply in a six minute spell as Danny Rouine punished from frees while impressive wing-forwards Kevin Scales and Joe Dowling were on target from play. There was even a half chance of a goal for Robert McDonagh af- ter a Rouine free rebounded off the upright but he was smothered by Liscannor’s last line before Clohessy gained parity at the other end going into the interval. The scores were few but the en- tertainment and tension grew to a heightened level as the second half progressed. Ennistymon appeared to have kicked their hopes of victory away in the early stages with three successive wides while Liscannor were more accurate at the other end in grabbing three out of the first four points of the half by the turn of the final quarter to lead by 0-8 to 0-6, with Brian Considine’s curling effort from 35 metres the pick of the bunch. More often than not, Liscannor would have seen out the victory from that point but far from dropping their heads, Ennistymon refused to lie down and their hunger to succeed allied to their fresher legs saw them gain confidence from every passing score. A Danny Rouine free and a Joe Dowling left footed effort from 35 metres levelled up the game for the third time amidst a huge roar of approval from a packed new stand while Dowling turned provider for their third point in as many minutes as Ennistymon took the lead through Kevin Scales in the 50th minute. The expected backlash from Liscannor never materialised however as they got nowhere near to scoring their first championship goal in seven games. Instead, it was Ennistymon who strengthened their position further when Scales burst through the centre of the defence and was hauled down for Rouine to complete a perfect start to the championship and come out from under the shadow of their north Clare neighbours.

St Breckan’s 3-11 – Éire Óg 1-10 at Páirc Finne, Corofin

THE biggest score of the opening weekend of the championship; the biggest winning margin; the biggest shock.

All combined to make this a glorious return to the ranks of senior football for the men from Lisdoonvarna and Doolin as they dished out a thoroughly deserved seven-point beating to an Éire Óg team that’s already fighting for survival in the 2011 championship.

Where to start for Breckan’s.

The all action display of the likes of Stephen Tierney who started running when the ball was thrown in and didn’t stop until the end in a performance highlighted by his brilliant 55th minute goal that finally the game and put his side seven points clear.

Sean Cormican’s two-goal blast in the first half that put Breckan’s on the road to victory – the industry of everyone wearing maroon, whether snaffling up 90 per cent of the breaks around midfield, Dinny O’Driscoll pulling the strings, Greg O’Leary coming out of retirement.

All this and much more conspired to bring Breckan’s alive against an Éire Óg team that was flat-footed and consequently overrun for the 60 minutes and lucky to be within seven points at the end.

The writing was on the wall for the Townies are early as the 11th minute when a quick free-kick from Pat Nagle on the 21-yard line was finished to the net by Sean Cormican before anyone in red knew what was happening.

It put St Breckan’s 1-4 to 0-3 clear against the breeze, bookending a bright start that saw them hit early points through Denis O’Driscoll (2), Donal Howley and Pat Nagle to replies from Stephen Hickey (2) and Eoin Glynn.

Éire Og did bounce back from the goal with points by Hickey and Nicky Hogan by the 19th minute, but a sweeping move in the 21st minute, started by the impressive Raphael Considine, carried on by fellow wing-back Stephen Tierney and then blasted to the net by Sean Cormican from 12 yards showed up the gulf between the sides – Breckan’s had energy, support play and killer instinct, the Townies didn’t. That said, another rally that yield- ed 1-2 in the closing minutes of the half – Hickey pointing on either side of Nicky Hogan’s scrambled goal brought the sides level at the break. It was a very false reflection, how- ever, something that was hammered home by a rampant St Breckan’s side in between hitting seven second half wides. Éire Óg were restricted to just three points from frees in the half – Breckan’s hit 1-7 to cruise to victory. They were on their way thanks to points by the Cormican brothers and Pat Nagle as they moved three clear and they never looked back. They toyed with the Townies at times before points by Nagle (2), Shane O’Connor from distance in response to token points from two Shane Daniels frees and finally Stephen Tierney’s brilliant goal settled the issue. Not even the sending off of captain Conor Howley near the end could spoil St Breckans’ party. A second Nicky Hogan goal was disallowed in the 60th minute for a square ball, but even if it had been allowed, it wouldn’t have made any difference.

