Sports

“CONCENTRATION cost us,” sighed Clare manager Ger O’Loughlin after suffering defeat to Tipperary. “We got a great start and could not have asked for better. We looked awful sharp and very committed. We played to the plan. We man marked and did it well but concentration cost us as we saw with the ball coming in that Corbett got on to. It was naïve stuff and we need to learn from it. Tipp will eat you up if you give them an opportunity. Conceding four goals is too much. However, we take a lot of positives out of it.”He added, “They deserved to beat us but we contributed to our own downfall. I hate going away saying we were proud because we still lost, which is disappointing. Somewhere along the way, we have to turn the corner and start winning these games. That one was there. If you score 1-19, you would nearly expect to come away with a victory.” …

TIPPERARY manager Declan Ryan felt his side’s ability to rattle the Clare net was one of the main reasons why his team qualified for the Munster final on July 10 against Waterford.

Tipperary  4-19 Clare  1-19 RANK outsiders ahead of the game, Clare gave All-Ireland champions Tipperary plenty of problems before going down to a nine-point defeat in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship semi-final at Páirc na nGael in Limerick on Sunday. While there was much to be pleased with in Clare’s performance, the concession of four goals cost them dearly. The defence was hit for three goals in a five-minute spell midway through the first half, which turned the tie in the Premier County’s favour.Clare had a dream start with a goal from one of the stars of the game, Conor McGrath, inside the opening minute. They quickly added three points to lead by six after as many minutes. A further four minutes elapsed before the winners had their first score.Despite this magnificent start, Clare showed a lack of experience at this level and it was to prove so costly midway through the half. With the score at 1-5 to 0-2 …

THE Clare Champion-sponsored Cumann na mBunscoil hurling and camogie finals have provided lots of entertainment for all involved over the past decade. That trend continued at Cusack Park on Wednesday when six finals in this year’s programme took place. Six more finals will take place this Thursday.Members of the Clare senior hurling panel were in attendance to see the stars of the future in action. John Conlon, who played in a number of finals with Clonlara National School and Fergal Lynch, now a member of the teaching staff at Quin, were interested spectators.There was some outstanding play on Wednesday with the Division 1 decider proving particularly exciting. Ennis CBS emerged as the winners when they scored a one-point victory over the title holders, Clarecastle, 2-6 to 2-5. Goals from Matthew Davenport and Cathal Ruane played a huge part in their win. Clarecastle’s goals came from David Barry and Cian Donnelly.The B teams from the schools met in the shield final …

Sixmilebridge are the Clare Camogie Féile winners for 2011 but three more camogie clubs from the county will also take part in Féile at the request of the Galway Camogie Board. Sixmilebridge will be in Group B of Division 2, along with Galway sides, Clarinbridge and Oranmore. St Patrick’s of Keady in Armagh will be the fourth team in the group. Clooney/Quin will feature in Group D of Division 3, along with hosts, Kiltormer and Meelick-Eyrecourt and Mayo side Na Brídeoga. Group C in Division 5 will see the remaining two Clare sides, The Burren and Killanena, face up to Clontibret of Monaghan and Longford Slashers. In both Division 2 and 3, Sixmilebridge and Clooney/Quin will need to finish top of their group to progress to the semi-finals. In Division 5, there are three groups, with the winners of each group, along with the runners up of Group A, progressing to the semi-finals.The camogie club in Sixmilebridge was formed in …

In a game that Clare led for 50 minutes, Veronica Curtin’s introduction in the 48th minute caused all manner of problems for the visitors as she struck for goal to level matters and then tacked on three points to push her side in front. Galway went into the game confident of an easy win over their neighbours. However, the Banner girls, whose fighting spirit was evident against Cork last weekend, were determined to show they can compete at senior level. Clare opened the scoring with a Claire McMahon free in the second minute to which Galway’s Sandra Tannian responded two minutes later. Galway’s Aislinn Connolly saw her attempt at an early goal saved by Clare’s net minder Susan Vaughan and cleared back down the field. McMahon pointed another free for Clare in the 12th minute to push the visitors out in front and when Clare were awarded a free, Chloe Morey dropped in a long-range shot, which saw the combination …

Goals from Tommy Morey (2) and David O’Connor helped the winners to lead at half-time on a 3-8 to 0-9 scoreline.Any hopes of a Broadford fight-back were killed in the third quarter when the winners were well on top adding goals from Caimin and Tommy Morey and Niall Gilligan (2) on their way to a comfortable win. Sixmilebridge: Derek Fahy; Tadhg Keogh, Aidan Quilligan, Paul Fitzpatrick, Robert Conlon, John Fennessy (0-1, f), Paidí Fitzpatrick; Pa Sheehan (0-2), Kevin Lynch; Tony Carmody (0-2), Tommy Morey (3-2), David O’Connor (1-4); Danny Morey (0-4), Niall Gilligan (2-0) (captain), Caimin Morey (1-3, 0-1f).Subs: Anthony Liddane for Carmody (39 mins), Sam O’Sullivan (0-1) for Gilligan (40 mins), Ray McNamara for Keogh (42 mins), Eoin Quinn for Fennessy (46 mins), Ronan Mullane for D Morey (48 mins).Broadford: Ollie Marsh; John Corcoran, Aidan O’Brien, Darragh Corcoran; James Gunning, Cathal Chaplin (0-1), Cian O’Brien; Alan Kilcoyne, Craig Chaplin (0-12, 0-9f, 65 x 2); Pádraig Hickey (0-1, f), Pádraig …

Tubber  1-14 Smith O’Brien’s  2-9 A STRONG finish from Smith O’Brien’s wasn’t enough to prevent Tubber from taking the points in this Division 2A tie at Tubber on Monday evening.Tubber had the better of matters up to the three-quarter stage and opened up a good lead. When Smith O’Brien’s were reduced to 14 men after corner-back Cian Nolan was dismissed, they upped their game and piled on the pressure. Their goals came from Micheál Ryan and John Cusack.However, time wasn’t on their side and Tubber held on for victory. Tubber: Paul Waters; John O’Connor, Eoin Ruane, Paul Fogarty; Justin McMahon, Conor Earley, Fergal O’Grady; Clive Earley, Mark Earley; David Donoghue, Barry O’Connor, Gerard O’Connor; Darragh O’Connor, Shane O’Connor, Eamonn Taffe.Subs: Mark Waters for Barry O’Connor; Gerard Brohan for Ger O’Connor; Gerard O’Connor for Shane O’Connor.Smith O’Brien’s: Jonathon Hayes; Cian Nolan, Trevor Howard, Michael Culhane; Brian McInerney, Shane Tuohy, Aidan McKeogh; Mark O’Halloran, Liam Walsh; Mark McInerney, Dean Sinnott, Pat Vaughan; …