31-year wait comes to an end

Newmarket   3-10    Cratloe    0-9
Long threatening comes at last the saying goes and so it proved on Sunday when Newmarket bridged a 31-year gap to their last Clare Senior Hurling Championship success in 1981.

There were ecstatic scenes when the final whistle sounded and supporters raced onto the pitch to celebrate with their heroes.

Leaders on the roll of honour with 22 titles to their credit, The blues were the dominant force in Clare hurling in the ’60s and ’70s. In the past decade they had come close on a number of occasions but had failed to cross the final hurdle, tasting defeat in the finals of 2006 and 2008.

This year, there was a great belief amongst the players, mentors and supporters that their year had finally arrived and so it proved.

In a disappointing final, Newmarket were always in control against neighbours Cratloe and fully deserved the victory. Physically stronger, they dominated in all departments and Cratloe just weren’t able to match their opponents’ hunger for possession.

They got off to a dream start with Shane O’Brien Jnr crashing home their opening goal in the first minute. Man of the match Colin Ryan added a point when he converted a 90m free before Sean Collins opened Cratloe’s account with a good score in the fourth minute.

Twelve minutes in, play was held up for almost five minutes while Cratloe captain and full-back Barry Duggan, received attention. While he resumed his position, he was forced to retire ten minutes later a moved that proved a crushing blow to Cratloe’s hopes of winning a second title in four years.

It also resulted in a number of switches as Ogie Murphy went from midfield to corner-back and Enda Boyce went from corner-back to wing-back in place of Michael Hawes, who moved to full-back.

Given the way the game went, however, it’s doubtful if the end result would have been any different had Duggan not picked up that injury.

A minute before Duggan was forced out of the game, Newmarket had claimed their second goal, O’Brien Jnr again the scorer. He took a pass from Anthony Kilmartin before beating Sean Hayes from close range. This score helped the winners to a half time lead of 2-6 to 0-6.

With wind advantage to come in the second period, Cratloe were expected to rally but it was Newmarket who piled on the pressure and any slim hopes of a Cratloe fight back were killed as Colin Ryan pointed twice inside five minutes.

It was a particularly memorable day for Ryan who, with a tally of 1-8, won the man of the match award while also picking up the championship top scorer award.

The second half was 17 minutes old before Cratloe added to their tally and, just as in the opening half, the score came from Sean Collins. Cratloe needed a goal to have any chance of getting back into contention but a superb Newmarket defence snuffed any chance that came the runners-up way. Six minutes from time Sean Collins burst through but Darren Duggan in the Newmarket goal superbly saved at the expense of a 65’.

A minute later any slim hopes of a Cratloe rally were well and truly killed. When their defence failed to clear their lines, Colin Ryan pounced and after beating a number of defenders he crashed home his team’s third goal and helped kick off the celebrations, which have been continuing all week

The winners’ defence excelled throughout, confining a highly rated Cratloe forward line to just three scores from play. Eoin O’Brien, James McInerney and team captain Enda Barrett led the way. Eoin Hayes and Martin O’Hanlon had the better of the midfield exchanges while up front Colin Ryan, David Barrett and Shane O’Brien stood out.

Cratloe struggled in most departments on a day when Michael Hawes, Martin Murphy and Sean Collins did best for them.

After the game, Clare County Board chairman Michael O’Neill presented the Canon Hamilton Trophy to Enda Barrett, captain of the winning team.

Newmarket: Darren Duggan; Eoin O’Brien, James McInerney, Sean O’Connor; Niall O’Connor, Enda Barrett (captain), Alan Barrett; Eoin Hayes, Martin O’Hanlon; David Barrett, Colin Ryan, Mike McInerney; Shane O’Brien Jnr, Anthony Kilmartin, Shane O’Brien Snr.
Subs: James Liddy for Kilmartin (45 minutes); Ronan Goode for Hayes (56 minutes); Niall Enright for D Barrett (60 minutes).
Scorers: Colin Ryan (1-8, 0-7f); Shane O’Brien Jnr (2-0); David Barrett (0-2).
Frees for: 13; wides: 9.
Bookings: Martin O’Hanlon (30 minutes).
Cratloe: Sean Hayes; John O’Gorman, Barry Duggan, Enda Boyce; Michael Hawes, Conor Ryan, Liam Markham; Martin Ogie Murphy, Sean Chaplin; Paudge Collins, David Ryan, Sean Collins; Cathal McInerney, Conor McGrath, Gearóid Ryan.
Subs: Damian Browne for Duggan (inj 22 mins); Aidan Browne for D Ryan (half-time); Shane O’Leary for G Ryan (40 mins); Shane Gleeson for Chaplin (45 mins).
Scorers: Conor McGrath (0-5, 4f); Sean Collins (0-2); Liam Markham (0-1); Damian Browne (0-1).
Frees for: 17; wides: 6; 65s: 1.
Bookings: Liam Markham (24 minutes); Conor Ryan (50 minutes).
Referee: A Heagney, Corofin.