Category: Sport

Banner Ladies 6-8 – Kilmihil 1-9 at Hennessy Memorial Park, Miltown

BANNER Ladies added the Div. 1 league title to the senior championship crown for 2011 when on Sunday they accounted for the holders Kilmihil with 13 points to spare.

A blistering start to both halves proved crucial and once more it was Niamh O’Dea who did the damage. If the first attack of the game a quick free from Louise Henchy to O’Dea who lined out in her familiar full forward position proved fruitful when the minor drove it to the net just under the black spot. It was all Banner in the opening minutes and points from Rebecca Culligan and O’Dea put them 1-2 to no score ahead.

Then Kilmihil got going and soon as they did they began to whittle down the lead. Two points each from the Considine sisters Ailish and Eimear saw them trial by three with a quarter of an hour gone while Banner had been reduced to fourteen players following the sin binning of Katie Cahill for a dangerous foul on Eimear Considine while Suzie McNamara and Niamh Keane had pointed for the winners.

Niamh O’Dea then goaled again when she was first to flick a high ball in a race with Kilmihil keeper Edel McMahon who picked up a knock in the process. Another fine spell from Kilmihil yielded points once more from the Considines before Emma O’Driscoll came to her side’s rescue with a super save from Eimear Considine at a crucial time. Centre back Rosie Currane added a point for the west Clare side and O’Dea had the final say of the half with a pointed free while Susie McNamara was sin binned in injury time and so it was the senior county champions Banner Ladies who led 2-5 to 0-7 when referee Sean Ryan blew the half time whistle.

Within five minutes of the restart Banner Ladies had this game wrapped up as Niamh O’Dea added 1-2, all from play.

She followed with a pointed free while her sister Eva put the Ennis side 4-7 to 1-7 ahead when she finished to the net with still twenty to play.

While Eimear Considine did raise a green flag for Kilmihil, Banner did not ease up and scored two more goals courtesy of Rebecca Culligan and substitute Orlaith Lynch to run out deserving winners on a final score of 6-8 to 1-9.

Niamh Keane became the third Banner player to be sin binned when she was yellow carded with time almost up.

Niamh O’Dea with 3-5 was the star of the show for the winners. Emma O’Driscoll made two excellent saves while Louise Woods, Niamh Keane and Suzie McNamara who was surprisingly substituted all played well while Louise Henchy and Naomi Carroll also had their moments. Eimear Considine was Kilmihils top player on the day while Rosie Currane, Becky Mahon, Ailish Considine, Ellie O’Gorman, Orla Keane and substitute Moriah Lineen all played their part.

Banner Ladies
Emma O’Driscoll, Sinead O’Keeffe, ClareWalsh, Laurie Ryan, LouiseWoods, Katie Cahill, Eva O’Dea 1-0, Shona Enright, Louise Woods, Suzie McNamara 0-1, Naomi Carroll, Niamh Keane 0-1, Rebecca Culligan 1-1, Niamh O’Dea 3-5 (0-3f),Aoife Cavanagh (capt).

Subs
Grainne Nolan for Aoife Cavanagh,Aoife Keane for S. McNamara, Orlaith Lynch 1-0 for Eva O’Dea, Niamh O’Brien for R. Culligan, Rachel Grogan for S. O’Keeffe.

Kilmihil

Dr Crokes 0-12 – Kilmurry Ibrickane 0-9 at Lewis Road, Killarney

WHAT might have been for the bravehearts from Kilmurry Ibrickane!

If only they had lasted the course of this titanic affair in Beauty’s Home!

They led by three points seven minutes into the second half, inside another seven they had a numerical advantage after Dáithí Casey was sent off in the 43rd minute, by which time Dr Crokes had picked up more yellow cards than scores.

But the Crokes still had their trump cards in All-Ireland winners Colm ‘Gooch’ Cooper and Eoin Brosnan – between them they brought a halt to Kilmurry’s train, derailed it and ambushed what should have been Clare football’s greatest day in Kerry.

