Category: Sport

Crusheen 1-13 – Kilmaley 1-13 at Cusack Park, Ennis

CRUSHEEN are out to become the first team since St Joseph’s DooraBarefield in 1998/99 to win back to back senior titles, but on the evidence of this there is much work to be done before they can entertain that possibility.

Still, they were happy at the end of this interesting affair played out on Saturday evening as a late 65-metre free from Clare captain Paddy Vaughan earned them a share of the spoils against an impressive Kilmaley side.

It was impressive from Kilmaley in the way they overturned a four-point deficit in the second half while playing against the wind. It was a storming display of hurling that brought them to the cusp of victory when Diarmuid McMahon’s 58th minute point put them ahead for the first time since their fast start with points from Daire Keane (2) and Colin Lynch helped them into a 0-3 to 0-2 lead after five minutes.

Crusheen were reeling in the face of this Kilmaley power-play that was sparked by a fast start to the second half with three points inside the first three minutes to reduce the margin back to a point and then Daire Keane’s 42nd minute goal that brought the sides level.

From there Crusheen were in a real battle – a total contrast to the first half when they quelled Kilmaley’s early enthusiasm to totally dominate the second quarter and move 0-9 to 0-5 clear at the interval.

The sides were locked at 0-5 apiece after 15 minutes – Fergus Kennedy opened Crusheen’s account in the second minute after two Daire Keane points for Kilmaley, while further points by Tony Meaney, David Forde, Conor O’Donnell and Joe Meaney in response to Colin Lynch (2) and John Cabey points for Kilmaley had the sides level.

However, four unanswered points from there until the break via two Paddy Vaughan frees, another from play from all of 80 yards and a Paddy Meaney effort seemed to have Crusheen on the high road to the two points.

And, despite a number of Kilmaley rallies in the second half – firstly when two Kenneth Kennedy frees and a Daire Keane point from play inside three minutes of the restart had it back to a point; secondly Kilmaley hit back from Fergus Kennedy’s 35th minute goal for Cusheen when Keane flashed a loose ball to net in the 42nd – it seemed as if the county champions would hold firm for the two points.

Their response to Keane’s goal was impressive, with points from Paddy Vaughan and Gearóid O’Donnell (2) moving them 1-12 to 1-9 clear by the 50th minute, only for a dogged Kimaley to come on strong in the last ten minutes.

Their latest comeback was sparked by the 51st minute point from Kenneth Kennedy. Five minutes later another Kennedy free that followed a Declan Clancy effort from play had the sides level, while Diarmuid McMahon’s first significant contribution of the hour was a telling one when he hit the lead point with two minutes remaining.

It looked like being the winner against a profligate Crusheen who hit nine second half wides until Gerry O’Grady made his first telling contibution when winning a free 65metres from goal two minutes into injury time allowing Paddy Vaughan fly to the rescue.

It was a warning to Crusheen, morale boosting for Kilmaley.

Parteen 2-12 – Sixmilebridge 1-12 at Shannon

HAVING FAILED to live up to their potential in recent years, Parteen needed to take down one of the big guns in order to get the ball rolling.

Not since the double defeat of eventual champions Broadford three years ago have Parteen glistened when it mattered most and with the restructuring of the championship to only allow two teams out of six to advance, the margin of error has become even slimmer.

That’s why this victory over last year’s semi-finalists was a welcome tonic to their previous underachieving ills as Parteen assimilated their historic Under 21C winning side with their more established core.

What will be most pleasing to their management however is that they were gritty enough to be able to dig out the result against a very experi- enced Sixmilebridge side that wasn’t short of senior championship winners.

And just like their Clare Cup meeting, it was Parteen’s second half display that won the day as they outscored their opponents by 1-9 to 0-4 and indeed, held the Bridge’ scoreless from play in that period as well.

Parteen also had a confidence boosting start when Darragh Yelverton weaved his way down the right wing before cutting inside and rattling the net via the body of goalkeeper Stephen Fleming in the fourth minute in reply to Earol Tuohy’s opening point.