O’Curry’s 3-09 – Ballyvaughan 1-03 at Hennessy Memorial Park, Miltown Malbay

A CLASH OF the last two relegated sides from senior level but it appears that O’Curry’s are in the best position to regain that status in the coming year after an impressive treble scores victory on Sunday. 2-6 to 0-1 ahead at the break and a whopping 16 points clear by the three quarter mark, the gap in quality at times appeared as contrasting as their northsouth divide on the county map and it meant that O’Curry’s could ease up to victory and empty the bench in the process.

From the line-ups alone, it was clear that Ballyvaughan came off worst in the emigration losses and so it proved as O’Curry’s kicked 2-4 without reply in the opening quarter, with Eoin Troy in particular revelling in his role at full-forward. Indeed, he was involved in all but one of those scores, scoring 1-1 himself while also crucially teeing up Damien Clohessy for the opening goal in the sixth minute.

O’Curry’s slicker passing was eyecatching, emitomised by Troy’s 13th minute goal that was moved through Sean Haugh, Ger Quinlan and Michael Carmody before ending up with Eoin Troy who roofed his effort from close range on their way to an eleven point interval lead.

Any hopes of a Ballyvaughan recovery were irrefutably put to bed as early as the third minute of the new half when Eoin Troy’s pinpoint pass over the top to Sean Haugh saw him hauled to the ground by Kieran Casey and Eoin Troy place the resultant penalty to the right corner of the net. Indeed, O’Curry’s should have raised a fourth green flag soon afterwards but Damien Clohessy somehow conspired to miss from point blank range.

That miss hardly registered in such a one-sided contest as Derek and Eoin Troy added to Ballyvaughan’s woes to open up a 16 point gap by the 42nd minute. As O’Curry’s emptied the bench though, Ballyvaughan availed of the opportunity to restore some pride with Jack Queally grabbing a goal in the 47th minute when suppied by the north Clare side’s best performer James Hynes inbetween points from John McCormack and Hynes. They could have cut the deficit further when Hynes and Queally again combined late on but goalkeeper PJ Greene was equal to the substitute’s efforts while a second yellow for Ray Casey rounded off a thoroughly forgettable afternoon for Ballyvaughan while possibly the start of a memorable one for O’Curry’s.

O’Curry’s
PJ Greene (7), Paul Roche (7), Michael O’Shea (8), Gearoid Lynch (7), BrianTroy (7) (0-1), Ollie Quinlan (7),TomDownes (8), DerekTroy (7) (0-1), Ger Quinlan (8), Damien Carmody (8) (0-2), Sean Haugh (8) (0-1), Michael Foran (7), Michael Carmody (7) (0-1), EoinTroy (9) (2-3 1-0 Pen), Damien Clohessy (7) (1-0)

Subs
DeclanWalsh (6) for Foran (38 mins, inj), Jack Scanlon (6) for M. Carmody (41 mins), Eoin Murray (6) for D. Clohessy (46 mins), Ryan McMahon (6) for Downes (49 mins), GeraldTroy for E.Troy (58 mins)

Ballyvaughan
Damien McNamara (6), Marc Walsh (7), Sean McNamara (5), Mark O’Loughlin (7), CianWalsh (6), Kieran Casey (6), John Linnane (6), Ray Casey (6), John McCormack (6) (0-1), PhelimCoyne (5), Kevin Carrucan (5), Cillian Mahon (6),Adrian Niland (7) (0-1f), Donnacha Mahon (6), James Hynes (7) (0-1)

Subs
Jack Queally (7) (1-0) for Coyne (HT), Paul Darcy (6) for Carrucan (HT),Thomas Francis (6) for D. Mahon (41 mins), John Mooney Hynes for C. Walsh (53 mins)

Man of the Match
Eoin Troy (O’Curry’s) Referee Barry Kelly (St Joseph’s Miltown)

SHANNON SWIMMER Chris Bryan is currently leading the rankings of the 2011 European Open Water Swimming Cup, following a fantastic performance in the second leg of the competition which took place in Turkey last week.