But it wasn’t to be and Kilmurry couldn’t complain after they failed to score in the last 23 minutes, allowed Eoin Brosnan dominate at midfield and were then powerless to prevent Cooper from rattling off the final four points to give them a deserved, yet very flattering three-point win.

It was very much a case of cometh the hour of need, cometh the bluebloods from Kerry as they overpowered Kilmurry down the home stretch of a gripping championship encounter that saw the pendulum swing in both directions before the assured left peg of Cooper settled it.

Cooper had been brilliantly marshalled by Shane Hickey for the first 48 minutes of the game and Kilmurry were brilliant, but ultimately perished because of their failure to press home their numerical advantage when they led by 0-9 to 0-7 after Casey was marched.

The initiative was lost in the few minutes they were deciding who was the best man to adopt the role of free man, a hesitancy that was ruthlessly exposed in the final 15 minutes when the Crokes reeled off five points without reply to book their final date with University College Cork.

All that after Dr Crokes had looked to be at sea at various intervals of the game – at the start when Kilmurry hit them for three points inside as many minutes; early in the second half when the Clare champions’ sheer enthusiasm opened up huge chasms in the Dr Crokes defence as Enda Coughlan and Noel Downes bagged points to put them 0-8 to 0-5 clear.

It was hugely impressive stuff from Kilmurry, with their dream start setting the tone for a cracking contest when each point was better than the next. Only 40 seconds in Ian McInerney fed Noel Downs who turned and fired over with authority – the big pity as the game wore on was that Downes, who had the beating of his man all day, only bagged one more point.

Enda Coughlan thundered through the middle in the second minute to land a great point before Michael Hogan’s shot from distance, after great work by Stephen Moloney and Downes, saw another white flag raised.

For a few minutes, thoughts of last year’s first half meltdown against Nemo Rangers in Mallow must have flashed across Dr Crokes’ minds, but not for long because they soon came to life and hit four points inside 11 minutes to move 0-4 to 0-3 clear.

Daithi Casey got them going with a point from play before two Kieran O’Leary efforts and a Casey free saw them hit the front and quench Kilmurry’s early fire. But it wasn’t for long because a brilliant solo effort from Evan Talty after he raced up the right wing and arced over a great effort from 45 yards.

It was defiant and it showcased Kilmurry’s first half performance that was at times fearless. This was added to by an Ian McInerney free and a Johnnie Daly effort from play by the 25th minute, before Johnny Buckley stemmed the tide with a point on the stroke of half-time that left Kilmurry 0-6 to 0-5 clear.

It was there for the Clare champions, especially after a six-man moved that started in the left halfback position and involved Peter O’Dwyer, Michael Hogan, Stephen Moloney and Declan Callinan before Enda Coughlan angled over a brilliant point from 35 yards.

That came in the first minute of the second half and was added to by Downes two minutes later as Kilmurry started to turn the screw – winning every break around the middle and being patient and measured with ball in hand.

Crokes got off the mark in the 35th minute when Cooper placed Casey for his second from play but when Johnnie Daly floated over a free in the 37th after a foul on Downes, it was Kilmurry who were closing in on the Munster final.

That it all went horribly wrong is reflected in the sobering statistic that they failed to score again, while a fisted effort by sub Chris Brady in the 42nd minute was the start of the Dr Crokes revival that ultimately swamped Kilmurry’s brave resistance in the final ten minutes.

Cooper’s first point levelled matters in the 48th minute – two more from play in the 52nd and 61st minutes came either side of two missed Kilmurry chances that could have swung the tie back in their favour.

Noel Downes got a fist to Ian McInerney’s centre in the 54th minute but it came back off the post, while Michael O’Dwyer shot wide from 30 yards.

By then Enda Coughlan had been sent off as Kilmurry’s noble effort just came up short.

Agonisingly so.

Kilmurry Ibrickane
Peter O’Dwyer (7), Martin McMahon (7), Darren Hickey (7), Shane Hickey (8), Declan Callinan (7), EvanTalty (7) (0-1), Paul O’Dwyer (7), Enda Coughlan (7) (0-2), Peter O’Dwyer (7), Ian McInerney (7) (0-1f), Michael Hogan (7) (0-1), Mark McCarthy (6), Stephen Moloney (7), Noel Downes (7) (0-2), Michael O’Dwyer (6).

