Sports

Avenue United A  3   Bridge United B 0Avenue United deservingly captured the Clare Junior Soccer Cup at the County Grounds in Doora last Friday evening when they overcame Bridge United B.

ÉIRE Óg claimed back-to-back U-14B titles on Friday when they defeated Kilkishen by two points at Clooney. The Ennis side registered several wides before an Orla Devitt free got them off the mark.

LEADING officials from the GAA, camogie and handball were in Clare last Thursday night for the official launch of this year’s Féile na nGael at the West County Hotel.

Waterford  0-13   Clare 0-8FOUR points ahead five minutes into the second half and dominating in most positions, Clare looked to be on their way to a semi-final date in the Munster Junior Football Championship, only for this game at Fraher Field in Dungarvan to be turned on its head when the visitors were reduced to 14 men with 23 minutes still to play.

St Joseph’s  2-12   Scariff 1-8ST Joseph’s kept up their challenge for a semi-final spot with this win over Scariff in Division 2A at Gurteen on Saturday.  

Kilmaley 2-11 Clooney 2-3 CLAREABBEYwas the venue for the senior league final last Friday evening when Kilmaley regained the title at the expense of Clooney. Kilmaley came into the final as favourites, having won the championship and being narrowly defeated by Newmarket in the league final last year. Clooney came through a tough campaign and had to win a play-off against Newmarket to decide who would be this year’s league finalists against Kilmaley. This was the first time these two teams met competitively in the senior ranks. Kilmaley were first on the scoreboard when Claire McMahon pointed from a free in the third minute. McMahon added to this when she pointed from a 45 four minutes later. Aisling Darcy provided the next two scores from Kilmaley, with points in the ninth and 13th minute. Clooney got their first score of the game when Deirdre Murphy pointed from a free after being fouled in the 14th minute. The next three points …

IF Clare are to avenge their nine-point league defeat to Waterford in Dungarvan on April 11, the groundwork for winning Sunday’s Munster quarter-final will have been laid in the six weeks since that emphatic league defeat.The training ground is where a team’s shape and morale is sculpted and that work is invariably evident on match day. To win, Clare will first have to compete resolutely for the 70 minutes and put themselves in position to win a place in the Munster semi-final against Limerick on June 6. If they are to compete at the level required to beat Waterford, who won promotion to Division 3, a renewed belief will have to form part of Clare’s approach. That belief was seriously undermined by their successive league defeats to Limerick and Waterford after they had won six successive league games. Laurence Healy, who played regularly at midfield and corner-back during the league, is out of this weekend’s game with a leg injury, …

THERE are a number of major injury concerns for Clare senior hurling manager Ger O’Loughlin and his backroom team as they put the finishing touches to their preparations for the Munster Senior Championship clash with Waterford on June 7.Gerry O’Grady is definitely out due to an ankle injury that has caused him a lot of problems over the past two years. While he did play for his club Crusheen at the weekend, he has withdrawn from the county squad because of the injury.The chances of Newmarket’s James McInerney playing any part in the game are growing slimmer by the minute. He hasn’t played for club or county in more than a month due to a stomach muscle complaint. He is due to see a specialist this week, after which there will be a clearer picture.“It’s a major concern, as he hasn’t played in over a month,” O’Loughlin said this week when conceding that McInerney’s chances of playing are dwindling by …