Sports

  Kerry  3-17 Clare  3-7 FOR 40 minutes of the Munster Junior Football final at Hennessy Park in Miltown on Wednesday, a Clare victory looked a distinct possibility. Then, in a matter of a few minutes, it all changed. In a 10-minute spell from the 37th minute, Kerry hit 2-4 without reply to go 10 points clear. To make matters worse for the home side, they had Darren Hickey sent off as the end of the third quarter approached and matters went steadily downhill after that.There were strong hopes in the lead-up to the tie that Clare could end an 87-year wait and bring the provincial title to the county for the first time since their only success in 1925.These hopes were reinforced during the first half when Clare, despite wasting some good possession, outscored the visitors in front of an attendance of 1,913.Bright sunshine and a light breeze greeted the attendance at the well-appointed Miltown venue, where there was …

FROM the moment the final whistle sounded at Cusack Park on Saturday evening, signalling a great win for Clare over Dublin, the odds were that Limerick would be the Banner’s next opponents.“It’s a tough draw. They are a seriously strong team. They have improved and they will be very focussed on Saturday’s game. They feel they should have won the league final and they will want to atone for that result. There is no greater incentive,” Clare selector Mike Deegan said when looking ahead to Saturday’s clash at Semple Stadium.Clare aren’t expected to name the team for this game until Friday but it is predicted that it will be similar to that which lined out against Dublin. Enda Barrett is still out of action due to injury. There are fitness concerns about Conor Cooney and Cian Dillon. Both picked up knocks in last week’s win, with Cooney forced out of the game after 20 minutes. The expectation, however, is that …

THERE was pressure on Clare to deliver on Saturday evening against Dublin but it was put on by themselves. “We wanted the pressure, we wanted a good game. We said after the Waterford game that this was a tough draw but we had to find out what we are about,” manager Davy Fitzgerald said after Saturday’s victory.Clearly delighted with the result, the manager said, “We are not the finished article. We still have things to work on”.Fitzgerald acknowledged, “You have to be patient with this team. They are trying to use their heads out there and do the right things. They have the spirit. We still have a lot to work on but we know there is character there. Wasn’t it fantastic to see that spirit out there? We didn’t fall away and I knew they wouldn’t. I knew they would keep fighting to the very end.“The crowd was getting frustrated in the first half. I knew that but we …

FROM the moment the qualifier draw paired Dublin against Clare, it was always going to be a tough evening for Anthony Daly.A Clareman through and through, he captained the county to provincial and All-Ireland glory in the latter half of the ’90s and then went on to manage Clare.In charge of Dublin for the past few years, he led the Leinster side to league honours last year. There were high hopes throughout the hurling world that Dublin would make further strides in 2012 but their results have been poor.They needed a win on Saturday evening to prolong their season and atone somewhat for the disappointments of league relegation and a hammering from Kilkenny in the Leinster semi-final.Clearly the Clarecastle man was disappointed with his side’s defeat but he paid due tribute to Clare.“It was a Cusack Park night that I have been lucky enough to have been part of sometimes. I was at the other end of it tonight. Fair …

THERE was more success for Clare juvenile handball over the weekend with two Clare clubs picking up three 40×20 Féile na nGael titles. Two more teams reached the final of their respective divisions. Kilkishen won the boys Division 2 title when they defeated Cork side Mallow. The club won the 2009 boys’ Division 1 title. The winning team was Gary Cooney, Ben McLoughlin, Cillian Nugent, Tiernan Agnew and Sean Murphy. Kilkishen’s girls also reached the Division 2 final but were defeated by local rivals, Tuamgraney. The winners here were Clodagh Nash, Fiona Hayes, Amy Barrett and Ciara Doyle. Tuamgraney made it a double, the club’s first ever Féile wins, when their boys’ team took the Division 4 honours. This was another all-Clare final with Clarecastle filling the runners-up spot. The winning team featured Cian Minogue, Oran Treacy, Ian Murray, Sean Pearl and Ciarán Hickey. The Féile festival (handball, hurling and camogie) was this year hosted by Dublin and the handball …

THIS weekend, the second round of the Armada Hotel Junior, Intermediate and Senior Championships take place.West Clare Gaels and Liscannor are in action on Sunday in Quilty at 10am, while Banner Ladies and Cooraclare are also in action (venue and time to be confirmed). West Clare Gaels will be eager to get a win having suffered defeat at the hand of Banner Ladies last Sunday, while Liscannor, who recorded a seven point win over Cooraclare, will push the West Clare outfit all the way. In the intermediate championship, Clooney-Quin who had a bye last weekend, play Fergus Rovers on Sunday evening. The game is provisionally fixed for Éire Óg at 7pm, while Doonbeg have a bye in this round. Last weekend, Fergus Rovers suffered a two-point defeat against the Magpies so they must win on Sunday to stay in the competition. In the junior championship, Kilmurry-Ibrickane play Burren Gaels in a repeat of the recent Division 3 League final which …

WHATEVER chance Clare had of competing with Cork in the 2012 Munster final, they simply had to employ a legitimately aggressive approach in every sector of the Gaelic Grounds. On top of that, they had to defend resolutely, get men behind the ball, leave their most mobile forwards upfield and try to hit Cork on the break. Clare did none of the above and that’s largely why this game was over in the 20th minute when Aidan Walsh ambled through the Clare back line and shot Cork 2-5 to 0-4 up. Getting beaten is one thing but losing without making a sustained fight of it was the most disappointing aspect of Clare’s display. Let’s acknowledge that Gary and Shane Brennan, Rory Donnelly, Michael O’Shea and Joe Hayes all contributed manfully, while the full-back line did their best to withstand the first-half barrage, without any protection. There is no point in ignoring the fact that Clare’s lack of a coherent, defensive …

AFTERWARDS, Micheál McDermott stood by Clare’s tactical approach. He was adamant that man to man was the way to go. If Clare had adopted a more defensive approach, would they have been beaten by less than 12 points? It’s impossible to say conclusively but to see Clare not opting to defend in number was very surprising. This approach led directly to Cork’s three goals. Once they broke one tackle, that was it. They were through on goal. If Joe Hayes had help from Iker Casillas and Gianluigi Buffon, Cork would still have buried all three first-half goals.  Take Fintan Goold’s 13th minute goal as an example. Aidan Walsh outfielded Ger Quinlan from Alan Quirke’s kick-out, cantered through the Clare defence and offloaded to Goold who buried Cork’s first goal. Seven minutes later, Walsh won another kick-out and walked through the Clare back line before netting his county’s second. Once Walsh hit open ground, there wasn’t a Clare man within shouting …