Subs
Johnnie Daly (7) (0-2, 1f) for McCarthy [22 Mins], Niall Hickey (6) for Hogan [58 Mins].

Dr Crokes

IT was the celebrated and much quoted coach of the Green Bay Packers, Vince ‘the Lip’ Lombardi who said “if football is a game of inches, so is a career success”.

Kilmurry Ibrickane coach John Kennedy didn’t dip into Lombardi’s library for that one, but he might well have, such was the thinness of the line that separated his side from trumping Dr Crokes in this epic Munster championship encounter in Beauty’s Home.

“The ball that came off the post at the end, if that had gone in,” he says. “It was inches,” he adds.

And, it’s true. Kilmurry were that close to victory. Dr Crokes were that close to defeat.

“It was a great game,” continues Kennedy. “We gave it everything and you have to be hugely proud of the boys. The boys played very well. We had a gameplan and the boys moved the ball very well and took some great scores and I suppose our kicking was good. We hadn’t many wides and we were disciplined.

“We emptied the tank and have no excuses. We came down here to the lion’s den and were up three points early in the second half, playing great stuff. We were on top and going well early in the second half and needed to get another point or two to kill it off. Three points ahead, one point they were back in it and that’s the way it happened.

“The injury to Cookie was a real psychological blow. He was a huge loss. We had Odran out and our bench was kind of limited. I’m not making excuses, but you can’t ask anymore of the lads. They battled right to the end. The Crokes had the bit of craft. They got a few scores near the end and that made the difference,” he adds.

Another difference, Kennedy concedes, was the sending off of Daithi Casey that give Kilmurry a numerical advantage they failed to exploit.

“Sometime an extra man can be difficult,” argues Kennedy. “When you have a man less, you actually work that bit harder. Maybe we went into a false sense of security when they went down to 14 men. We weren’t getting a lot of ball around the middle at that stage and even though the Crokes were down they were still holding possession.

“We had a lot of energy emptied at that stage and it was a high tempo game with a lot of hard hits. Crokes are a superb team and we knew that coming down. They are worthy winners and came out of it in the end. We had no excuses.

“They had leaders there when they needed them, but having said that with five minutes to got it was still in the melting pot and if that ball that came off the post had gone in, it could have different.”

Vince Lombardi’s inches again.

CLARE GAA should embark on a public relations offensive to win the support of the grassroots on the association in the county, one delegate claimed in a colourful contribution to the November monthly meeting of the county board on Tuesday last.

Kildysart delegate, John Meade, who is also a match day steward in Cusack Park, proposed that a series of regional meetings between the board and clubs take place.

“There’s an attitude out there that the county board and the executive of the county board are away from the grassroots of the GAA,” said Meade.

“I see it in my own club – they don’t realise that the clubs are the county board. Maybe it’s time to have regional meetings and meet the clubs and maybe. There is an awful stigma out there with the officers of the county board,” he added.

“Everybody involved in the county board and county board are very or- dinary people,” said board chairman, Michael O’Neill. “We all come from the background of a club,” added the Ballyea clubman.

“I know that,” said Meade, “but that’s what’s out there. I told you last year people were saying to me ‘what the f**** are you involved with that shower of c****’,” he added to roars of laughter from fellow delegates.

In contributing to the debate, board secretary Pat Fitzgerald said, “I know people are saying ‘you are being paid by the board’. But what they don’t realise is that I’m putting in another 45 hours. I have no problem if someone gives me a job and I will still do my 45 hours.”

CUTTING the number of senior clubs in hurling and football will be one of the radical topics on the table for discussion by the new county board committee charged with responsibility for coming up with a new blueprint for club structures.

The possibility was sounded out by O’Curry’s delegate, Michael Curtin, who is the brainchild behind the seven-member committee that has been put together by county board chairman, Michael O’Neill.

