Clare SHC: Patrick Ryan hits 3-3 as Scariff shock Inagh-Kilnamona

A devastating display in front of goal by Scariff has them on the brink of qualification for the knockout stages of the Clare SHC and put Inagh-Kilnamona on the brink

ON FORM: Clare star Mark Rodgers hit 1-6 for Scariff as they beat Inagh-Kilnamona in the Clare SHC. File pic: Ray McManus/Sportsfile

Clare SHC 

Scariff 4-18 Inagh-Kilnamona 0-23 

A devastating display in front of goal by Scariff has them on the cusp of qualification for the knockout stages of the Clare SHC and put Inagh-Kilnamona on the brink as they crashed to a second successive Group A defeat on Friday evening.

It was a shock, but a thoroughly deserved victory for the East Clare side that weren’t reliant on the mercurial Mark Rodgers for the match-winning scores as his full-forward line colleague Patrick Ryan stepped up with 3-3 in this convincing seven-point win.

His two-goal blast inside as many minutes early in the second quarter that added to an early goal from a Rodgers penalty had Scariff on the high-road as they built up a 3-7 to 0-13 interval lead against an Inagh-Kilnamona side fighting a losing battle throughout.

Points before half-time by corner-backs Keith White and Shane Woods did hint at defiance as the defeated 2021 county finalists brought it back to a three-point game.

Then a further brace of points within a minute of the restart from their leading lights Shane Rynne and Connor Hegarty did bring the margin back to the minimum but Scariff wouldn’t be denied.

When danger threatened up stepped Rodgers, Keelan Hartigan and Patrick Crotty with crucial points before Ryan’s third goal on 45 minutes decided matters with 15 minutes to spare.

Scorers for Scariff: P Ryan (3-3), M Rodgers (1-6, 3f, 1 ’65), P Crotty (0-5), K Hartigan (0-2), C Downes (0-1).

Scorers for Inagh-Kilnamona: S Rynne (0-6), C Hegarty (0-6, 3f, 1 ’65), E McNamara (0-2), K White (0-2), D Fitzgerald (0-1), S Woods (0-1), E Foudy (0-1), S Vaughan (0-1), J Griffin (0-1), N Mullins (0-1), J McCarthy.

Scariff: W Kavanagh; S McCaul, M Scanlan, D Treacy; S Cairns, D Nash, J Ryan; C Downes, K Hartigan; M Barrett, P Crotty, L Crotty; M Rodgers, P Ryan, F Madden.

Subs: S Minogue for Barrett, S Collins for J Ryan, M Cunningham for Cairns.

Inagh-Kilnamona: E Foudy; K White, C McConigley, S Woods; S Rynne, J McCarthy, S Foudy; D Fitgerald, D Cullinan; J Griffin, C Hegarty, E Foudy; N Mullins, S Vaughan, J Guyler. 

Subs: D Lafferty for Cullinan, K Guyler for J Guyler, E McNamara for Vaughan, C Shannon for Griffin.

Referee: N Malone (Eire Og).