It didn’t derail Sixmilebridge however who had a strong breeze at their backs as the towering Ronan Hayes proved a worthy target so much so that his withdrawl just before the break was arguably a turning point in the game. Meanwhile however, placed balls from Tommy Liddy (2) and Sam O’Sullivan along with an Adrian Chaplin point had the Bridge level at 1-2 to 0-5 by the turn of the opening quarter and they regained the lead soon afterwards when adding a goal. It came from a Sam O’Sullivan free from halfway that was deflected by Mark Culbert beyond the reach of goalkeeper Alan Murnane.

Parteen hit back immediately through Joe O’Connor and might have usurped the lead once more had James Long’s kick been on target. Instead, the now inspired ‘Bridge finished the half strongly with a Mark Culbert point sandwiching two Tommy Liddy frees on their way to a 1-8 to 1-3 interval lead.

It was a short lived cushion however as within five minute of the restart, Parteen had wiped that advantage, with Ivan Conway grabbing 1-2. Two rapid frees were boosted by that 35th minute goal that saw Parteen use their football skills better this time when Paraic O’Connor toepoked the ball through to the unmarked Conway to make no mistake.

Sam O’Sullivan hit back immediately with a free but by this stage the momentum had shifted and with Joe O’Connor and Colm Quinn leading the line, Parteen hit five unanswered points to take a 2-10 to 1-09 advantage by the 48th minute.

There was still a few twists and turns however before Parteen could secure a vital first win as the reintroduction of Hayes saw Sixmilebridge rally once more. Tommy Liddy picked off two frees, one of which had to be tipped over the bar after a 20 metre effort on goal and with three points separating the sides in injury-time, Liddy had another 20 metre free stopped and cleared before Parteen could cement the points.

Parteen
Alan Murnane, Mark Cunningham, Paul O’Dwyer, AndrewBeatty, ColmO’Connell, ColmQuinn (0-1f), Cillian Conlon, Joe O’Connor (0-2), Martin Moroney (0-3), Mark Boland, James Long, Paraic O’Connor (0-2), DarraghYelverton (1-1), Ivan Conway (1-3 3f), Ronan Conlon

Subs
Noel Bridgeman for Boland (25 mins), Brian McSweeney for Long (38 mins)

Sixmilebridge
Stephen Fleming,Wayne Kennedy, Eoin Quinn, David O’Meara, Jonathan Downes, Stiofan Fitzpatrick, Cathal Walsh, SamO’Sullivan (0-3 2f, 1’65), Christy Griffin,Adrian Chaplin (0-1), Ronan Hayes, Michael O’Halloran, Earol Tuohy (0-1), Mark Culbert (1-1),Tommy Liddy (0-6f)

Subs
Paul Corbett for Hayes (28 mins, inj),Alan Mulready for O’Meara (35 mins), Ronan Mullane for Mulready (43 mins, inj), Ronan Hayes for O’Halloran (49 mins)

Man of the Match
Joe O’Connor (Parteen) Referee Damian Fox (WolfeTones)

TWO young Clare surfers will face off against some of the world’s best at the World Junior Surfing Championships in Peru this week.

Cian Cagney (under 18s) and Donough Cronin (under 16s) are part of the 11 strong Irish surfing squad who are due to depart today from Dublin for the International Surfing Association (ISA) championships, which run from May 21-29.

Once in Peru the surfers will have a number of days training prior to the contest to acclimatise to the surf and weather conditions. The championships will start on Saturday May 21 with the opening ceremony and parade of nations.

Heats will commence on Sunday May 22 running all week with the grand finals on Sunday May 29. Participation in the world championships represents the culmination of a boyhood dream for Cian Cagney, who started surfing aged nine.

Cian, who lives in Lahinch, qualified for the event after an impressive showing at the European surfing championships. Having started surfing on a competitive basis three years ago, Cian has applied himself wholeheartedly to the sport.

A typical day involves spending up to six hours in the water.