The move to cull the number of senior clubs – from 20 in hurling and from 16 in football – was first broached on the hurling front by outgoing senior hurling boss Ger O’Loughlin when he addressed the September meeting of the Clare County Board at the end of his twoyear term.

In the course of his address to delgates about the terms of reference of the new committee, Curtin said it would “start a process with the objective of getting down to the number of senior teams, both hurling an football right down along the line”.

And, in making his comments, Mr Curtin appealled to delegates to back the committee, by ensuring that their efforts to “think outside the box” that their final deliberations, findings are implemented instead of being reducing the whole exercise to a talking shop.

“We are looking at giving all of our players the opportunity of playing games over the summer period and it’s going to take a leap of faith to do this,” said Curtin of the committee, seven members of which were ratified at last Tuesday night’s county board meeting.

The six drawn exclusively from either football or hurling clubs are: Padraig Boland (Broadford), Rosaleen Monaghan (Tubber), Denis Tuohy (Whitegate), Nuala Shanahan (Doonbeg), Gerry O’Neill (Kilmihil) and Colm Browne (Kilrush Sham- rocks).

“What I would suggest is that all the clubs embrace this to the extent that it is going to be a very open forum whereby clubs would be allowed to make submissions and also meet the committee themselves,” added Mr Curtin.

“In other words, nobody’s hands are tied. You go along and decide what’s best, not necessarily for our clubs at the time, but what’s best for the promotion of our games and our competitions in the county.

“I would also say that when the final proposals are made that it would be binding. It’s vital. There’s no point in having a talking shop here. What- ever comes back has to be binding, at least for a year.

“It’s for the clubs. Going back with things I was involved years ago, the thing was it only succeeded when clubs talked about it, embraced it and came in with good ideas.

“It’s time to move on and incorporate what’s best for the county in both hurling and football. It’s a waste of time having another talking shop,” he added.

“It’s very open ended,” said chairman Michael O’Neill of the committee, “and every club will be written to in the coming weeks. There will be one more member added from a dual club,” he added.

CLARE GAA has to get its financial affairs in order – that was the stark admission delivered by board treasurer Bernard Keane to club delegates last Tuesday when he “put on record” that were the county financially “is not good enough”.

The treasurer made his comments when revealing that county board income strands have been hit right across the board, a fact, he says, that threatens to become worse in 2012 “if we keep going the way we’re going”.

It was revealed that expenditure on county teams was reduced by € 145,000 in 2001, but those savings were swallowed up by plummeting income returns in areas such as county final attendances and intercounty fixtures.

“In all the seven schedules of income this year, we’re down on every one of them. Equally our gates were very, very disappointing, both our local gates, county games and indeed our county finals,” revealed Keane.

“So all in all, the report that comes back won’t make for very pleasant reading. On top of that we had a meeting with our own auditors, reviewing the past year and more importantly trying to project for 2012.

“Taking into account our present position and teams going forward and with Caherlohan (new Clare training headquarters) coming on we are going to be in an awful lot worse position next year if we keep going the way we’re going.

“Hence the problem, we need to generate more finance, other than the regular forms of finance that we’re doing. We are going to have to get our heads around that, as a board and as a unit and as an association in county Clare, because what we’re doing at the moment, unfortunately, is not going to be enough.

“Where we are at the moment is not good enough. I want to put that on the record here tonight,” Keane added.

Continuing, the county board treas- urer said that the onus was on everyone involved in the GAA in Clare to improve this financial situation.

“I think at this stage it’s about generating greater revenue as a unit,” he said. “Individually Pat Fitzgerald, Michael O’Neill or anyone won’t be able to generate the type of money that we need. As unit, both within the clubs and within the county board we will have to come up with new ways to generate money.

“The county board fundraising draw is one of the only means we have of generating money – that didn’t really materialise, even though I would thank the Newmarkets and the Cratloes and other clubs that really put their shoulder to the wheel, but there were an awful lot of other clubs didn’t. If they had it would have been a great help to us at this moment in time. That didn’t happen,” he added.

