Sports

Clare 3-17   Waterford 3-9 RIDDLING the Waterford defence with attacking potency, Clare returned to the All-Ireland intermediate final stage in Croke Park following last Saturday’s defeat of the Déise girls in McDonagh Park, Nenagh. Management and players will have to explore ways of tightening up defensively however, before they meet either Longford or Fermanagh at 2pm on Sunday, September 27. Were it not for two exceptionally brave Denise Walsh saves midway through the second half, Clare could have conceded at least five goals. Walsh also saved a poorly struck Michelle Ryan penalty four minutes from the end of the second half. At the opposite end of the field though, Waterford couldn’t handle Clare’s range of attacking threat. Niamh Keane, eagerly flitting across the Clare forward line, produced an outstanding half-hour’s football in the first period, kicking four points from play and helped to create like scores for Áine Kelly and Majella Griffin. Kelly scored Clare’s first-half goal just two minutes …

CLARE U-21 half-forward Seán Collins’ hopes of playing in the All-Ireland final on September 13 in Croke Park are very slim.The Cratloe man sustained a shoulder injury in the last 10 minutes of Cratloe’s intermediate football championship win over St Breckan’s in Gurteen on Sunday evening.

Cratloe 2-19   Ennistymon 3-6 AT the end of a near flawless display, Cratloe got their hands on the clubs first ever U-21A football title in Cusack Park last Thursday evening. The boys in dark blue were superior to Ennistymon in virtually every position as evidenced by their flowing brand of football, which led by a avalanche of quality scores from play. Neither the weather or the fact that the teams were barred from entering the pitch until 15 minutes before throw-in, derailed Cratloe. Yet it was Ennistymon, playing with the wind, who struck first when David Davenport goaled from a penalty given away by goalkeeper Wes de Loughrey, who brought down Danny Rouine. Two minutes later, Pádraig Collins netted one of the slickest goals seen in Cusack Park this year. Cutting through the Ennistymon defence, Collins played a neat one two with his older brother, Seán, before outwitting Noel Sexton with the outside of his right foot. Deployed in a …

RANK outsiders Broadford threw themselves an unexpected championship lifeline with a tremendous fire and brimstone second-half display to end Doora-Barefield’s unbeaten run. With three wins on the trot, St Joseph’s were hotly fancied to defeat their South-East Clare opponents in the fourth round of the senior hurling championship in Cusack Park, Ennis on Friday night.

  Clooney-Quin 1-10   Crusheen 0-9 Clooney-Quin have answered their critics in a defiant fashion by booking a place in the senior hurling championship quarter-finals for the first time at the expense of their fancied arch rivals Crusheen. Their well deserved four-point victory earns Clooney-Quin bragging rights over their neighbours for the next year but more importantly it gives them a chance to realise their potential in the knock-out stages. In recent years, Clooney-Quin have displayed a tendency to self-destruct in big games and have been accused of lacking the killer instinct to put the game beyond the reach of their opponents.Although Pat O’Rourke’s charges should have delivered the killer blow to the lethargic Crusheen outfit long before the final whistle, their ability to survive in a tight game marks a welcome change for their supporters.Crusheen have been something of a bogey team for Clooney-Quin, who have lived in their shadow, and this was their first win in a championship game …

Clonlara 2-13   Scariff 1-11 CLONLARA’S determination to retain the Hamilton Trophy was highlighted in this round 4 tie at Sixmilebridge on Saturday. Scariff threatened on a number of occasions to topple the champions but the experience of the South-East Clare men shone through in the end and they deservingly captured the points and a quarter-final spot. Scariff got off to a tremendous start with goalkeeper Brendan McNamara coming upfield to crash a 20m free to the Clonlara net in the seventh minute after Kenny McNamara had been fouled. They were level, 0-4 to 1-1, at the end of the first quarter. Three minutes later, Darach Honan struck for a superb goal when, after winning possession from a delivery by his team captain Tomás O’Donovan, he raced through and, despite a heavy tackle, he fired past McNamara.It was 1-6 each at half-time and Scariff fans were quietly confident that they could prevail, despite the fact that they would have to face …

Newmarket 2-11   Clarecastle 0-10 Clarecastle went into their third round tie in the knowledge that victory was vital to keep their slim hopes of championship glory in 2009 alive. They battled bravely throughout but Newmarket were the superior outfit on the day and deservingly maintained their unbeaten run in this season’s championship.Any doubts that the Blues, who had already qualified for the play-offs, might not be up for this contest were quickly knocked on the head as they raced into a four-point lead inside three minutes. It could have been greater had Seánie Arthur’s pile driver following a James McInerney delivery been lower in the second minute but the corner-forward’s effort flew over the crossbar.  

Cratloe 0-15   Wolfe Tones 0-14 THE big talking point at the end of this senior championship tie at Cusack Park on Saturday evening was whether or not Wolfe Tones made the right decision in going for a goal from a penalty in the final seconds of the game.Gareth McPhillips’ effort for a goal rebounded off the crossbar and the final whistle sounded, leaving the Shannon side a point behind and now depending on other results to get them to the play-off stages of the championship.