“If the surf is good, I’ll go before school and after school, depending on the waves. I suppose in the winter I’d be doing about two to three hours because it’s so cold. But in the summer it would nearly be all day,” he explained.

A student at Ennistymon Vocational School, Cian said he is looking forward to competing against some of the world’s most accomplished surfers. He added, “We know that a few of these guys are pro, they have a lot of experience so the standard is going to be high”.

Cian said that he hopes to qualify from a heat at the world championships and improve his performance at the next European championships.

Proud Dad Eamon, said his son has worked hard to make the Irish team.

“It’s been his goal since he was 10 to be a professional surfer. Its rare to have a young fella with that focus,” he added.

Eamon said that the level of dedication exhibited by surfers like Cian and Donough is helping smash misconceptions about surfing.

He explained, “There is a perception that surfing is about these hairy young fellas hanging around, drinking cider. That is most definitely not the case. It couldn’t be further from the truth”.

Asked what he is expecting from his week in Peru, Cian said, “Lots of sun, lots of waves and lots of good surf”. And who knows, maybe a few medals.

BY way of giving a context to the scale of the challenge that awaits Clare on the banks of the Lee this Sunday, while giving the county some hope at the same time, two game’s from the vaults of history ring out.

Games 23 years apart – the scores very much apart too, even if the results were the same as Clare ended up on the losing side on things on both occasions.

1973 and 1996 are the years – one a depressing tale the other a tale of what should have been for a Clare team that was arguably one of the best to ever represent the county in Munster – better than the 1992 Munster Championship winning team, better than the Munster final team of 1997.

The Clare team in 1973 looked good on paper too – it was blessed with some fine footballers, but what happened in the old Cork Athletic Grounds was a harsh lesson in the reality of top-flight inter-county fare.

They managed one point from play over the 80 minutes that was in vogue for championship at the time – that came from midfielder Pete Dillon. They only scored 0-3 in total, while Cork racked up 2-14 as they took another step towards winning their first All-Ireland title in 62 years. And, bear in mind it was a Cork team sans Jimmy Barry Murphy who later lit up the championship, while key defender and Munster rugby player John Coleman was missing too.

Things were a lot different 23 years later when Clare travelled to Páirc Uí Chaoimh in confidence after a last-gasp Aidan O’Keeffe free had earned them a draw against Cork in Cusack Park.

Clare produced a magnificent performance – they trailed 1-8 to 0-4 at half-time having played with the wind, but on the turnover produced a magnificent performance to reel the Rebels in.

With Padraig Conway tormenting Cork until he was taken out of it by Stephen O’Brien, Clare roared back into contention, even though they lost Brendan Rouine to a sending-off only six minutes in.

Four Francis McInerney points and Ger Keane goal saw Clare get back on terms before they took the lead with a Padraig Conway point with 11 minutes remaining. A Joe Kavanagh point brought the game to extra-time but Clare seemed to be on their way to a famous win when they led 1-16 to 1-13 early in the second half.

However, they were denied when a controversial goal from Johnny Buckley, when he walked the ball into the net brought Cork back on terms before late points from Ciaran O’Sullivan and Joe Kavanagh saw them edge home by 2-16 to 1-16.

LAST YEAR’S double winners, Avenue United lost out on retaining the league just a few weeks ago but they will be hoping to retain the Cup when they meet Bridge United B in this Saturday’s Clare Cup Final in Doora for the second successive year.

Avenue United won both the cup and league last season but this year they have already surrendered their league crown to rivals Newmarket and according to manager Pat McDaid they will be going all out to win the in cup in order to end the season with some silverware.

“We have to go all out for the cup, there’s two big trophies really the cup and the league and at the end of the season we want to end up with both of them. We were a bit unlucky in the league but you know thats the way it goes.”

Avenue United have become teh flagship side in Clare football and Pat feels ending the year without a trophy would be disappointing but a cup win would end the season on a positive note.

“This is what we have now, we take what we have. Its a Cup Final its a big day in Clare soccer so its good to be there again and hopefully we’ll win it.”