RAISING the standard of Clare football lies with the implementation of a new Bord na nÓg blueprint for the game and clubs embracing coaching initiatives being pioneered by the Clare County Board – not with the employment of extra full-time coaches.

That was the message sounded out by board officials to clubs around the county as the debate over the state of Clare football that has raged over the course of the last three county board meetings was aired once more at the West County Hotel last Tuesday.

“There is some myth that the Clare County Baord is suddenly going to find a lot of money and hire ten coaches,” said board secretary Pat Fitzgerald in pouring cold water on a proposal that more football coaches will be hired.

He was responding to Doonbeg delegate, Michael Neenan, who said that there were “only one and a half coaches for football”.

“It is important to deal with this one and a half coaches,” said Fitzgerald. “Galway was mentioned the other night. Who is paying for these coaches (in Galway). It’s the clubs. If clubs (of Clare) want to do that – they can do that,” he added.

“Forget your one and a half coaches,” said board chairman, Michael O’Neill. “Forget about it. You have coaches in every club in this county capable of coaching. Get them involved. Move on Michael (Neenan). Move on. There are coaches in place,” he added.

Last month it was revealed that the only full-time coaches employed by the Clare County Board who were involved in football coaching were John Enright and Ronan Keane, who divides his time between hurling and football in the Ennis area.

Continuing, Mr Fitzgerald said “the money isn’t there” to employ extra coaches. “The only way we will move from where we are is in a critical mass situation. What I mean by that is that clubs will go into schools and appoint a liaison officer who will to talk with schools and put coaches in there.

“In the development squads alone this year Clare county Board spent € 34,000. We have € 330,000 put into underage games this year. Bernard (Keane) will give you the financial situation and I can tell you, it’s backwards and downwards we are going.

“As far as I am concerned clubs will have to come on board. If clubs want coaches I’m sure Eamon (Fennessy) and Sean (Chaplin) will organise the coaching courses.

It is going to have come that way. If you were to get ten coaches at € 35,000 ahead, that’s € 350,000,” he added.

“The clubs have to take on more coaching courses,” said coaching officer, Eamonn Fennessy. “There is outstanding work being done by Sean Chaplin. Time and money is being spent on football at underage,” he added.

“There is a massive amount being done in coaching and games. It comes from everyone in this room, it comes from every club as to what they are doing in their clubs,” said Michael O’Neill.

“I know times are tough and there are a lot of constraints on people – but we just have to get more and more people involved in our clubs and for some of those people to get into the schools and coach, because the coaching is not being done in the schools now. It might have been done five, ten and 15 years ago, but it’s not being done because there are far more constraints on teachers now,” he added.

Clonlara 2-11 – Clondegad 2-07 at Gurteen

IN the end it came down to many things – the infusion of youth, tactical switches and a final flourish that carried Clonlara to an historic first ever adult football championship title.

In the process they took a wrecking ball to Clondegad’s dream of an intermediate/junior double. This dream was very much alive for Clondegad at the three-quarter stage – in fact, they were living it as a contribution of 1-6 from full-forward Colm Quinlivan had steered them into a three-point lead.

They had the advantage of the breeze and having hit back from the concession of a freak goal two minutes into the second half had reeled off four points in a row to take command of proceedings.

But this was a game of many twists, in what had to be the most entertaining Junior B decider in many years, complete with 22 scores before Clonlara celebrated another blow for east Clare football at the death after hitting 1-4 without reply in the closing ten minutes.

They had made the better start, hitting four points from play inside the first ten minutes via Nicky O’Connell, Cormac O’Donovan, Brian ‘Gooch’ Woods and Barry O’Connell to help them into a 0-4 to 0-2 lead.

Clondegad had stayed in touch with two Colm Quinlivan frees, but there was much more to come as the burly full-forward went about winning this county final on his own. He tacked on his third pointed free in the 14th minute, before driving a penalty to the net a minute later after Liam Deasy had been fouled.

Then after Barry O’Connell and Ger O’Connell had hit back with points by the 21st minute Quinlivan turned provider for Clondegad’s second goal, this time floating a free to the edge of the square that was gathered by Liam Deasy and slammed to the net to give his side a 2-3 to 0-6 interval lead.

