'Semi-finals are just about getting the job done' - Éire Óg make light work of Corofin 

SHARPSHOOTER: Gavin Cooney was instrumental in his side's win. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

Clare SFC Semi-Final 

Éire Óg 1-11 Corofin 0-3 

Talk of the double echo around Ennis over the next while thanks to this impressive semi-final display by Éire Óg on Sunday afternoon as they followed the lead of their hurling brethren by reaching the county senior final.

At times it wasn’t pretty, but it didn’t need to be as the Townies put in a clinical second half display when holding a disappointing Corofin side scoreless while adding 1-5 to their total to canter home to an 11-point victory and a date with Ennistymon on 30 October.

“We’re delighted to win it,” said manager Paul Madden, “as semi-finals are just about getting the job done. At the end of the day it’s all about the character of the group. We have nothing achieved but we’re in a final and that’s where we wanted to be at the start of the year,” he added.

A dominant defence was the corner-stone of this latest victory for the county champions, from where they gradually turned the screw up front as county star Gavin Cooney rocketed to the top of the scoring charts in the championship with an impressive haul of 1-5 that put most of the daylight between them and the underdogs.

In a cagey first-half it was his free-taking that proved the difference between the sides as he landed two and added a third from a mark to help his side build up a double-scores lead of 0-6 to 0-3 at the break.

Hard-working wing-forward Niall McMahon had opened the scoring for the Townies after two minutes, but with such was Corofin’s enthusiasm, that was buoyed up by a vocal support, they were very much in the game throughout the half as good points from play by Jamie Malone and Damian O’Loughlin ensured they were only two adrift, 0-4 to 0-2, after 15 minutes.

That gap remained until injury time as Cooney and Gearóid Cahill traded frees, before a Philip Talty effort from play edged the Townies three clear.

Alas, that was as good as it got for the men from Burren country, as an Éire Óg side, which fielded eight players who lined out in the senior hurling semi-final win over Sixmilebridge the previous Sunday, really upped the ante.

They were on the front foot for the entire half with the game put to bed 13 minutes in when Cooney followed up a couple of pointed frees that pushed them five clear when driving to the net from 12 yards after great work in the build-up from Darren O’Neill.

Armed with an eight-point lead with over a quarter of a game remaining, the management could afford to replace a slew of their dual stars before the end, while still adding to their total with points from Talty, O’Neill and Mark McInerney as Corofin failed to trouble the scorekeeper.

“We wanted to put in a better performance in the second half and we did that,” said Madden afterwards. “Now we have a big few weeks for the club coming up now and we’re all looking forward to it,” he added.

Scorers for Éire Óg: G Cooney (1-5, 4f, 1m), P Talty (0-2), M McInerney (0-2, 1 ’45), N McMahon (0-1), D O’Neill (0-1).

Scorers for Corofin: J Malone (0-1), D O’Loughlin (0-1), G Cahill (0-1f).

Éire Óg: S Daniels; M Doherty, A Fitzgerald, R Lanigan; C Russell, A McGrath,É O’Connor; D O’Neill, D McNamara; N McMahon, O Cahill, J Collins; M McInerney, G Cooney, P Talty. Subs: I Ugwueru for Collins (45), C O’Halloran for Russell (51), D D’Auria for Fitzgerald (56), U Shiels for McNamara (60), D Griffin for Cooney (60).

Corofin: L Neylon; M O’Loughlin, R Hayes, C Mullins; C Rice, D O’Loughlin, C McRory; J Malone, S O’Brien; G Kelly, G Cahill, F Clancy; D Cahill, E Davoren, R Mounsey. Subs: D Ryan for Kelly (40), K Keane for Davoren (42), J Rees for M O’Loughlin (56), C Doolin for D Cahill (56), B Keane for D O’Loughlin (60).

Referee: N Quinn