Avenue have come through some close encounters along their path to the final, having been brought to extra time against West Clare United and Bunratty and beating Tulla Utd

on penalties in the semi

final will have been great

preparation for this resil

ient Bridge United B side,

a side which Avenue will

not be taking lightly.

“You can’t take it away

from them they’ve been

in two cup finals in two

years. That says an awful lot about them. One year a team might sneak it but two years on the trot says something, you got to have something about you and they have.”

Avenue United are favourites going into the game but they will not be taking the challenge of underdogs Bridge United B lightly. They will know how determined Bridge will be especially after last year and how good they can preform in cup encounters. However, Avenue will be hoping with the talented squad they have that they will retain the Cup on Saturday.

IF TRUTH be told, nobody in the national football sphere is giving Clare much of a chance against Cork on Sunday. Just go online and you can get Clare to win at 24/1 while Cork are 1/200 on to lower the Banner, making it hard to believe it’s still only a two horse race.

However, in the bowels of base camp, Clare are keeping a relatively low profile and are happy to play up the All-Ireland and back-to-back National League champions ahead of this Munster opener.

Equally, anyone that knows captain Gordon Kelly can testify that he plays with his heart on his sleeve and doesn’t accept second best, even when playing against the top team in the country.

“Cork are the All-Ireland champions and have already won the National League this year and going down there playing them is a big ask but there’s no pressure on us and as we have been playing well so everyone is looking forward to it and come Sunday, we will be up for it and ready for the challenge.

“The mood in the camp has been good. We have worked hard, we’ve played a few challenges games and played well so we are looking forward to the game.”

The form guide differs however as Cork are off the back of a Division 1 victory while Clare failed to come out of Division 4 for the fourth successive year and finished just above Kilkenny, London and Leitrim in the table. However, Miltown’s Kelly feels Clare’s league standing is false.

“I think maybe we were the mas- ters of our own destruction as much as anything in the league.

“We had a few players sent off including myself at the start of the campaign and after that we were missing so many that we were under pressure and the league kind of got away from us as it went on. I don’t think the league was a true reflection of all the effort we have put in this year so far.”

So what would be a true reflection?

“I believe that if we play to our ability, we will give Cork a good game and if it’s in the melting pot in the last few minutes, you’d never know. Big surprises have happened in sport and if we were to beat Cork, for everyone else it would be a big surprise but we have worked hard and we believe that if we play to our potential and everyone performs to their maximum, we can win on Sunday.”

To accomplish great things, one must not only act, but also dream; not only plan but also believe.

If Gordon Kelly is anything to go by, Clare do believe but need to match that belief with a performance unlike any other seen this season.

BRIDGE UNITED B shocked most by reaching the Clare Cup final last year, a feat that many would have put down to a bit of fortune and some good luck along the way but they have proved just how much of a formidable cup side they can be by reaching back to back finals.

Such a great cup run again after last years final defeat could not have been predicted and what makes it harder to believe is that Bridge United B were relegated from Division 1 this year having only won one league game out of eighteen all season. However, their form in the Clare Cup over the past two years is one that cannot be argued with.

Having only beaten lower league teams with the exception of a big win over Bridge Celtic, manager Mark Egan admits that the semi-final against Burren was a great game for them before the final.

“The Burren was definitely the most difficult game. It was a good workout, going the whole distance there and coming through has its just rewards and at the end of the day the lads were delighted with it.”

Last years 3-0 defeat to Avenue in the cup final will still be in the minds of the players but a lot has changed since then according to Egan.

“The lads know that we went up to the final last year and they got caught up in the moment and we never really produced the goods on the day.

“All we can do is get the heads right this time around and hopefully we will give them a good game.”

If Bridge United B are to be successful against Avenue United on Saturday they will need the experience of players such as Albert Finnan, Gavin Downes and Damien Murray along with the fresh talent of Alan Mulready and Dan Larkin to aid them to victory as they look to gain revenge from last years final heartache.