Bryan, who represented Ireland at the 2010 European Championships, won the 5km event in Antayla in a time of 58 minutes 41.04 seconds, just ahead of Israeli Yuval Safra (58.42.80).

The first leg of the European Cup took place in Eilat (Israel) on May 7, where Bryan finished 33rd of 53 competitors in the longer 10k event, with an overall time of 1 hour 53 minutes 1.25 seconds.

These results leave Bryan at the top of the European table with 21 points – ahead of Russian Vladimir Dyatchin (20 points) and Safra (18 points). The Cup runs until the end of July, with five legs in total.

Bryan is now on course for selection to the World Swimming & Open Water Championships which take place in Shanghai, China this July, where he would become the first open water swimmer to represent Ireland at this level.

Bryan currently trains full-time at the University of Limerick High Performance Centre under Head Coach Ronald Claes and alongside European Silver Medalist Grainne Murphy, who is also preparing for the World Championships next month in China.

Clondegad 1-13 – Corofin 0-07 at Cusack Park, Ennis

CLONDEGAD ran out comfortable winners over Corofin to get their championship campaign off to an ideal start in Cusack Park on Saturday.

The early stages indicated this was going to a tight contest but once Clondegad asserted control of midfield about midway through the first half there only ever looked one likely winner.

It might have been different had Michael Concannon’s penalty flown under instead of over the bar 30 seconds into the second half. By then Clondegad led by three points. A combination of Padraig McMahon’s accuracy, Gary and Shane Brennan’s energy and Kieran Browne’s smart distribution from centre back, ensured that lead had been extended to 10 points by the 46th minute.

Corofin were game and worked hard but the early promise of their performance in the first quarter was gradually and effectively snuffed out by their opponent’s greater overall quality.

The 2006 Munster intermediate finalists certainly had the bit between their teeth in the opening stages with John Keane’s monster free nudging them 0-2 0-1 ahead in the 9th minute.

Both sides were guilty of sloppy finishing and poor decision making in the final third before Gary Brennan stormed through to tie the game at 0-3 0-3.

This was the cue for Clondegad to stamp their authority on the match. McMahon, who had earlier seen a low drive skid across the face of goal, rounded off a well-worked point before Clondegad moved into a commanding lead.

Gary Brennan fed Patrick Coffey in acres of room at the heart of the Corofin defence. The corner forward took full advantage, roofing a shot to the net to put Clondegad 1-4 0-3 ahead in the 24th minute.

That’s how it remained until seconds after the restart when Corofin were handed a potential lifeline. Jason Tierney was hauled to the turf as he attempted to shoot just yards from the Clondegad goal. Up stepped Concannon but his penalty flew over the bar.

Having survived an early scare, Clondegad proceeded to stitch together some piercing attacking moves that typically involved wing forward Kenneth Kelly.

An unbroken 11-minute sequence of points from McMahon (2), James Murphy, Gary Brennan Eoghan Donnellan, Shane Brennan and Flan King put Clondegad 1-11 0-4 ahead by the 46th minute. Corofin grabbed late points from Darren Malone, Fergal Neylon and Diarmuid Daly but Clondegad were, by then, out of sight.

Clondegad
Declan O’Loughlin (7), Connor Gavin (7), Paddy O’Connell (7), Brian Murphy (7), James Murphy (7) (0-1), Kieran Browne (8), Francis Neylon (7), Gary Brennan (8) (0-2), Shane Brennan (8) (0-1), Kenneth Kelly (7), Padraig McMahon (8) (0-6)(1f)(45’), Kevin Donnelly, (7) Patrick Coffey (7) (1-0), Francis O’Reilly (7) (0-1), Eoghan Donnellan (7) (0-1)

Subs
Flan King (0-1) for Donnelly,

Corofin
Kieran Carkill (7), Stephen Quinn (6), Eamon Malone (6), Kieran O’Leary (6), Diarmuid Daly (6) (0-1), Brendan Keane (7), Daragh Shannon (6), Luke O’Loughlin (6), John Keane (7) (0-1)(1f), Michael Concannon (6) (0-2) (1f), Fergal Neylon (6) (0-1), Stephen Heagney (6), Jason Tierney (6), Damien Ryan (6), Darren Malone (6) (0-2)(1f)

Subs
MatthewShannon

Man of the Match
Shane Brennan (Clondegad) Referee Michael Rock (Ennistymon)

WHILE MUCH has changed in Clare over the last 50 years there is much too that remains the same – the waves still crash headlong onto the north Clare coast, the fresh sea air still has the power to both revive and restore and the fish still bite best from the rocks off Blackhead in Fanore.

