Category: Sport

Clarecastle 3-14 – Broadford 0-09 at Clarecastle

CLARECASTLE were blowing off the cobwebs while Broadford were getting tangled in theirs as this Clare Cup opener ended in a rather lopsided manner. The 14 point margin eclipsed the sides’ championship encounter last summer but in actuality it was a much closer game than the scoreline reflected.

The difference on the day was in terms of pace and finishing. Clarecastle were sharp out of the blocks and economical in their shooting while Broadford showed a typical opening day rustiness and indeed had enough chances both below and above the crossbar to win two games on their way to a whopping 18 wides total.

Clarecastle’s attacking triumvirate centred around Jonathan Clancy, Tyrone Kearse and Aaron Considine who injected added pace and guile to the attack and hence all contributed handsomely to the scoreboard.

The writing was on the wall as early as the first quarter when the home side built up a 1-5 to 0-1 advantage with Aaron Considine the chief marksman with 1-2. The goal was a well worked move involving Clancy, Kearse and Danny Scanlon who picked out the run of the unmarked Considine in the centre to finish to the net from close range.

Broadford improved as the half went on but were continually frustrated by slow striking, a plethora of missed goal opportunities and the fact that Clarecastle were able to quickly cancel out their scores on their way to a half-time lead of 1-8 to 0-4.

A similar pattern continued after the break with Broadford attempting to spark a recovery but ultimately impeded by their own profligacy, alowing Clarecastle to play within themselves and match whatever fightback was thrown at them.

With the result beyond doubt, Clarecastle finished the job with two final sucker-punch goals that Tyrone Kearse provided, first being in the right place to take advantage of a penetrating Garry Farmer delivery and then in the final minute, he controlled and finished an Eric Flynn crossfield pass to wrap up the points.

Broadford will have to learn quickly if they are to consolidate their position in the top flight of the Clare Cup.

Clarecastle
Jamie Coughlan, Seanie Moloney, Garrett Barry, Ollie Plunkett, Garry Farmer, Patrick Kelly, Stephen O’Halloran, Jonathan Clancy (0-3), Eamon Callinan,Aaron Considine (1-3),Tyrone Kearse (2-6 4f), Derek Quinn (0-1), Darragh Moloney, Danny Scanlon, SeanTalty (0-1)

Subs
Eric Flynn for Talty (HT), Kevin Clohessy for S. Moloney (HT), Fearghus Ryan for Plunkett (51 mins),AndrewPage for Callinan (52 mins), Jason Considine for D. Moloney (52 mins)

Broadford
Cian O’Brien, John Corcoran,Aidan O’Brien, Stephen Gunning, Peter O’Brien, Cathal Chaplin (0-3 1f, 2’65’s),Alan Kilcoyne, James Gunning (0-1), Craig Chaplin (0-1),Aonghus O’Brien, Darragh Corcoran, DeclanTeefy (0-1), PaurigTaylor (0-3f), Niall Moloney, Padraig Hickey

Subs
Mark Moloney for Teefy (36 mins),Alan McMahon (Snr) for N. Moloney (51 mins),Alan McMahon (Jnr) for S. Gunning (55 mins)

Man of the Match
Tyrone Kearse (Clarecastle) Referee Rory Hickey (Éire Óg)

Wolfe Tones 1-16 – Tulla 2-13 at Shannon

A LONG RANGE free from Bobby McPhilips deep into injury time was enough to give Wolfe Tonnes a share of the spoils in a closely fought first round match in Shannon on Sunday.

A stunning goal from Tulla’s Daniel O’Halloran with five minutes remaining looked to have given the east Clare side the perfect start to this year’s league campaign, until McPhilips stepped up to tie the match with his long range leveller.

In truth, it would have been rough justice had the Tones lost this match after leading for most of the afternoon’s hurling. The Shannon sides raced into an early lead thanks to a 12th minute goal from Aaron Cunningham and some good scores from Gareth McPhilips and Ronan Hehir.

The Senior B champions were not be overawed however and were still very much in contention at half time thanks to a goal form Mike Murphy and points from Brian Lynch, Aidan Lynch, Andrew Quinn and Raymond Steward.

After coming in just 1-8 to 1-6 down at half time, the east Clare side were within a score of Wolfe Tones for the rest of the match and good second half points from David McInerney, Andrew Quinn, Ciaran Brennan and Dan O’Halloran insured thet they would take something home with them from their opening day trip to Shannon.

