Sports

Munster Minor Hurling Championship Semi-Final Clare 2-21 Limerick 2-15 Clare will contest back-to-back Munster Minor Hurling Finals for the first time in eleven years after finally shaking off neighbours Limerick in front of 1,804 in Cusack Park Ennis on Tuesday evening. Three days after lowering Limerick in the senior equivalent, a buoyant Banner maintained that momentum with a dramatic turnaround in a typically frenetic derby showdown. Darren Collopy’s early four point blitz had initially powered Limerick 0-5 to 0-1 clear, only for a seismic shift to unearth an eleven point turnaround as playmaker and point-taker supreme Michael Collins scored three and directly set up as many more to turn the tide. Level on three occasions by the 24th minute, the home side gathered pace once more approaching the break as points through Marc O’Brien, James Hegarty, Michael Power and Collins put Clare into the ascendency before the bonus of a last gasp goal to take into the dressing rooms at …

Bodyke/ O’Callaghan’s Mills 4-16 Whitegate 0-20 A gem of a final hidden away in division three minor league. A strong start by one side, consolidation by their opponents leading to a storming fightback only for the winners to finish with confidence to seal a win in which the scoreline hides the real story. Whitegate will bemoan the opening 15 minutes and also their inability to strike for a goal in their 20 minutes of second-half dominance. Bodyke/Mills were fortunate that they had a 11 point half time lead to act as a cushion as their hosts battered them in the second half. Celtic Challenge colleagues Michael Bogenberger, Kalum Fahy (Whitegate) went up against Sean Boyce (Bodyke/Mills) but the ace in the pack especially in the first quarter was Liam Murphy who four hours earlier led St Joseph’s Tulla to Munster honours. Sean Boyce hit the target with less than a minute played before Liam Murphy stunned the Whitegate following bagging …

BIG time boxing came back to the west of Ireland on Friday night, with a sell-out show at Leisureland in Salthill. There was a major Clare interest as Shannon’s David Ryan opened the Conlan Boxing/Top Rank promoted show, with a shut-out points victory over the Costa Rican Berman Sanchez. While Ryan won every one of the six rounds convincingly, his 39 year old opponent was a tough and thick-set fighter, and it never looked like the fight would not go the scheduled six rounds. The tone for the fight was set very early on, with Ryan delivering a number of snappy body punches, as he was on the front foot continuously. In the second the visiting fighter did land a couple of left hooks, but Ryan was still very much on top, and he delivered an excellent left hand mid way through the round, reflecting his superiority. Ryan landed some solid right hands in the third, with a bit more …

Munster Under 20 Hurling Championship Round 4 Cork 1-24 Clare 0-22 Clare will have to depend on their Shannonside neighbours to do them a favour this Friday if they are to continue their Munster Under 20 Championship bid after being sucker-punched by a late Cork surge in Cusack Park on Wednesday evening. In complete contrast to the previous evening’s minor clash between the same sides in Sixmilebridge, this time it was Cork that stepped up sufficiently coming down the final straight to finally see off their stubborn hosts. A Ben Cunningham goal in the 55th minute proved the clinching score that Clare simply couldn’t recover from, having battled gamefully throughout a seesaw second period. With the sides level eight times in the second half alone and never more than a point separating the sides in either direction, it seemed as if Clare were destined for a third draw of the campaign. That narrative altered however when Eoin Downey’s defensive free …

MUNSTER MINOR A CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL CORK 1-13 CLARE 2-7 If this Munster Final had gone on for another five minutes have no doubt that the Banner would be celebrating after a pulsating incredible fightback when all hope seemed lost. The second half of this unbelievable Munster Final saw Clare take the game to Cork outscoring the Rebels 2-4 to 0-4. Throwing the shackles off Clare pushed up on Cork pinning them back inside their own half. There were heroes all over the field with magical moments and drama aplenty. From keeper Jenna Murphy heroically saving a penalty to Lauren Conway’s brilliant goal these Banner girls gave every ounce of effort they could muster. In the harsh reality where the winner takes all John O’Malley’s teams journey ends here as there are no second chances in this knock-out format which is extremely disappointing. There is no doubt the damage was done in that opening twenty minutes where Clare seemed nervous and …

Clare 0-17 Cork 0-12 A scorching finish washed away any previous misgivings as Clare soared into the final three of the Munster Minor Hurling Championship in front of 1.491 in O’Garney Park Sixmilebridge on Tuesday evening. Being their final group outing, Clare craved a victory to keep their fate in their own hands and they duly responded with a commanding display that arguably should have been much more comfortable than the final scoreline indicates. Allied to their 17 points were 16 wides that highlighted just how dominant the home side were against a Cork side that were flawless up to Tuesday’s tie but were surprisingly lacklustre without their top-scorer Barry Walsh. For long periods, it did seem as if Clare’s profligacy would come back to haunt them as a crossfield breeze proved tricky for two freetakers to master. In contrast, Cork’s Johnny Murphy arrowed over three early frees that meant they matched their hosts for the opening quarter. A brace …

A huge weekend of soccer action saw four sides book their spots in the Ennis Carpets Clare Cup semi-final. Meanwhile, Kilrush Rangers picked up a precious three points in their battle to avoid the drop in the Maloney Hardware Premier Division. Kilrush Rangers jumped to sixth in the Maloney Hardware Premier Division as they secured a vital win over fellow relegation battlers Coole FC. Both these sides are battling to avoid finishing second from bottom, which would mean they would have to face the team that finishes third in the First Division to secure their status. This was Kilrush Rangers’ most important win of the season. They beat Coole FC 3-1 despite only being able to call upon 12 first team players on the day. Jamie Griffin opened the scoring when he cut through the Coole defence while they doubled their lead after 30 minutes when Jack Cleary reacted quickest to an early ball in to the box. Coole did …

IN late 2020, Shannon’s Ryan Nolan was on the brink of something big. A graduate of Inter Milan’s academy, the young centre back had been on the bench for Spanish club side Getafe twice in La Liga games. He was a couple of days away from making his club debut in the Copa Del Rey (Spanish Cup). He was on the brink of a career disaster. Two days before he was set to make his debut for one of Spain’s bigger clubs he tore his cruciate ligament, and more than a year out of football would follow. The 24 year old is back on his feet now, literally and figuratively, anchoring the Raith Rovers defence in the Scottish Championship. For the first time he has had a long run of games in a club’s first team, rebuilding his sharpness and confidence. Nolan was eight years old and attending Clonmoney National School, when his parents opted to move the family to …