All of Clonlara’s points had come from play and it was this ability that ultimately carried them past the challenge of a Clondegad side that could only manage 1-1 from play over the hour.

A lucky break in the 32nd got Clonlara back into proceedings when Ronan Carey’s speculative effort bounced on the edge of the square, then hit the crossbar before cannoning to the net off the back of luckless Clondegad keeper Kenneth Breen.

When Nicky O’Connell flashed over a point a minute later it looked as if Clonlara would take over – this eventually happened but only after some radical surgery to the team in response to a flurry of points via three Quinlivan frees and an effort from play by Liam Deasy had put Clondegad 2-7 to 0-7 clear.

Minors Cathal O’Connor and Colm Galvin were thrown in; John Conlon moved out from full-back and midfielder Ger O’Connell started running from deep at a retreating Clondegad defence.

The effects were stunning. Cathal O’Connell grabbed points in the 50th and 51st minutes to leave only a point in it. Then in the 57th minute a sweeping move was finished to the net by Colm Galvin after he took a final pass from Barry O’Connell to put Clonlara 2-9 to 2-7 clear.

Clondegad were out on their feet, with the insurance points coming from the O’Connells, Nicky and Ger, in injury time as Clonlara closed in on history and moved up to the Junior A ranks.

Lifford AFC 3 – Avenue United 2 at Lees Road, Ennis

NOTHING like a local derby to whet soccer appetites in the county capital – especially when there’s some silverare up for grabs.

So it was that bluebloods Avenue United and 50 years young Lifford produced a cracking Sunday afternoon contest for the first piece of premier silverware on offer in the 2011/12 season.

Honours went to Lifford, as for once they emerged from the shadow of the illustrious neighbours that were formed as a breakaway club way back in 1983 thanks to this edging this five-goal thriller.

And Lifford can say they did it the hard way, coming from a goal down and being generally outplayed by Avenue side the first half to forging 3-1 on 75 minutes and then withstanding everything Avenue could throw at them in a frantic finish.

It looked to be Avenue’s to win in that first half once they grabbed the initiative after 15 minutes when David McCarthy beat Lifford’s off-side trap and raced through unimpeded on Lifford’s goal before nonchalantly dispatching the leather past Jean de Silva.

By this stage a clear pattern had emerged – Avenue were playing the ball to feet, constructively trying to tease out openings, while Lifford adopted the route one and up and under approach to goal.

Which ever cap fits, because it worked Donal Magee’s charges on 25 minutes when a long ball was met by the ultra-competitive Lunga Balman in the air, with his close range header beating a hitherto virtually redudant John Healy in Avenue’s goal.

It was like an injection to Lifford because from there they grew in confidence, while Avenue lost their most influential player in David McCarthy to injury nine minutes before halftime.

McCarthy wasn’t the only person struck down – referee Tommy Guilfoyle had hamstring problems and was replaced at half-time by Dave McCarthy.

Lifford struck for a second two minutes after half-time when Lunga Balman turned provider – his cross from out near corner flag on right finding Darren O’Neill who nodded low to Healy’s left for a the lead goal.

It got better on 75 minutes when Ruairi Norrby benefitted from great work in the build up by Scott Hen nessy to beat Healy with a low drive – a goal that Lifford were full value for as they turned the screw on a strangley ragged Avenue.

All Avenue could do for the closing 25 minutes was circle the wagons – they did that but their only reward was an 89th minute goal from Mattie Nugent when his free kick from the left wing flew all the way to the net past de Silva.

It teed up a hectic finale but Lifford had done enough to mark their Golden Anniversary with some silverware.

It’s been a long time coming. Thirty five years since they won the last of their three Clare Cup titles.

Lifford
Jean De Silva, Joe Lynch (Paul Cantillon), Hamed Kuku, Mickey Joe O’Sullivan, Dylan Blake, Ruairi Norrby (Julius Lake),TJ Ajisomo (Pa Mannion), Pat Darcy, Lunga Balman, Darren O’Neill, Scott Hennessy.