Éire Óg 4-11 – Ennistymon 1-07 at Cusack Park, Ennis

A STORMING last ten minutes helped Éire Óg win this prestigious title for the first time since 2000. In a highly entertaining game played in blustery conditions at headquarters, the Townies outscored their opponents by 1-6 to no score in the final ten minutes.

Ennistymon played with the aid of a very strong breeze in the opening half but trailed at the break by two points at 1-4 to 0-5. The vital score came from mdifielder James Woods in the 28th minute to separate two very evenly matched sides.

The leaders stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half with two goals in the opening five minutes. Firstly Conall Ó hAiniféin was fouled in the square and substitute Paddy O’Malley scored the resultant penalty with his first touch. Than only a minute later, O’Malley turned provider for Eanna Fennell to score Éire Óg’s third goal. Indeed, O’Malley was to have a huge influence on the destination of the title as he went on to score 1-5 in his second half cameo.

Ennistymon replied with a goal of their own as James McConigley dispatched his side’s penalty to the net in the 38th minute. And were it not for some great goalkeeping from goalkeeper Nathan Murray, the cup could so easily be heading north to Ennistymon as on four occasions during the game, he denied the Ennistymon forwards especially McConigley twice in the second half.

However, goals win games and when Éire Óg substitute Sean Hanrahan raised another green flag in the 50th minute, the Éire Óg players finally believed it would be their day and duly followed up with points from Paddy O’Malley (4) and Nicholas Twumasi to seal a well deserved victory for the Townies.

Éire Óg
Nathan Murray, Kieran Malone, John Allan, Martin Darcy, James Wylde, Dylan Casey, Dara Walsh, James Woods (1-0), Lee Quirke, Kaylan O’Loughlin (Capt.), NicholasTwumasi (0-2), EvanToomey, Eanna Fennell (1-2), Conall Ó hAiniféin (0-2), Gary Roche.

Subs
Paddy O’Malley (1-5) for Roche, Brian Flanagan for O’Loughlin (inj), Michael Moloney for Darcy, Sean Hanrahan (1-0) for Casey, Patrick Chesser for Quirke

Ennistymon
Sean Noonan, Dara Crowe, Shane Doyle, Cathal Nagle, David Fitzgerald, Kieran Vaughan, Kevin Hehir, Mattie Kinch (Capt.), David McCarthy, SeanTwomey (0-1),Aaron McNulty (0-1), John Dillon (0-1), James McConigley (1-2), Barry Keating (0-2), Joseph Gallagher

Subs
Cathal Frawley for Doyle, Shane Doyle for McNulty

Referee
Michael Talty (Kilmurry Ibrickane)

Bridge United B 2 – Burren United 2 (AET) Bridge United won 5-4 on penalties at The County Grounds, Doora

ROMANCE and heartbreak. That’s cup football and it was to be found in abundance at a very and windy County Grounds on Sunday evening as Bridge United carved their own niche in Clare soccer history.

History and romance was in qualifying for their second Clare Cup final in a row – the only B side ever to do so.

Heartbreak was being in Burren United corner, as they thought they had this game won, not once, but twice before they finally succumbed on penalties.

The weather may have been foul as a squall early in the game, combined with the strong breeze blowing towards the Quin Road end, made for conditions that weren’t conducive to good football, but there was still drama aplenty.

From the opening minute to the last kick when Barry Downes finally decided the contest when converting Bridge B’s final penalty and catapulted them back into another cup final.

It was rough justice on Burren – losing a semi-final on penalties is, but proof once more that anything can happen in cup football was the real winner over the 120 minutes plus of drama as league form was thrown out the window.

As early as the first minute it looked as if Burren would expose the chasm between the sides at league level – they were promoted to the Premier Division last Wednesday, while Bridge United B have long since been relegated to the Third Division.

That’s how long it took for Burren to open the scoring, after an Ian McInerney’s inswinging corner was met at the near post by Mark McCarthy and flashed to the net past a shell-shocked Barry Deasy.

