Category: Sport

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.”

CLARE ARE now top of the Division 3 table after six rounds and will play second placed Fermanagh in the final round on Saturday at a Clare venue at 4.45pm.

Clare were disappointed at the news on Sunday morning of a walk over from Longford. Longford are bottom of the table without any points and are scheduled to travel to Limerick for the final round on Sunday.

With the top four teams contesting the finals on April 16/17 Clare’s most likely opponents for their most important game to date this year will be either Down, Wicklow or Leitrim.

The two teams that qualify for the final will be promoted to Division 2 so in reality the importance of the semi-final exceeds that of the final.

Clare and Fermanagh last met in Croke Park in the TG4 All Ireland Intermediate Final in September 2009 while in that same campaign Clare travelled to Fermanagh to play them in the group stages with victory going to Clare on both of these occasion’s.

Much has changed in both campaigns with some players leaving and more players joining both county panels since then.

Regardless of the outcome on Saturday both sides are through to the semi-finals so maybe the respective managements may use the opportunity to try out some fringe players.

Woodstock Golf Club
Winter League Round 5 Results 1 James Carmody 304pts 2 Nick Germaine 303pts 3 George Smith 302pts 4 John O’Connor 299pts 4 Aidrian Kearney 299pts 4 Noel Mulcahy 299pts Sun Singles 1 Brendan McMahon 16 43pts 2 Pat Keane 11 43pts Next weekends competition is Winter League round 6. Club Singles Stableford

Dromoland Results
Stableford Competition Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th 1 Niall Geraghty 40pts 2 Dermot O’Neill 40pts 3 Jimmy McManus 39pts This weekend sees the start of our Diary Competitions. 18 Hole stableford competition with re-entry, all members welcome.

Kilkee Golf Club
Spring LeagueWeek 4 Results 1 P Harte 13 37pts WinningTeamB

B Harte, L Mullane, GReidy,T Carr, C Clancy MDaly – 127pts

Ennis Golf Club
Mens Scotch Foursomes. Sat. & Sun. March 26th & 27th. 1st Niall Howard & Garry Duggan 62.5Nett. 2ndWalter OBrien & Mat Molyneaux 63.Nett. 3rd Ian Myatt & Sean Myatt. 64 Nett. 4th Pat Murphy & Darragh Murphy. 64.5Nett. Dr. Rodgers Shield. 25th March 1st Michael Kenny, Michael Culliney,Matt Flynn & Sean Ryan 96Pts. 2nd Ger Hanrahan, Bren A Considine, Charlie McEnery & Eamon Kelly. 94Pts. 3rd Pierce Cahill, Ger Bredin, Andy Cregan & JimJ Casey. 94Pts. THE FOLLOWING are asked to attend for U15 Trials on Friday evening in Shannon Camogie Field at 7.15pm; Lisa O’Donoghue (Whitegate) Keli Nugent, Maedbh Kavanagh, Rachel Maloney, Caoimhe O’Gorman, Ellen O’Brien (Scariff), Edel Reidy, Susan

Williams, Celine McCormack, Hay- ley Nolan, Zoe McInerney, Chloe Donoghue (Wolfe Tones) Sinéad Collins, Aoife Forde, Amy O’Brien (Corofin), Shauna Ryan, Hannah O’Brien (Clooney-Quin) Sláine Carey, Deanna Considine, Laura Murray, Eimear Donnellan (Sixmilebridge), Alice Acers, Lisa McGrath, Aine Duggan, Siobhan Tuohy, Stacey Wright (Feakle), Leighanne Mc- Mahon, Amy Kennedy (Kilmaley), Ellen Culloo, Aisling Hunt, Emily Maloney (Tulla), Aine O’Shea (Ballyea), Claire Taffe, Amy McArthur (Killanena), Laura Commane (Inagh), Lauren O’Donoghue (Ruan), Siobhan Fahey (Truagh-Clonlara). Further details from Orla Considine on 087 2417355. St Senans R FC 20 Cobh Pirat es R FC 10 ST Senan’s ensured they will be playing Junior 1 rugby again next year as they were victorious in this bottom of the table clash with Cobh on a score line of 20-10. It was Senan’s who made the first break through with some good power play from their pack that made way for Brian Collins to claim the first try of the game. The conversion by Declan Collins was struck well and opened up a 7-0 lead for the home side. The game continued at a frantic pace from the restart with both sides making errors and neither side being able to take control, Senans lead was short lived when on 20 minutes Cobh crossed the try line and leveled the scores at 7-7.

