Tag Archives: Kilkenny

Clare 4-22 Kilkenny 2-19 No, it’s not a mistake. Clare scored 4-22 on their way to a comprehensive win over hot favourites Kilkenny in the semi-final of the Allianz hurling league at Semple stadium in Thurles this Sunday afternoon and they were fully deserving winners on the day. Three first half goals rocked the Noresiders who simply could not handle John Conlon in front of goal. Adding to the celebrations for the Clare fans was the return after a two year absence of Podge Collins and the return from injury of Tony Kelly, both of whom made valuable contributions on a day when theyre were many Clare stars. Kilkenny manager Brian Cody readily acknowledged “the better team won and there are no arguments about that” There were few people, certainly outside the Clare camp, that would have predicted an eleven point half time lead for the Banner side but that was the position with Clare 3-12 to 0-10 in front …

Dual player Podge Collins is back in the Clare senior hurling starting line up and will line out against Kilkenny in Sunday’s Allianz hurling league semi-final. Eleven months after suffering a cruciate knee injury and two years after he last played senior hurling for Clare, the Cratloe man has been named at corner forward to face the All-Ireland champions. Collins’ return is one of three changes in personnell from the side which started against Tipperary in the quarter final. Oisin O’ Brien returnes at corner back while David Fitzgerald is also in from the start. They replace Ciaran O’Doherty, Conor Ryan, who is ruled out due to injury, and Bobby Duggan. Tony Kelly will, it is understood be amongst the substitutes along with Colin Ryan. Collins was one of the stars in Clare’s All-Ireland win in2013 and was short listed for the player of the year award. Last year, Clare manager David Fitzgerald opted not to include dual players and …

IN many ways Clare’s progress to the National Hurling League semi-final is surprising, given the number of injuries that has deprived the team of many regulars. The side had to face Tipperary in the quarter-final without eight players that were in the team that lost to Cork in the championship qualifier last summer. Considering this, Clare’s progress to this stage of the league has been impressive. Indeed, those that have been called into the panel have made a mark, which means there is huge competition for places in the team. While the situation with injured players is not as bad as in recent weeks, the expectation is the team on Sunday to face Kilkenny will be along the lines of that which lined out Tipperary two weeks ago. Both Clare and Kilkenny have availed of the campaign to give fringe players an opportunity to impress. Clare have used over 30, while Kilkenny have given 28 players an outing. Tony Kelly is …

Clare’s hopes of beating Kilkenny in Sunday’s Allianz hurling league has been dealt a blow with the news that Conor Ryan is unlikely to play any part in the game. The Cratloe man didn’t see any action in the club leagues last week and hasn’t been able to train all week. Hopes of having David McInerney and Shane O’Donnell back have been dashed and neither are expected to be ready for action for another two weeks. Both missed the quarter final win over Tipperary and neither played with their clubs last week. Hopes of a lreturn for Peter Duggan have also been dashed and there are fears that the Clooney-Quin man may be out of action for a considerable time due to the recurrence of a back injury The team to face Kilkenny isn’t expected to be named before Saturday when Seadna Morey and Tony Kelly could be included in the match day panel for the first time in this …

Clare 3 Kilkenny 2 A goal worthy of any stage with just under five minutes remaining sealed Clare’s passage to the quarter finals of the inter league youths cup at Doora earlier today. Scorer of a hat trick of goals in Clare’s opening game in the competition, Kieran Mahoney was again the start of the show for the Colm Ryan managed Clare side, scoring twice and having a part in Ethan McNevin’s goal. [doptg id=”95″] Mahoney’s winning goal was an outstanding effort as he blasted to the top corner of the net from outside the area. Taking off his jersey in the celebration which followed the strike led to a second yellow card and his dismissal which will have disappointed all involved. From an early stage Mahoney troubled the visitor’s defence and he put the home side into the lead after eighteen minutes with a lleft footed strike. This goal separated the sides at half time. Clare were rocked just …

THE intensity and work rate that Galway will need to beat Kilkenny on Sunday must be twice what it was against Tipperary, according to captain, David Collins. The Liam Mellows clubman said the positivity that is in the squad this year has helped him. “If it wasn’t, I would be sitting down and out and would not be playing. The depth in the squad is massive and we need that going forward,” Collins told The Clare Champion. Asked at what stage in their semi-final against Tipperary did he feel that it would be their day, he replied, “When I saw Johnny Glynn hooking Maher and Mannion picking the ball up and putting it over the bar, I said ‘this is it, this is our game, we are on the curve’. The work rate and the intensity that the boys kept bringing was superb and we need to keep that going now. “We have kept it going in training and we …

HAVING players from one’s club involved with the county panel on All-Ireland final day heightens the interest within the club, Gort club chairman John Quinn believes but he equally holds the view that being involved in the All-Ireland final means as much to the clubs that don’t have a player on the panel. “Having club members involved creates additional interest and gives a connection with what is going on. It also creates a problem with the distribution of tickets, which is a challenge as well and it’s a nice problem to have. It is a policy in our club that members will be looked after first, in particular working members who are active in the club week in and week out. It would be the right thing to do to distribute the tickets amongst the grassroots of a club.” Aidan Harte and Greg Lally from Gort are part of the Galway senior panel this year, Jack Grealish is a member …

A little over 12 months ago, there were doubts as to whether or not Anthony Cunningham would be given another term in charge of the Galway senior hurlers. They had been knocked out of the All-Ireland race and some supporters were impatient but the St Thomas’ clubman, who had just completed three years in charge, clearly believed in the players. “You always want to stay with a team you believe in and I believed that these guys have talent. We have worked hard in the last three to four years in bringing the standards up. Kilkenny have led that. The work that goes into inter-county teams now and what they do on their own is massive and I am delighted to have had the chance of working with this group,” he said. Looking ahead to Sunday’s date with Kilkenny, he confirmed that the Tribesmen have no injury worries. “We came out of the game the last day [Tipperary] really well. …