Burren, who played against the breeze in the first half, looked like holding that advantage until the break, only to be hit just on the stroke of half-time as a sweeping Bridge movement was finished to the net by Barry Downes after he latched on to a Brendan Murphy cross to fire home.

The second half turned into a dogged affair – Burren weren’t living up to their undoubted pedigree, while Bridge United, even though they held sway thanks to Ian McInerney presence in midfield.

However, with warhorse Albert Finnan marshalling things brilliantly at the back, the game looked to be heading for extra-time until Evan Talty struck for Burren with ten minutes remaining.

His low free kick from just outside the area beat the wall, skidding on the greasy surface before flying past Barry Deasy into the net.

It looked to have decided things until Brendan Murphy produced a contender for goal of the season. Ghosting up the left flank, Murphy let fly from 25 yards and his shot thundered into the top corner past a bewildered Craig Flanagan.

It was worthy of winning a cup tie, and that’s just what happened after penalties, but not before Burren thought they had sealed a first cup final spot in ten years with five minutes of extra-time left.

Martin McDonagh broke clear down the right wing and his cross into the box was met and finished to the net confidently by Mark McCarthy, only for his namesake, Dave McCarthy to raise his flag for offside.

There were howls of protest that could be heard nearly as far as the Burren, but to no avail. The flag stayed up, no goal, which meant the game drifted to the inevitability of penalties.

Evan Talty converted Burren’s first kick, before Albert Finnan set the tone for Bridge but scoring his. It was advantage Bridge when Barry Deasy save Mark McCarthy’s kick and from there they held on to that advantage as Gavin Downes, Robert Conlon, Jamie O’Gorman converted their kicks.

Gihat Marine, Martin McDonagh and Liam Keane scored for Burren to leave it at 4-4, but Barry Downes had the final say coolly slotting his home to secure Burren’s passage to the final.

WHEN three members of the Clare senior camogie management team, including manager Patsy Fahey, resigned just over six weeks ago, the Banner’s season threatened to implode before it had even begun in earnest.

After a first ever winter programme and an unprecedented extended training squad, Clare were looking to climb a few rungs of the national camogie ladder this year but three successive league defeats allied to college commitments from a large chunk of the young squad made Fahey question the players’ commitment to the cause and so he, along with selector Eamon O’Loughlin and Ger O’Halloran, decided to step down.

However, a third selector, Tom Hogan, remained with the squad and out of the ashes of the last regime, he has taken on the mantle of manager and assembled a new backroom team around him along with a renewed commitment from the players ahead of this weekend’s Munster senior final.

“It has worked out okay. Ger [O’Halloran] came back a week after that again and we have been working away three times a week since. We also have a couple of challenges played in the last couple of weeks against Limerick twice and the Gal- way intermediates so we have been working away okay.”

It may be seen as a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire for Clare though, as their return to competitive action after a nine-week absence sees them take on Cork, the most successful camogie side of the last decade who are desperate for success themselves after being out of the winners enclosure in all competitions since 2009. Not only that but Clare will also meet the Rebel county in the first round of the All-Ireland championship four weeks later.

“Going out against Cork, not having a competitive game for so long, is not ideal. We saw Cork play Tipperary and they beat them fairly well so we know we are really up against it.

“We would have also preferred if we didn’t have to play Cork so soon again after the Munster championship but that’s the way it goes and that’s what we have to do.”

And far from wallowing in self pity, Hogan feels that the players themselves are eager to prove themselves once again and put recent unwanted publicity behind them.

“There are a share of them doing exams at the moment and trying to fit in training as well so it’s hard to get a full panel together at the moment but I know that they are anxious to get back in action alright.

“Siobhan [Lafferty] is more or less out and Kate Lynch is nursing a finger injury at the moment but hopefully she will be fit to play. They are our two concerns at the moment but they are two huge concerns as well. “We are looking for a performance this weekend. It would mean a huge amount if we could pull it off but it’s a tall ask really.” Lest we forget that the darkest hour is just before the dawn.