A penalty after 27 minutes was easily converted and gave the visitors a 10-7 lead at half time.

Senan’s started the second half well and this pressure was rewarded 10 minutes into the half when Ronan O’Callaghan ran in for Senan’s second try. Declan Collins was on target with the kick. Senan’s led 14-10.

Senans kept the pressure on the visitors and when the ball was presented back to Declan Collins in front of Cobh’s goals he extended Senans lead to 17-10 with a well struck drop goal after 30 minutes.

Cobh tried hard to breach Senans defence but they were not able to break through and it was Senans who had the last score of the match deep in extra time when Ger McNamara converted a penalty.

Clare 6-23 – Kerry 1-18 at Cusack Park, Ennis

SAVE hoovering up two points on what should be a clean run to a National League final showdown with Limerick, you’d have do wonder what this was all about.

If the National League is about learning something about yourself, this was very much a wasted exercise, because such was the one-sided nature of proceedings from the earliest minutes, Clare could really take nothing from this apart from those two points.

That they knew this before referee Pat Green threw the sliotar in before a sparsely attended Cusack Park was probably some succor to everyone involved, but such is life in Division 2 hurling that all Clare could do was roll up their sleeves and roll Kerry over.

The 6-23 final total says they did this, as does the 20-point winning margin. It was that easy, and probably would have been much easier again had Clare not eased up considerably in the second half when their comprehensive victory was already assured.

You could say this victory was assured as early as the second minute when John Conlon had his first free run on goal from the wing an drilled a low shot past Bernard Rochford in the Kerry goal.

It was easy, too easy in fact as Clare ran riot in that first half, with the gulf in class between the sides ham- mered home by the fact that Clare’s six starting forwards got their names on the scoresheet, as did sub Darach Honan and midfielders Sean Collins and Nicky O’Connell in the first 35 minutes.

Conlon’s second goal on 11 minutes, a carbon copy of his first as he cut in from the right wing at pace before drilling low to the net, put Clare 2-4 to 0-3 ahead and in cruise control.

Five further points by the 15th minute extended their advantage to 12 points, a figure that looked respectable from Kerry’s viewpoint when the notched a goal of their own on 34 minutes when John Egan picked up a breaking ball on the edge of the square and blasted beyond Donal Tuohy in the Clare goal.

However, as if to restore the natural order of things Clare thundered down the field straight away to hit two goals inside a minute through Nicky O’Connell and Diarmuid McMahon to give them unassailable 415 to 1-6 interval lead.

Clare’s work was done – only the second half lull was to come, but before that they rattled off 1-3 inside six minutes to extend their lead to 24 points.

And, it could have been worse – James McInerney’s opening minute penalty was deflected over the bar before Diarmuid McMahon raised Clare’s fifth flag.

At this stage, Kerry manager John Meylor must have been questioning his wisdom, not only his decision to send his charges back out on to the pitch after a five minute break, but the decision to send his team out at all.

It was that bad. Kerry were that bad, but at least they showed some aptitude when reeling off five points in a row between the 43rd and 52nd minutes to earn some semblance of respectability.

And, their corner forward Darragh O’Connor was the game’s top scorer with 0-11, but that was as good as it got as Clare auto-piloted their way to the two points.

They had a 12-minute scoring drought in that second half, but managed to wipe the sleep out of their eyes before the end when adding 1-5 to their total in the last 20 minutes – the final insult for Kerry coming when Caimin Morey’s 35-metre free in the 67th minute cannoned of upright, defender and goalkeeper before nestling quietly in the back on the net.

It was that kind of day for Kerry. That easy for Clare.