Wolfe Tones

Paul Hogan, John Coen, Joe McGauley, John Gillfoyle, George Justice, Bobby McPhilips, Barry Laughnane,Aaron Cunningham, Shane Chambers, Brendan Hughes, Ronan Hehir, Gareth McPhilips, Richie Lillis, Mark Lennon, Daithi O’Connell

Subs
Alan Hehir for R. Hehir, Niall Murphy for Justice, Kevin Mccafferty for Lennon.

Tulla
Philip Brennan, Eugene Cooney, SeanTorpey, John Fahy, Donnacha McNamara, EannaTorpey, Brian Lynch, David McInerney, Cathal Dinan, Kieran Brennan, Michael Murphy,Aidan Lynch, Raymond Stewart,AndrewQuinn, Danny O’Halloran

Subs
Mark Quinn for MMurphy, Conor O’Halloran for Stewart.

Ballyea 2-19 – Tubber 1-10 at Ruan

BALLYEA are closing in on another under 21 title, two years after they last won the title in this grade. Standing in their way in the semi-final are St Joseph’s Doora-Barefield after the black and amber scored a comprehensive over disappointing Tubber side on Saturday afternoon.

All down to new county minor captain Tony Kelly, who followed up his virtuoso performance in the first round when his tally of 2-10 put reigning champions Wolfe Tones to the sword with another man-of-thematch display.

This time the midfielder accounted for 1-10, with his brilliant 28th minute goal putting Ballyea on the road to victory. That strike, from a very difficult angle, followed up three earlier points and helped Ballyea forge a 1-9 to 0-6 interval lead.

Up to that point it was an even affair with Tubber, thanks to the immense display of Patrick O’Connor at centre-back stayed in the ball game. O’Connor hit five of Tubber’s first half total from frees, Ballyea never looked back after Kelly’s strike.

They were the more evenly balanced team, with Niall Deasy’s contribution of 0-5 from play being also crucial to their cause as they eased to a 12-point win. Points by Conor Clancy and Patrick O’Connor from play early in the second half did reduce the margin to four points, while O’Connor’s goal in the 37th put the game back in the melting pot once more as the margin was down to two points.

However, from there Ballyea kicked on once more as points from Deasy, Paul Flanagan and Cathal Doohan by the 40th settled them once more, while Kelly resumed his scoring spree in the last 15 minutes when adding five more to his total.

Any lingering hopes Tubber may have had of launching a last-ditch rally were extinguished on 55 minutes when Paudge McMahon struck for Ballyea’s second goal as they stretched their lead into double figures.

St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield 3-11 – Smith O’Brien’s 2-12 at O’Garney Park, Sixmilebridge

A LESSON in finishing and composure as St Joseph’s made the most of their scoring chances to advance to the semi-finals. Defensive errors allowed Doora/Barefield to raid for two opportunistic first half goals in the space of five minutes and it had a huge bearing on the game as therafter, Smith O’Brien’s concentrated all their efforts on obtaining goals instead of picking off their points which proved a costly error in the end.

Much credit must go to St Joseph’s back seven as much as their attack for this latest result for stopping three 20 metre frees as well as smothering numerous attacks over the hour. Central to that miserly rearguard was Alan O’Neill who had a superb hour for the Parish at the centre of the defence and the Killaloe side found it extremely difficult to curb his influence.

A much more physical St Joseph’s side started the brighter, pulling 0-3 to 0-1 clear by the fifth minute through Shane O’Connor (2) and Jarlath Colleran. Smith O’Brien’s eventually settled and upon taking the lead solely through the stick of Kevin Walsh, they appeared to be taking control of the game before being hit with the first sucker-punch in the 20th minute.

An Alan O’Neill long range free wasn’t cleared and the ball broke inside for Ian Lyons to instinctly kick past onrushing goalkeeper Jason Monaghan for the opening goal. Micheál Ryan pulled a point back immediately for Smith O’Brien’s but they were soon on the backfoot once more when Niall Collin’s innocuous effort from 30 metres bounced past Monaghan to extend St Joseph’s lead at 2-5 to 0-5.

That six point advantage was maintained at the break (2-6 to 0-6) after Kevin Walsh’s 20 metre free was stopped while Ben Hynes follow-up drifted wide and there was futher frustration on the resumption as a Micheál Ryan 20 metre free was saved by Mikey Roseingrave while Luke Hession also had a goal opportunity but failed to connect with an aerial pull.

That obsession with finding the net certainly hampered Smith O’Brien’s and the difference in finishing was magnified when St Joseph’s hit on the counter-attack for Barry Millane to grab a third goal in the 41st minute.

