Clare SFC: Éire Óg through to last eight as Kildysart blow race wide open with Cratloe win
SHOCK: Kildysart's Stephen Sheehan and Mikey Donnellan escape the clutches of Cratloe's Rianin Considine in Cusack Park
Champions Éire Óg eased their way into the Clare SFC quarter-finals with a comfortable eight-point win over 2018 and ’19 kingpins St Joseph’s Miltown - a clinical first-half the launchpad for a 1-13 to 0-8 success in Cooraclare on Sunday.
Despite losing key players Mark McInerney and Éinne O’Connor to injury before half-time, a goal by captain Gavin Cooney in the 23rd minute teed them up for an interval lead of 1-8 to 0-3 that effectively decided the match.
Miltown battled hard despite not having the services of county captain Eoin Cleary, but any hope of a comeback was snuffed out within minutes of the restart when points by Cooney and Philip Talty pushed the lead out to double figures.
The other game in Group 2 that formed the Cooraclare doubleheader saw Clondegad and Doonbeg play out an entertaining draw as both registered their first point of the campaign.
Clondegad had the edge at half-time thanks to goals by Eoin Gavin and Fiachra Kirby that put them 2-3 to 0-7 up, but a 42nd-minute Cathal Killeen goal and a six-point haul from David Tubridy had Doonbeg on the brink of success until late points by Paudge McMahon and Kirby earned Clondegad a draw on a 2-9 to 1-12 scoreline.
Group 3 was blown wide open after first-round losers Lissycasey and Kildysart scored shock wins over Ennistymon and Cratloe respectively to leave all four teams on two points going into the final game.
Lissycasey enjoyed a decisive 0-13 to 0-7 win over last year’s beaten finalists Ennistymon in atrocious conditions in Cusack Park on Friday night. Ennistymon were missing county players Cillian and Brendy Rouine, while county hurlers Cathal Malone and David Fitzgerald started on the bench, something a determined Lissycasey seized upon to build up a 0-6 to 0-1 interval lead.
With Conor Finucane contributing 0-5, while keeper Thomas Collins and Aaron Griffin chipped in with 0-3 each, they were always in control against an Ennistymon side that threw Malone and Fitzgerald into the fray when it was too late.
Last year’s intermediate champions Kildysart caused the shock of the round when powering their way to a 2-14 to 1-14 win over Cratloe in Cusack Park on Saturday. The foundations were laid in the first half when goals from Rory McMahon and Keith Murphy helped them into a 2-7 to 0-5 lead.
Cratloe rallied in the second half on the back of an early Rian Considine goal, but Kildysart weren’t to be denied as Emmett McMahon and Diarmuid O’Donnell were to the fore in their deserved three-point win. Despite Cathal McInerney and Sean Collins hitting 0-9 between them Podge Collins was badly missed by Cratloe.
Kilmurry Ibrickane sealed their quarter-final place with a comprehensive win over Corofin in Lissycasey on a scoreline of 3-11 to 0-7. Despite starting without Keelan Sexton they dominated this game from the off with a masterful first-half display by Dermot Coughlan in hitting 0-7, which was added to by a Daniel Walsh goal, giving them a 1-8 to 0-3 interval lead.
They didn’t let up in the second half with Walsh adding his second goal as they cantered to a 13-point win that puts last year’s beaten semi-finalists into relegation country.
The other Group 1 game saw St Breckan’s have it just as easy against St Joseph’s Doora-Barefield as they cruised to a 1-15 to 0-8 win in Corofin. Declan O’Keeffe’s side led by 1-8 to 0-4 at the break after Shane Fitzpatrick’s 25th-minute goal put daylight between the sides, while a brilliant start to the second half led by Jamie Stack who finished with 0-6 saw them move 11 clear to win as they pleased.
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