Avenue United
John Healy, Dylan Casey, David Russell, Mattie Nugent, Simon Cuddy, Gary Flynn (ColmMullen) Con Collins, David Herlihy, Sean Corry, David McCarthy (Barry Nugent), Mikey Mahony.

Referee
Tommy Guilfoyle

Miltown-Castlemaine 2-05 – Clondegad 0-10 at Páirc de Búrca, Miltown

WAY back in 1950 the Clare seniors went to Tralee and had Kerry beaten in the Munster championship only to be robbed by a last second point that earned the Kingdom a draw.

Clondegad knew that same sinking feeling on Sunday as they were robbed by a Miltown-Castlemaine side that could scarcely believe their luck as they stumbled over the line into the Munster final to keep alive Kerry’s hopes of landing a sixth straight provincial title in the grade.

It was a theft of grand larceny proportions, all thanks four goalmouth incidents, all of which went the Kerry champions’ way and helped them reach the final frontier despite being totally outplayed in the second half of this low-scoring, yet entertaining semi-final.

For Clondegad it was a missed first half penalty and then a disallowed goal three minutes into the second half; for Miltown-Castlemaine a freakish first goal and then a last gasp effort in the 56th minute that came totally against the run of play.

Yes, dame fortune was shining on Miltown-Castlemaine, while scowling on poor Clondegad as they were left to reflect on what should have been after producing their best performance of the year.

That performance came from the get go, with the iron-man of the Clondegad cause, full-back Paddy O’Connell winning the first ball that came his way to set the tone for his side – one that served notice that they weren’t going to be canon fodder opposition like Clare teams before them.

O’Connell’s play was the spark and inside 30 seconds Clondegad could have goaled, only for Tony Kelly’s rasping drive from 25 yards to be pushed over the bar of Miltown-Castlemaine keeper Joe Daly.

Clondegad played with the advantage of the breeze it the first half – starting well to lead by 0-3 to 0-1 after six minutes when Gary Bren- nan struck from both play and a free to add to Kelly’s opener.

However, the first in a serious of unfortunate events in front of goal started to haunt them as early as the ninth minute when Cathal Moriarty’s hopeful ball towards goal somehow ended up in the back of Clondegad’s net.

A minute later Gavin Wrenn tapped over his second free to give MiltownCastlemaine a 1-2 to 0-3 lead that their play scarcely deserved. Clondegad did restore parity by half-time, but should have done more.

By the 15 minute mark frees by Gary Brennan and Paudge McMa- hon sandwiched a like effort from Gavin Wrenn, before Clondegad’s confidence slowly began to rise once more when Francie Neylon burst up the left wing to land the point of the day in the 45th minute.

Then opportunity knocked in the 29th minute when Shane Brennan faced up to a penalty after Paudge McMahon was bundled to the ground, only for Daly to save at the expense of a 45 that McMahon pointed to leave the sides deadlocked at the break: Clondegad 0-7 MiltownCastlemaine 1-4.

Clondegad’s chance seemed lost as they faced into the breeze, only for the underdogs to produce a stirring second half performance that should have been enough to score Clare’s first ever win over Kerry opposition in the Munster intermediate series.

They looked to be on their way when Gary Brennan’s 33rd minute free was fisted to the net by Shane Brennan, only for the goal to be disallowed. Still, Clondegad never lost heart and pointed frees by Paudge McMahon and Gary Brennan ensured that they led by 0-9 to 1-5 entering the last ten minutes.

More than that, they were dominating against a Miltown-Castlemaine that had failed utterly to produce their county final winning form. However, from nowhere they conjured up a match-winning goal in the 56th minute.

Kieran Browne looked to have been fouled when coming out of defence, but when no free was given, Cathal Moriarty picked up the pieces, danced his way through a porous wall of defenders and toe-poked to the net to give his side an unlikely 25 to 0-9 lead.

Not what Clondegad deserved, but despite Gary Brennan pointing a free in the 58th minute and laying siege on the Miltown-Castlemaine goal for a further four minutes, it what they got.

Their Munster championship race was run in cruel fashion.