A fair result for East Clare rivals

Broadford 1-12  Cratloe 0-15
THE decision of match official Tom Stackpool to award Cratloe a free and, more particularly, to allow play continue after Damian Browne’s effort dropped short, will be a talking point amongst all in Broadford hurling for some time to come.

The quarter-final game was in the first minute of injury time when Cratloe’s Seán Collins, in the view of Broadford people, fell over the sideline on the stand side of the pitch about 60m from the Broadford goal. The match official saw it differently and signalled a free for the Cratloe men, who were trailing by a point. Damian’s Browne’s effort dropped short and fell to Cratloe substitute, 17-year-old Paudge Collins, who had been introduced a few minutes earlier and he duly sent the ball between the uprights to level the game for the sixth and final time.
Broadford followers and, indeed some neutrals, felt that once the ball dropped short from Browne’s free, the match official should have blown the final whistle.
A draw was probably the fairest result on a day when both sides enjoyed periods of dominance. They exchanged points three times before Cratloe edged into a two-point lead, which they held to the break when the score stood at 0-6 to 0-4. It appeared to be a good position for Cratloe as they would have the assistance of the wind in the second period.
Broadford showed a greater hunger in their play on the resumption, when the tempo of the game increased and two early Aonghus O’Brien points had the teams level two minutes into the half. A great long-range effort from wing-back John O’Gorman put Cratloe back into the lead, before Broadford struck a vital blow when Pádraig Taylor finished off a good move with the game’s only goal.
They went on to stretch their lead to a goal a minute into the final quarter and it looked as if the game was slipping away from Cratloe. When Broadford went four points in front with seven minutes remaining, they looked to be on their way to a semi-final date but, to their credit, Cratloe battled back and four unanswered points, three from Damian Browne frees and the equaliser from Seán Collins, left the teams tied with a minute of normal time to play.
The game had just entered injury time when Ciarán Corcoran sent over Broadford’s final score, a point from a 75m free. Cratloe refused to accept defeat and they attacked from the resumption of play and the move ended with the equaliser from Paudge Collins, who got his first taste of senior championship hurling when he was introduced to the action five minutes from the end. Two hours earlier, he had lined out for the club’s juniors and despite scoring his side’s only goal, they ended up being narrowly beaten in the championship semi-final by Corofin.
Liam Markham was outstanding throughout at wing-back for Cratloe, while Michael Hawes, Seán Collins, and Barry Duggan were others to impress on the day. For Broadford, Ciarán Corcoran at full-back, Stephen Gunning, Declan Teefy in the third quarter and, especially, Aonghus O’Brien, impressed.

Broadford: Kevin Ryan; John Corcoran, Ciaran Corcoran, Stephen Gunning; James Gunning, Aidan O’Brien, Cathal Chaplin; Peter O’Brien, Craig Chaplin; Niall Moloney, Aonghus O’Brien, Mark Moloney; Padraic Hickey, Pádraig Taylor, Declan Teefy.
Subs: Dara Corcoran for Teefy (58 minutes) and Diarmuid Skehan for M Moloney (60 minutes).
Scorers: Aonghus O’Brien (0-8), 5 frees; Pádraig Taylor (1-0); Ciarán Corcoran (0-2), 1 free, 1 65’; Craig Chaplin and Pádraig Hickey (0-1) each.
Frees for: 11; Wides: 11; 65s: 3.
Bookings: Craig Chaplin (26 minutes).
“Maybe it got away from us at the end. It was a super second performance from our lads. Our backs were to the wall at half-time when we were down after playing with the wind but we really upped it in the second half. We were unlucky at the end,” Danny Chaplin, Broadford
Cratloe: Seán Hawes; Philip Gleeson, Barry Duggan, David Ryan; John O’Gorman, Michael Hawes, Liam Markham; Martin ‘Ogie’ Murphy, Damian Browne; Seán Collins, Aidan Browne, Seán Chaplin; Cathal McInerney, Jonathon Reidy, Conor McGrath.
Subs: Gearóid Ryan for Chaplin (51 minutes) and Paudge Collins for Reidy (55 minutes).
Scorers: Damian Browne (0-7), all frees; Seán Collins (0-3), Cathal McInerney (0-2), Conor McGrath, John O’Gorman, Paudge Collins (0-1) each.
Frees for: 17; Wides: 13.
Bookings: None.
“We got out of jail. We were lucky in the end to get a draw out of it. The goal had a big bearing on it as it gave them great confidence and we were fighting an uphill battle from then onwards. At least we have another match,” Mike Deegan, Cratloe
Referee: Tom Stackpool, Ennistymon