Carlow crushed by rampant Clare

The topsy-turvey form Clare have shown throughout the league campaign gave cause for concern ahead of Sunday’s league clash with Carlow at Cusack Park.

It was a game the Banner had to win to be sure of a place in the Division 2 league final. Having lost to Laois and given that they were fortunate to beat Carlow in the corresponding fixture last year, the game proved to be one of the team’s better outings of recent times. They had the points and a league final place secured, for the second year running, long before the final whistle sounded.
The early exchanges didn’t give any indication that it would be so easy. Points were swapped twice in the first 10 minutes and Carlow had a couple of chances, which, if converted, would have seen them take the lead.  However, as the end of the first quarter approached, Clare took a grip on proceedings and from here to the finish they became more and more dominant, running out the easiest of winners.
For this latest outing, Clare made four changes in personnel from the side that lost to Laois two weeks earlier. Brendan Bugler and James McInerney were replaced in the half-back line by Cian Dillon and Pat Donnellan. Liam Markham came in at midfield for his Cratloe clubmate Sean Collins while Colin Ryan returned to the attack in place of Darach Honan.
Carlow were forced into a couple of late changes that didn’t help their chances. Goalkeeper Kevin Kehoe, defender Edward Coady and forward Mark Brennan were all ruled out of the starting line-up.
While Clare took the lead after just 20 seconds when Colin Ryan converted a 20m free awarded after the Newmarket man was fouled, it took them a while to take control of the tie. The visitors levelled through Ruairi Dunbarr in the second minute and a further six minutes elapsed before Nicky O’Connell had Clare’s second point. Dunbarr levelled from a free in the 10th minute as the visitors kept the pressure on.
Four Clare points in as many minutes from Jonathon Clancy, Diarmuid McMahon John Conlon and Conor McGrath saw the home side take a grip on the game, a grip which got stronger as the game progressed. Another Conlon effort saw Clare stretch their advantage to five by the end of the first quarter.
The game’s first goal came in the 23rd minute when Diarmuid McMahon found the net after great work by Conor McGrath. The score led to Carlow replacing the Cratloe man’s marker, Brian Doyle.
In the last 10 minutes of the half Clare outscored  the opposition, 0-7 to 0-2, to lead at half-time on a score of 1-15 to 0-4.
In an effort to improve matters, Carlow made three changes in personnel for the second half and also decided on a number of positional switches. They managed to keep the home side from adding to their tally for the first nine minutes of this half but when Colin Ryan blasted a 20m free to the net, nine minutes after the resumption, the floodgates opened.
Points from Conor McGrath, Colin Ryan and Nicky O’Connell were followed by a Jonathon Clancy goal to bring the score to 3-18 to 0-4 at the three-quarter stage.
With victory and a league final place secure, Clare were able to give game time to a number of substitutes and Gerry Quinn, Cathal McInerney, Sean Collins, Brendan Bugler and Conor Tierney were all introduced during the final quarter. The home side continued to dominate and had their fourth and final goal came five minutes from the end when Diarmuid McMahon brought his tally for the afternoon to 2-4.
Clare won’t have learned much from this but the target was to win and win convincingly and this was achieved. Confining the opposition to eight scores, two from frees, was a big improvement on recent displays and Domhnall O’Donovan, Conor Cooney and Patrick O’Connor can be pleased with their displays. Nicky O’Connell was again in great form at midfield and he got good support from Liam Markham. Up front, Jonathon Clancy picked off some great scores, as did Diarmuid McMahon, while Conor McGrath caused huge problems for the visitors.

Clare: Donal Tuohy; Pat Vaughan, Conor Cooney, Domhnall O’Donovan; Patrick O’Connor, Cian Dillon, Pat Donnellan; Nicky O’Connell, Liam Markham; John Conlon, Fergal Lynch, Jonathon Clancy; Conor McGrath, Diarmuid McMahon, Colin Ryan.
Subs: Gerry Quinn for O’Connor (52 minutes); Cathal McInerney for McGrath (53 minutes); Sean Collins for Lynch (58 minutes); Brendan Bugler for Markham (61 minutes); Conor Tierney (0-1) for Ryan (65 minutes).
Scorers: Diarmuid McMahon (2-4); Colin Ryan (1-6, 0-3f); Nicky O’Connell (0-8, 4f, 1 65); Jonathon Clancy (1-3); John Conlon, Conor McGrath (0-3) each; Conor Tierney (0-1).
Frees for: 16; Wides: 12; 65s: 1
Bookings: Nicky O’Connell (32 minutes); Pat Donnellan (57 minutes).
Carlow: Nicky Roberts; Alan Corcoran, Shane Kavanagh, Brian Doyle; Des Shaw, Dwayne Kavanagh, Richard Coady; Jack Kavanagh, John Rogers; James Doyle, Eddie Byrne, Craig Doyle; Alan McDonald, Eoin Nolan, Ruairi Dunbarr.
Subs: Paudie Kehoe for Doyle (25 minutes); Killian McCabe for McDonald; James O Hara for R Coady; Hugh P Byrne for D Kavanagh (all at half-time); Eddie Kane for Corcoran (47 minutes).
Scorers: Ruairi Dunbarr (0-4, 1f); Eddie Byrne (0-2); Jack Kavanagh, Paudie Kehoe (f), 0-1 each.
Frees for: 12; Wides: 7
Bookings: Richard Coady (32 minutes); Killian McCabe (39 minutes); Ruairi Dunbarr (66 minutes).
Referee: Michael Haverty, Galway.