Sports

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.

Kilmaley 0-13   Corofin 0-10 KILMALEY booked their place in the last eight of the senior hurling championship when they overcame Corofin on Saturday at Cusack Park but they will be the first to admit that they will have to show a huge improvement if they are to challenge for the crown. This was one of the poorest games in the campaign for quite a while and the winners will be particularly concerned with the fact that they shot 21 wides during the course of the game. In the previous round they had 19 wides.

Ballyea 1-12   Sixmilebridge 1-12 JUST after the final whistle sounded Sixmilebridge mentors, players and subs all took the opportunity to vent their fury at calls made by referee Ger Lyons.Throughout the second half there had been frequent roars of anger from the ’Bridge sideline and while a couple of decisions did go against them, it’d be hard to argue that the side which narrowly avoided relegation last year, Ballyea, were undeserving of a point, which leaves them still in the hunt for a quarter-final berth.  

Inagh-Kilnamona 0-15   Tulla 0-9 CLARE senior hurling champions less than two years ago, Tulla are out of the 2009 title race following this loss to Inagh-Kilnamona at Cusack Park on Sunday evening.Davy Fitzgerald recently committed to helping out with the Inagh-Kilnamona preparations and this was their first game. He directed operations from the TV box on the stand and while this wasn’t a very memorable game, the Sixmilebridge man must have been pleased with the workrate of the winners.

Kilmihil 0-10   Shannon Gaels 0-7 KILMIHIL will definitely play senior football in 2010, while Shannon Gaels’ future as a senior club is less certain. While the 2008 intermediate champions have a senior B semi-final to think about, their neighbours have a relegation semi-final and the spectre of demotion to dwell upon. Kilmihil won because they made much better use of the strong wind advantage in Cooraclare last Friday evening, while they were also much more keen for battle than their opponents.

Kilrush 0-10   Éire Óg 0-8 INSPIRED principally by wing-back Con O’Brien, who kicked three points from play and Donal O’Sullivan, who played as well as he ever has at midfield, Kilrush clinched a senior championship quarter final spot in Kilmihil last Sunday. The game was postponed seven days earlier but if anything the weather was worse a week later.