Again Smith O’Brien’s rallied but had another Walsh 20 metre free stopped before finally making the breakthrough in the 44th minute through substitute Christopher Monaghan. However, St Joseph’s stubborn defence ensured that the margin would remain at five until another substitute Barry Power scored a consolation goal for Smith O’Brien’s with the last puck of the game. It is St Joseph’s who march on however and they will now play Ballyea in the semi-final in two week’s time.

St Joseph’s Doora/ Barefield
Mikey Roseingrave, Niall Hassett, Steven Collins, Darragh Murphy, Eamonn Clohessy,Alan O’Neill, Liam Clohessy, Jarlath Colleran (0-1), Leo Duggan, Niall Collins (1-0), Donal Fanning, Niall DeLoughery (0-3), Barry Millane (1-1), Shane O’Connor (0-6 3f), Ian Lyons (1-0)

Subs
Declan Meehan for L. Clohessy (HT), Cathal Duggan for Fanning (45 mins),Aaron Landy for Meehan (51 mins), Eoin Hennessy for N. Collins (60 mins)

Smith O’Brien’s
Jason Monaghan, Cian Nolan, Mark McInerney,Alan Lyons, Noel Howard, Mark Stritch (0-2 1f, 1’65), Kevin McEvoy, David Gough, Mark O’Halloran (0-1), Cian Moloney, Dean Sinnott, KevinWalsh (0-8 5f), Luke Hession, Micheál Ryan (0-1), Ben Hynes

Subs
Noel McInerney for Hynes (HT), Christopher Monaghan (1-0) for Moloney (HT), Barry Power (1-0) for Gough (49 mins)

Man of the Match
Alan O’Neill (St Joseph’s D/ Barefield) Referee Ger Lyons (Ruan)

Newmarket-on-Fergus 1-17 – Kilmaley 1-14 at Clarecastle

IT TOOK over 140 minutes to separate the sides but in the end, it was Newmarket who held their nerve to qualify for the last four. Much like the drawn game, both sides had their periods of dominance in an encounter that swung one way and then the next before Newmarket’s superior composure and fresher legs in extratime saw them prevail.

In addition, Newmarket simply had the better spread of scorers throughout with six different forwards getting in on the scoring action while Kilmaley were over-reliant on their two scoring forwards, Daire Keane and Mikey O’Neill.

Newmarket were quick out of the blocks and had two points on the board through Ian Cusack and Shane Liddy before Kilmaley cranked into gear. However, upon settling, Kilmaley hit six points without reply starting with a hat-trick of O’Neill frees followed by eyecatching efforts from Daire Keane in the right corner and an Eoin Enright lineball.

However, the topsy-turvy nature of the tie meant that it was Newmarket’s turn to respond pulling back three before the break and adding four more unanswered points in the third quarter to pull themselves 0-9 to 0-6 clear. In the midst of that purple patch, Kilmaley goalkeeper Bryan O’Loughlin had to make an acrobatic double stop to deny a Shane Cusack volley from close range and it would make a significant difference as Kilmaley finally broke their 30 minute scoring drought by hitting three points in as many minutes to gain parity at 0-9 apiece by the turn of the final quarter.

Newmarket again attempted to shake off their opponents with points from Tommy Griffin and Noel Frawley but after a Conor Cleary reply, for the second successive week, it was Daire Keane who levelled up the game at the end of normal time with a free.

Extra-time was a different story however as the introduction of Donagh Keogh and Liam Clancy for Newmarket saw them up the ante once more while Kilmaley increasingly looked ragged and war weary.

Shane Liddy’s 64th minute goal had Newmarket ahead by 1-14 to 014 at the midway point but despite another Keane equalising 20 metre free to the net in the 73rd minute, Newmarket simply brushed of that setback and finished strongly with points from Clancy (2) and Shane Liddy to finally book their place in the semi-final against Cratloe.

Newmarket- on- Fergus
Ian Mulcahy, Niall Garry, Niall O’Connor, Shane Kelleher,Alan McInerney, Darren O’Connor, David Liddy, Sean O’Connor (0-3 2f, 1’65), Frank Melody,Thomas Griffin (0-2), Niall Enright, Noel Frawley (0-1), Ian Cusack (0-2), Shane Cusack, Shane Liddy (1-4 3f)

Subs
LiamClancy (0-3) for Enright (48 mins), Donagh Keogh (0-2) for S. Cusack (58 mins)

Kilmaley
Bryan O’Loughlin, Martin O’Connor, Stephen Griffey, Niall McGuane, Kevin Connellan, Colin McGuane, Kevin McNamara, Eoin Enright (0-1 s/l), Conor Cleary (0-1), Michael Pyne, Enda Finucane, John Cabey, Michael O’Neill (0-8 6f), Daire Keane (1-4 1-2f), Shane Darcy

Subs
Eoin Fitzgerald for Connellan (26 mins), Killian McNamara for Darcy (43 mins), Paul Kennedy for Cabey (43 mins), Sean Hayes for Pyne (60 mins), Michael Pyne for McNamara (60 mins), John Cabey for Cleary (ET)

Man of the Match
Darren O’Connor (Newmarket- on- Fergus) Referee Ger Hoey (Killanena)

Clooney-Quin 3-07 – Crusheen 0-12 at Éire Óg

CLOONEY-QUIN progress to the quarter-final of the under 21 B championship after turning around a half time deficit of three points in a great second half display to clinch it by a point in this first round replay.

Crusheen started well but it was Clooney-Quin who struck first as Peter Duggan got the first score of his impressive tally from a ‘65 in the opening minutes. From here it became the battle of placed balls as Crusheen’s Darragh O’Doherty then converted two 65’s of his own.

Conor O’Donnell seemed to be the only man standing out in open play hitting four points in the first half as Crusheen took control.

Two free’s from centre forward Jamie Fitzgibbon added on the pressure which forced Duggan to go for goal from a 21 yard free that rattled the back of the net. However, a poor first half display from Clooney-Quin meant they trailed 0-9 to 1-3 at the break.

Crusheen still remained in control at the start of the second half but they were unable to build on their lead which gave Clooney-Quin hope.

Then with a quarter of an hour left it quickly became the Peter Duggan show after he found his form and went on to hit 2-3 giving his side the lead.

Crusheen were now on the back foot and only managed to reply with three points. However, after the nine points they scored in the first half this meant the game was still close to the finish.

They trailed by two points in closing stages as they went in search of a goal but it never came. A point is all they could manage but this wouldn’t suffice as Clooney-Quinn were victorious on a one point margin and will now face Corofin in the next round of the under 21 championship.

Clooney- Quin
Keith Hogan, Bryan McInerney, Brian Clune, Ronan McMahon, Niall McMahon, Ruaidhri McNamara, David Kennedy, Dáire Hannon (0-1); David Barry, Ryan O’Neill, Joeseph Clune (0-1); Conor Cunningham, Peter Duggan (3-5, 2f, 2‘65); Gary Hogan, Jason Ryan.

Subs
Shane Smyth for DBarry, John Reynolds for J Clune.

Crusheen
Brian Dillon, Ruairi Halpin, Conor Hayes, Jason Daffy, Jason Greene, Conor O’Loughlin, Darragh O’Doherty (0-2, 2’65);Youen Horner, Padraic O’Malley, SeanWeir, Jamie Fitzgibbon (0-4, 2f); Edward Forgarty, Ethan O’Donnell (0-1); Conor O’Donnell (0-5);Anthony Rogers.

NIALL MALONE and Diarmaid Nash are into the All-Ireland Intermediate Doubles final after victory in their All-Ireland Intermediate Doubles semi-final on Sunday. The Tuamgraney pair, playing in their home court, eventually won through on a 21-19, 21-19 score after Roscommon duo Chris Doolin and Niall McGrath put up a strong challenge.

The Clare pair will play Kilkenny’s Nicholas Anthony and Brian Manogue in the All-Ireland final on the weekend of April 2/3 while Nash is still also in the hunt for the Intermediate Singles title. He takes on Mayoman Stephen Cooney in Claremorris this Sunday in the All-Ireland semifinal. Cooney is himself an accomplished handballer and Nash will have it all to do to keep his bid for an Intermediate All-Ireland double alive.

John Cawley plays his re-arranged All-Ireland Golden Masters B Singles semi-final against Galway’s Denis Phelan in Shannon on Wednesday night. Shannon is also the venue for an All-Ireland semi-final doubleheader this Saturday.

The Loughnane sisters Paula and Sarah take on Ciara and Clodagh McMenamin in Ladies Junior B Doubles while Cathal Hannon plays the Junior singles semi-final against Roscommon man Denis Creaton.

This weekend also sees the All-Ireland juvenile finals take place. Clare are involved in no less than seven finals and the action takes place in Roscommon Saturday and Sunday and in Crinkle on Saturday. FINALS WEEKEND Saturday 2nd April 2011, in Crinkle, Offaly, at1pm: GU15D: Natasha Coughlan/Michelle Nihill (Clare) v Aisling Maher/Denise Love (Kilkenny) GU17D: Hannah OBrien/Aine Mc Inerny [Clare] v Lauren Barcoe/Mary Buggy (Kilkenny) BU14D: Fergal Coughlan/Jamie Keane (Clare) v Seamus Sinnott/Ben O’Shea (Wexford) BU14S: Brian Fahy (Clare) v Daniel Curry (Wicklow) Sunday,April 3, in St Coman’s, Roscommon, starts 1.30pm: BU15D: Jacob Loughnane/Ciaran Cooney (Clare) v Evan Sheridan/Dylan Sheridan (Meath) BU16D: Niall Bolton/Colin Corbett [Clare] v Patrick McCrory/Pol Clarke (Tyrone) BU16S: Colin Crehan [Clare] v Darren Doherty (Monaghan)

Clare 1-07 – Longford 0-08 at Cusack Park, Ennis

ACADEMIC IN terms of promotion for Clare but they made sure that Longford’s charge for a final spot was also severely dented in what only can be described as a gritty display on Sunday. The Leinster side came to Clare headquarters with an unbeaten record, primed to take advantage of whichever county lost the top of the table clash between Roscommon and Wicklow but Clare had other ideas and with pride at stake, they dug in admirably to somehow come away with the points.

It was a timely confidence boost for Clare who had cursed their luck up to this point of the campaign but while they were fortunate to secure the win on Sunday after only scoring one solitary point in the second half, it must be said that Longford also greatly aided Clare’s cause in their wasteful shooting and over-dependence on Sean McCormack for inspiration and scores.

In all, Longford kicked 16 wides over the 70 minutes, a criminal amount at any level and they were also Arsenal-like in their pursuit of goals in that they repeatedly tried to walk the ball into the net. In saying that, Clare’s appetite for the win was obvious from the outset and they worked very hard to close down the space at the back. No more so than captain Gordon Kelly and Kevin Hartnett who both intercepted certain goals as well as being inspira- tional for their side. However, It was Gary Brennan who literally stood head and shoulders above the rest around the centre in another leadership display and he even picked up the crucial score of the game in first half injury-time when fisting to the net to give Clare a comfortable interval lead.

Indeed, Clare had patches of real quality football in that first half when starting and finishing strongly. How- ever their dominance in possession was not reflected on the scoreboard despite pushing 0-4 to 0-2 clear by the 20th minute, through David Tubridy (3) and Brennan.

Through Sean McCormack however, Longford were level by the 25th minute and might have pushed on themselves had they their shooting boots on. In addition, John Hayes intercepted a goalbound effort while Niall Mulligan somehow fisted wide at the back post with the goal at his mercy and a relieved Clare punished on the counter-attack with the final two scores of the half.

First a Gary Brennan lineball was caught by Tubridy in the left corner who dummied onto his left before floating an inch perfect effort over the bar. Then in the third minute of injury-time, Gary Brennan was well positioned to flick a Kevin Hartnett high delivery to the top left corner of the net to ease the home side into a 1-6 to 0-4 half-time lead.

With their promotion hopes fading, Longford came out fighting and while they lifted the tempo of the game, the standard of shooting plummeted further into almost comical proportions. In between the plethora of wides, Sean McCormack slowly chipped away at the deficit with only a David Tubridy free in riposte and by the 62nd minute, the lead was slashed to only two.

However, while it was a exceedingly nervy finale that stretched into six minutes of injury-time while also seeing Alan Clohessy wrongly singled out and given a second yellow, Clare fought tooth and nail to keep their heads above water and can be thankful to Hartnett and Kelly for their vital second half interceptions.

A much needed boost for Clare who will look to further enhance their championship preparations with a trip to Fermanagh this Sunday.

MEETING at 6.30 in the morning is typically a burden for most. This however was not the case last Saturday morning for the Ennis RFC under 11’s. All 47 travelling players were at the meeting point well in advance of the coach leaving. Indeed this set the tone for the day.

For most this was their inaugural Rugby Tour. The excitement was palpable. We were bringing 3 teams to play in one of the country’s premier Mini Rugby Festivals in Willow Park with some 55 teams battling it out, on 14 pitches. This includes top school sides from Dublin, and representatives from the four provinces.