Later this week hundreds of current and past members of the Lisdoonvarna/Fanore Sea Angling will descend on O’Donohue’s Pub in Fanore to celebrate the 50 anniversary of one of Clare oldest angling clubs. Old trophies, pictures and newspapers articles will all be on show for the event, which takes place this Sunday, June 12, while an open-day for young and new members will also take place.

The club was founded in 1961 when a group of local Fanore men travelled to Lahinch to take part in an angling competition. The men soon realised that they had walked past some of the best fishing spots in the country to get to Lahinch and decided to set up their own angling clubs to fish the north Clare coast.

“There would have been some mackerel fishing and some rock fishing going on in the area at the time but there was no organised angling and certainly no competition taking place. Surprisingly there wasn’t really much fishing going on locally,” says James Linnane of the Lisdoonvarna/Fanore Sea Angling Club.

“Some individuals would fish for bass along the beach and there was Jack Shine from Liscannor who could catch sharks from the shores so there was interest in fishing locally – just no club to bring it all together.”

Indeed, the late Jack Shine, who was the creamery manager in Moy for many year, is generally credited as being the first man to introduce the fishing rod into the north Clare area. Jack is still the only man in Ireland who has successfully caught porbeagle sharks from the shoreline.

The club was founded in Lisdoonvarna in 1961 with Ennistymon man Don Curtin as it’s first president with Pete Commane from Liscannor as Chairman, Padriac Kett from Fanore as vice-chairman, Jimmy Carrucan from Fanore as treasurer and John Cullinan from Lisdoonvarna as secretary.

The open day will run from 2pm to 6pm in Fanore and will give a chance for older members to remember the past while allowing younger people to get their first taste of angling.

“We will have an exhibition of all the trophies and cups donated to the club going down the years as well as a list of everyone who won a com- petition with the club over the years. We also have some great photos of the club and Fanore from back in the 1960 – which will show what life was life for the people when the club was founded,” continued James.

“We will also be trying to encourage more people, especially juveniles, into the club so we will be having a number of angler there who will host a juvenile day on the beach while we will supply reels and roads for them. North Clare is one of the best finishing grounds in Europe at the moment so we might as well use them as well as protect them.”

For more information on the club contact James at 087 2215159.

Wolfe Tones 2-8 – Kilrush Shamrocks 0-9 at Lissycasey

‘CRISIS? What Crisis?’ It seems rumours of Wolfe Tones demise were all too premature as this dramatic yet spirited first round encounter proved on Saturday. Decimated by emigration, injuries and retirements including first team regulars such as Brian O’Connell, Johnny Bridges, Frank Lohan, Kevin Cahill, Stephen Monaghan, Jamie Roughan, David Reidy and Mickey O’Connell, Wolfe Tones were expected to roll over for Kilrush who appeared to be the ones most likely to challenge Kilmurry Ibrickane at the top of the group.

However, with the Shannon side primed for battle and determined to prevail, it was Kilrush who looked like the team who were crippled by those issues and despite having a host of goal chances that could have swung the game decisively, they never seemed to want it as much as Wolfe Tones.

Essentially, Kilrush looked like a side that just expected to turn and collect the points, a complacency fuelled by the continuous coverage of the Shannon club’s woes throughout the year so far. However, they hadn’t bargained for an inspired Wolfe tones side who packed up the defence, hit on the counter-attack and were timely aided by a Daniel Gallery goal in each half that boosted their self-belief.

At times, only full-forward Darren Ryan remained in Kilrush’s half as Wolfe Tones smothered the life out of their opponents and continually frustrated them. In saying that, the Shams did have four glorious goal opportunities and had they taken any, the game might have played out differently.