Clare
Donal Tuohy (7), Pat Vaughan (7), Conor Cooney (7), Domhnall O’Donovan (7), Brendan Bugler (7), James McInerney (7) (0-1pen), Cian Dillon (7), Nicky O’Connell (8) (1-4, 1f one 65), Sean Collins (8) (0-3), John Conlon (8) (2-1), Fergal Lynch (7) (0-2), Jonathon Clancy (8) (0-3), Conor McGrath (7) (0-3, 1f), Diarmuid McMahon (7) (2-1), Colin Ryan (7) (0-2f).

Subs
Darach Honan (7) (0-3) for Ryan [18 Mins], Patrick Donnellan (7) for McInerney [47 Mins], Cathal McInerney (6) for McMahon [49 Mins], Caimin Morey (6) (1-0) for Lynch [56 Mins], Liam Markhamfor O’Connell (6) [64 Mins]

Kerry
Bernard Rochford, Colin Harris (0-1),Tom Murnane,Adrian Royle, Padraig O’Grady, Mike Conway, Eamon Fitzgerald, Paud Costello, Darren Dineen, Shane Nolan (0-3), LiamBoyle, Darren Wallace, John Egan (1-1), Ronan Kenny, Darragh O’Connell (0-11f).

Subs
Jason Casey for Royle [12 Mins],Thomas Moloney for Wallace [47 Mins], James Flaherty for Kenny [47 Mins], ], David Fitzelle for Costello [62 Mins]

Man of the Match
John Conlon (Clare) Referee Pat Greene (Galway)

KILKENNY will be favourites to beat Clare in Sunday’s Inter-League Youths semi-final, but Banner boss Mike Moloney says that travelling to the Marble City holds no fears.

And why not! Clare go into the game on the back of a hugely impressive 5-1 demolition of Galway in the quarter-final. Galway were defending champions before being shot down in Tulla’s Cragg. Now for more of the same in Kilkenny.

“Maybe some people feel the quarter-final win came out of the blue,” says Moloney, “but it was a game we prepared well for. It was a reflection of the work that the lads have done.

“We had a trial run in Tulla at the end of November against Galway when we came out of it with a draw. That gave us the confidence to compete. We felt we had worked hard in the intervening time. We didn’t see a 5-1 coming, but we knew we’d be good enough if we got the breaks on the day. It’s a matter of seeing if we can do it again and reach the final.”

It won’t be for the want of preparation. Preparation has been a byword for this group of players, not just this year but over a number of years as Moloney deflects praise by pointing to the job of journeywork being undertaken at grassroots and underage level in the county.

“We have 12 or 13 games under our belts between competitive and friendly games. That’s the type of volume of games you need if you’re going to build up something with a group of players that would only have known about playing against each other,” he says.

“There is a certain amount of experience of them being involved in emerging talent development squads from under 11 to under 16. We have been trying to develop that and build a relationship and spirit.

“We can take confidence from the fact that we know we have prepared well. We can also take confidence from the performance against Galway. In that sense we are going down there with confidence, but we’re not under any illusions about what we’re going to face.

“It’s a reflection of the work the clubs are putting in at underage level, thanks to improved facilities. There is great unseen work going on there.

“It’s also a reflection on the work that Denis Hynes is doing with the Emerging Talent Programme. They are now going into a structure whereby they taken from under 11 right up to under 16. You’d expect that there’d be a decent group of players coming through,” Moloney adds.

It’s this infrastructure that will see a confident Clare make the long journey. Quietly confident like they were against Galway the last day out.

“The sense is that when you get to a semi-final of a national competition, that there aren’t any poor sides left. Kilkenny have won the four games they’ve played so far. I had a chance to look at them when they played South Tipp about six weeks ago. I was very impressed – the speed of the game, how quickly they moved it, how they played a lot of ball to feet. We know we’re in for a hell of a game.

“The fact that we have to travel adds a little bit extra. I would see that as something we have a chance to build off. The travelling is an additional thing you factor in as being part of the day – that can be a good thing, for guys to meet early in the day, get on the bus, stop along the way, get all your preparations right and just arrive their in the right frame of mind to put in a good performance.”