We duly arrived for registration at 9.30 and were ready to go at 10.30 for our first games. In the morning our teams were pitched against Wexford and Boyne in the A section (each played twice), and two further teams against De la Salle, Willow Park, St Michaels and Castlepark, Willow Park and Aravon in the B section of the competition.

This indeed was a very competitive and tough tournament with outstanding displays from all teams. The Festival itself does not determine overall winners yet encourages participation in a competitive environment.

The afternoon series of matches saw Ennis against St Marys, Tullamore and Colraine in the A section, Corinthians, Ul Bohs, Willow Pk and Barnhall, St Mary’s and Rahaelty in the B section.

All in all we played 19 matches re- cording 11 victories and two draws. This was a very impressive return during the day, and reflects the high level of expectation set by this bunch of players and coaches, and indeed the progress made this year. Amongst these victories there were numerous outstanding displays with Ronan Lannigan (top try scorer), Liam Wall, Ross O Flaherty, Tom O Brien, Morgan Garry, Turlough Barrett, Oisin Mangan, Frank Roche and Ben O Donnell deserving special mention.

Events continued in the National Aquatic Centre after and those of us that expected a quiet bus on the return to Ennis were deeply mistaken. A true rugby tour with plenty of fun, laughter.

A great day was had by all and the coaching body want to thank the parents for their support in this event with many driving to Dublin to support the event. This is a significant endorsement for all involved.

Ennis teams (pictured below)
LiamWall, Conall Bolger, Ross OFlaherty, Lorchan Clancy, Barry Neylon, JP Neville, Shane Brennan, Roan Lannigan, Ben Ryan, Frank Roche, Cathal Lennon, Sean Andreasson, Mike Reid, Joe Spellisey, Eanna ODonaghue Paul Tuohy, Eldon Nolan, EoghanWallace, Ben ODonnell, Eoin Martin, Ulick OSullivan,TomO Brien, Kevin Reynolds, Marc Barry, StephenTalty, Zak McDonagh,Turlough Barrett, CaimanWhelan, Luke Griffey, Dylan Myhill Eliaz Kunz, James Nugent, Eoin Clancy, Stepehn Dolan, Darragh Slattery, Oisin Mangan, Josseph Connaughton, David McNamara, Gerard Kavanagh, Morgan Garry, PhilipTalty,Aidan Jordan, Shane Vaughan, EvanToomey, HarryTalty

THE CLARE footballers completed their home schedule with a much needed victory on Sunday as they rallied to fend off an eager yet wasteful promotion chasing Longford side. It was a more determined than stylish display, with just two scorers and only managing one point in the second half but manager Micheál McDermott was happy with the attitude and application of the players following on from last week’s decisive defeat at the hands of Roscommon.

“I’m delighted that we came out on the right side of a victory and we probably didn’t play well. We played well for the first ten or twelve minutes, then went out of it and came into as well in the second half for a while and then went out it again.

“Longford in fairness kicked a lot of bad wides and they did us a favour today but the rub of the green went our way today and that’s why we got the two points. We said after last Sunday that we were going to give a wholehearted performance for the rest of the league and that whoever we played were not going to be promoted because of us and that’s what we set out our stall for today. The ef- fort, the workrate and the intensity of the lads out there today, it’s a credit to them. They worked to a standstill and they were just out on their legs at the end and you could see that with a couple of minutes left because they worked so hard. They deserve a break and they got that break today to get those two points.

“They knew last Sunday that they left away a victory and promotion and with the attitude in training on Tuesday and Thursday night, I knew coming in here today that we were going to win. They were so switched on and so focused because they are actually playing better football this year than last year in patches and probably not getting the results.

“Last year we would probably have played worse and won by a point but this year they’re actually making progress on the quality of football and not getting the results. But Tuesday night there was such an intensity in training and they really wanted to put things right because this was the last game at home this year and they wanted to give a performance for whatever Clare public was here.

“Listen the public will only come out and support you when you are actually playing good football and winning. We know that and that’s what we are trying to do but they gave a great performance at times of character and heart and you look at the Irish [soccer] team last night and people will say poor game but they showed grit and determination to win it and we were the same there today”

Next up for Clare is a perilous trip to Fermanagh that McDermott is actuely aware of. “Fermanagh are in a little bit of disarray at the moment but whatever disarray is there will be sorted by next Sunday and they will be out to put a backlash on somebody but we have to concentrate on our own game and we have to improve on our second half performance. It’s important that we go up away from home next week and get another two points because we said these three games are about building for the championship and this is where it started today. We know we are not the finished article by a long shot but we are working hard on it and hopefully the improvement will come.”