Ruaidhri O’Connor had a stinging effort excellently stopped by goalkeeper Jason Casey midway through the first half and only three minutes later full-back Sean Brennan was equally limber to keep out a Jim Young shot. While in the second period, the same pair were repelled by a miserly Shannon last line.

A more efficient Wolfe Tones mag- nified those misses however starting with a back-to-front move in the seventh minute that ended with the overlapping Daniel Gallery rattling the net to give his side a 1-1 to 0-2 lead.

That advantage became three when centre-back Brendan Hughes pointed only two minutes later and while a shellshocked Kilrush did finally settle, those two missed goal chances halted their progress somewhat, only cutting the deficit through points fro Stephen Sweeney and Jim Young by the 29th minute.

Wolfe Tones regained control before the break with the effective Gary Leahy and hardworking Chris Dunning both getting in on the scoring action on their way to a 1-4 to 0-5 lead. It didn’t get much better for Kilrush on the turnover despite having a larger chunk of possession. Three early wides and another blocked Young effort were only brightened by an O’Connor point to slash the deficit to the minimum.

Wolfe Tones soon cancelled it out however when Darren Ryan fisted over the bar in the 40th minute and with the game delicately balanced, the turning point came with the dismissal of Kilrush centre-back Niall Clancy in the 45th minute, followed almost immediately by Wolfe Tones second goal.

Clancy failed to heed a warning when he was fortunate to stay on the field in the 42nd minute after an off the ball altercation with Alan Hehir and by needlessly getting involved in a second incident three minutes later, he was duly sent off for a second yellow.

Wolfe Tones didn’t waste any time in hammering home their one man advantage when Gallery raced through and played a one-two with Alan Downes before finding the net and give his side a five point cushion. A Leahy free made it six soon afterwards while a luckless Kilrush saw a Ruaidhri O’Connor flick come back off the post, having beaten goalkeeper Casey.

Kilrush did rally with late points from Young (2) and substitute Eoin Tarrant but by then, the momentum had shifted firmly in Wolfe Tones direction and despite being reduced to 13 men with the late dismissals of Patsy Keyes and Gary Leahy, captain Hughes and man-of-the-match Gallery wrapped up the points with late strikes to complete the first surprise of the championship.

Corofin 0-13 – Ogonnelloe 0-11 at Dr Daly Park, Tulla

LEAVING TULLA last Saturday evening the respective managers of both Corofin and Ogonnelloe will reflect back on this clash in very contrasting manners.

The north Clare outfit will surely be delighted to have escaped with a 0-13 to 0-11 victory but will still be concerned with their level of performance and how this encounter was made such hard work of.

Retreating to the east of the county, the eventual losers will be absolutely gutted with the result. Despite a mammoth effort at times to stay in contention and even near the end to steal the lead, the fact they had nothing to show for their struggles at Flan O’Reilly’s final whistle must be heart-breaking.

The first half was by no means a spectacle of hurling but the competitiveness and commitment of both sides could not be questioned. After a minute of play John McKenna found the game’s first score. The perfect start was achieved as his free from 40 metres out sailed between the posts. Minutes later and Corofin responded with a point of their own.

Stephen Heagney was first on to a breaking ball and he had no hesitation in punishing the generous Ogonnelloe defence. After ten minutes both sides had doubled their tallies with McKenna and Heagney exchanging scores once again.

Corofin however soon began to dominate proceedings as they exerted their control in most sectors of the pitch. Declan Lee and the excellent Kevin Heagney throughout all found their range to add their names to the scoreboard.

Darragh Shannon’s effort was even better. His first time strike without catching the ball from the middle of the field split the posts to increase their lead to three. This margin however should have been far greater only for some poor accuracy in front of goal shared by all of Corofin’s attack.

This inadequacy allowed Ogonnel- loe to stay in touch and in the final five minutes of the half their fight back materialised to punish Corofin’s short comings. Corner forward Rory Skelly took over placed balls and his efforts from a free and a 65 reduced the margin to a single point. Paul Healy’s incredible side line cut from a huge distance out from Patrick Bourke’s goal sent the teams in level at the interval.

The second half saw the match’s tempo intensify even more. The lead was swapped and shared on several occasions with some terrific scores taken by both sides.

