The race for this season’s Clare Champion Cup title continued over the weekend, with action in all three divisions.
Leaders Sixmilebridge and Whitegate won again, as did Newmarket, who are hot on their heels. The result that aroused most discussion this week was the big victory recorded by Clarecastle over Crusheen, a result that has considerably weakened Crusheen’s chances of being in the shake-up for honours.
Twelve points separated the sides in the tie played at Crusheen, on a day when Inagh-Kilnamona reversed the championship first round result as they defeated Cratloe.

Newmarket  2-15
Clooney-Quin 3-10

Newmarket led by seven points at half-time in this tie, with both their goals coming in the first half when Bernard Gaffney and Enda Kelly found the net.
Indeed, it was the first-half performance that laid the foundations for this latest victory by the Blues, a win which keeps them very much in contention for a place in the semi-finals. The half-time score was 2-7 to 0-6.
Gaffney was the team’s top scorer with 1-7 to his credit, one of his second-half points being a particularly impressive score.
Second-half goals from Derek Ryan – he also contributed 1-7 – Cathal Egan and Martin Duggan meant that the result was in doubt right to the end.
Both sides showed changes from their recent championship line-ups and both were without the services of their inter-county representatives.
Newmarket: Kieran Devitt; Eoin McInerney, Stephen Kelly, Brian Clancy; Shane O’Brien Junior, Pádraig Kilmartin, Noel Frawley; Martin O’Hanlon, Shane O’Connor; Enda Barrett, Mike McInerney, Eoin O’Brien; Eoin Hayes, Enda Kelly, Bernard Gaffney.
Sub: Darren Duggan for O’Brien.
Clooney-Quin: Damian O’Halloran; Joe O’Loughlin, Conor Harrison, Shane McNamara; Donnacda Murphy, Enda Harrison, Seamus Conroy; Mike McNamara, Dara Hannon; John Earls, Martin Duggan, Trevor Lee; Paudie Ward, Cathal Egan, Derek Ryan.
Subs: Michael Daffy for Lee; Pádraig Dugan for Mike McNamara and Seán Ward for Paudie Ward.

Clarecastle 2-18
Crusheen 1-7

Despite being reduced to 14 men just before the half-time whistle when Eric Flynn was shown a straight red card, Clarecastle still managed to score a comfortable win over Crusheen on Sunday.
The home side struck first with a goal from Paddy Meaney in the opening minutes but thereafter they were outplayed in most positions. It was 1-7 to 1-1 at half-time in the winners’ favour, with their goal coming from Aaron Considine.
Clarecastle’s dominance was more pronounced in the second half when it appeared as if they had the extra man and not the home outfit. They controlled the exchanges in most positions and extended their lead with excellent scores from Tyrone Kearse, the impressive Patrick Kelly and Seanie Talty to seal a very comfortable win. Aaron Considine had their second goal.
Clarecastle’s winning margin would have been greater but for the play of Briain Dillon, who made a coupe of very good saves, Cronan Dillon and Alan Tuohy.
Clarecastle: John Casey; