Super Saints send a warning to Nemo
A devastating 10-minute spell in the second half, during which they scored 1-4 without reply, powered the Clare champions to a deserved victory over An Ghaeltacht in this semi-final more than compensating for their defeat to the Kerry side in the 2003 decider.
It didn't look too good for the Saints at the break, holding a one-point lead after playing with a strong wind. But inspired by wing back Christy Kirwin and full forward Michael O'Shea, they produced a magnificent second half display and will have no fear of Nemo Rangers in the final which has been fixed for the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick on December 11.
Little wonder, then, that team coach Noel Roche was in jubilant mood at the final whistle.
"Any time you beat a Kerry team in football it's a notable scalp, but we must not lose the run of ourselves.
"We have nothing won apart from the Clare county title, and Nemo are going to be a very tough nut to crack in a fortnight's time", he said.
"I was fairly confident going into the game that we would have the greater fitness and if it was tight coming up to the last few minutes that we would pull away, but An Ghaeltacht are a vastly experienced team full of inter-county players and they were going to provide us with a stern test of both our mental and football capabilities.
"To be fair to our lads, they worked their socks off over the full match. Things went against us on two occasions with the two goals we conceded, but our heads never dropped and that 10 minutes spell in the second half when we scored 1-4 without replay, effectively won the match for us.
"The one concern I would have is our inconsistency over the hour. We played well in patches in the county final; we did the same against Monaleen here last Sunday and likewise today we had a great 20-minute spell. If we are to have any chance in the final we must produce it from start to finish."
Senan's won the toss and elected to play with the elements in the opening half and Ger Keane had their opening point after just 50 seconds. The visitors were level two minutes later after Dara Ó Cinnéide pointed a close in free. The Clare champions began to exert a lot of pressure on the Gaeltacht defence, but faulty shooting cost them several scores and the 0-3 to 0-1 lead at the end of the opening quarter was not a true reflection of their outfield superiority.
However An Ghaeltacht settled well and with Dara Ó Cinnéide foraging outfield to great effect they showed their class with a great passing movement which left Ronan Ó Flatharta in the clear but with only the goalkeeper to beat, his powerful kick thundered off the crossbar to safety.
Kilkee's approach work, lead by Kirwan, was excellent while the tactic of denying Darragh Ó Sé any clean possession at midfield by breaking the ball worked perfectly.
But a combination of poor finishing and excellent defending by Daithi Ó Sé and Marc Ó Sé meant that they failed to fully benefit from that dominance.
Then the Kerry side struck for a goal against the run of play.
A long ball into the Senan's defence by Dara Ó Cinnéide saw Tomas O Conchuir tussle with the goalkeeper for possession, but as the ball broke clear it hit corner back Ger Crotty on the knee and rolled into the empty net.
The Clare side refuse to buckle and with Michael O'Shea giving the Ghaeltacht defence a torrid time, they hit back with a succession of points, two from O'Shea, yet their half time lead of 0-7 to 1-3 didn't look to be good enough as they turned to face the elements.
The introduction of Gearóid Lynch to the attack for the injured Ger Keane added a lot more pace to their attack, and with David Russell stamping his authority at centre back, his brother David finally finding his form at wing forward, and O'Shea continuing to sparkle at full forward, the Clare champions began to play their best football.
An Ghaeltacht clearly missed the influence of Tomas Ó Sé in defence as Senan's came forward in waves. From one such move, David Russell billowed the net to put his side into a commanding seven-point lead after 55 minutes, and there was only going to be one winner from that position.
All credit to An Ghaeltacht, they gave the home following a couple of anxious moments, scoring three late points without reply, but they can have no complaints about the outcome, a point made by coach Robbie O Grifinn.
"To be fair to our lads we had to play without Tomas Ó Sé (suspended) and Pol Ó Cuinn (flu) who are two key players for us, but in fairness to St Senans, we can have no complaints. We were beaten by a far sharper team who will test Nemo in the final," he said.
: St. Senans: M. O'Shea 0-4; David Russell 1-0; Denis Russell 0-3; G. Keane, B. Harte, C. Kirwin 0-2 each; D. de Loiughrey 0-1. An Ghaeltacht: D. Ó Cinnéide 0-3 (0-2 frees, 0-1 45); G. Crotty 1-0 (og); C O Dubhda 1-0; B. Brethnach, M. MacGearailt, A. MacGearailt, T. Ó Muircheartaigh 0-1 each.
: D. Garvey; M. Galvin, D. Kelly, G. Crotty; C. Kirwin, David Russell, T. Galvin; D. de Loughrey, K. Larkin; N. O'Shea, B. Harte, J. Larkin; G. Keane, M. O'Shea, N. O'Shea.
: G. Lynch for Keane; M. Keane for Harte.
: T. Mac an tSaoir; D. MacGearailt, M. Ó Sé, M. MacGearailt; B. Breathnach, R. MacGearailt, E. Ó Beaglaoich; D. Ó Sé, E. MacGearailt; C. Ó Cruadhlaoich, R. O Flatharta, C. Ó Dubhda; T. Ó Conchuir, D. Ó Cinnéide, A. MacGearailt.
: SM Ó Conchuir for E. MacGearailt; F. Ó Sé for C. Ó Cruadhlaoich; T Ó Muichearthaigh for T. Ó Conchuir; Daithi Ó Sé for C. Ó Dubhda.
: P. Russell (Tipperary).
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