Ogonnelloe’s Kieran Ford pitched in with a superb double while the free taking ability of Gerry Quinn and Heagney continued to ignite the Corofin challenge.

The final minutes of this tie saw the aforementioned Corofin marksmen grab a free each while their efforts was separated only by a Lee belter that completed their treble which sealed the win.

Corofin all but secured their semi- final spot and will now continue on their quest for immediate promotion back to senior status.

For Ogonnelloe though the future is not so bright with their chances for intermediate glory quenched with their second loss in a row.

Corofin
Patrick Bourke, Keith O’Loughlin, Luke O’Loughlin, Darren Malone, MartinTierney, Gerry Quinn (0-2f), Damien Ryan, Darragh Shannon (0-1), Fionn Clancy, Neil Killeen, Declan Lee (0-2), Kevin Heaney (0-2), Stephen Heaney (0-6, 5f), Eamon Malone, Killian Neylon

Subs
Killian Malone for Neylon, Matthew Shannon for E. Malone

Ogonnelloe
Tomas McKenna, John O’Brien, Michael Costelloe, Eoin Sheedy, Pascal Sheedy, Patrick Barton,Thomas Condon, Barry Kiely, Ozer McMahon, Peter English, Henry Mooney, Kieran Forde (0-2), Paul Healy (0-1 s/l), John McKenna (0-2f), Rory Skelly (0-6, 4f, 1’65)

Man of the Match
Stephen Heagney (Corofin) Referee Flan O’Reilly (Cratloe)

St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield 3-10 – Killanena 0-10 at O’Garney Park, Sixmilebridge

ON PAPER, a nine point victory appears impressive but as laughable as it sounds, this was as unconvincing a nine point victory as you could possibly imagine. Only the tidy crowd in the stand of O’Garney Park can verify that fact but St Joseph’s will count their lucky stars that they got out of Sixmilebridge with their first win of the championship after being pushed all the way by a spirited yet understrength Killanena.

Essentially, with both sides securing opening round draws, Killanena needed the win to aid the consolidation of their senior status while St Joseph’s were looking further afield and the carrot of the knock-out stages. In addition, Killanena’s desperation for the points were increased by an ever expanding list of emigrating players that will include Sunday’s midfield partners Mark Flaherty and Gerry McNamara in the coming week.

While Killanena were down to the bare bones however, their skeletal remains did possess guts and unquenchable spirit and added to St Joseph’s underlying complacency, manager Kevin Kennedy was given a rough ride by his native club.

After an even opening 20 minutes in which both defences were on top (Alan O’Neill and Alan McNamara the standout performers) and wind assisted St Joseph’s retaining very little possession in their forward line, ‘The Parish’ finally pulled clear through Ivor Whyte who converted two points before taking a long run up to his 20 metre free and driving to the right corner of the net right on the stroke of half-time to give them some breathing space at 1-6 to 0-4.

That margin was extended to eight after Whyte, Shane O’Connor and Damien Kennedy grabbed the first three points of the restart by the 36th minute and nothing but a St Joseph’s rout look on the cards.

It was a far from an unassailable advantage however as events conspired to emphasise, with Killanena never giving up hope and chipping away on the scoreboard through David McNamara (3 frees) and Mark Flaherty (3) to slash the deficit to just two by the turn of the final quarter.

By this stage, a rudderless St Joseph’s were seemingly unable to stop the rot but they were helped by a Paul Madden save from Padraig Brady’s goalbound shot along with two Killanena wides as the intermediate champions poured forward in search of the scalp.

Without a score in 20 minutes, St Joseph’s were finally gifted a much needed goal in the 56th minute when a defensive handpass went straight to Shane O’Connor to punish from close range. With that, the tension lifted from St Joseph’s shoulders and they saw out the result in comfort with Ivor Whyte pulling just over the bar a minute later while Jarlath Colleran put the icing on the cake with a 60th minute goal. With the game now entirely open, there were further goal chances at either end for Gerry McNamara and Enda Lyons but by then the result was beyond any doubt as St Joseph’s wiped their brows and welcomed the Summer recess with their unbeaten record somehow still intact.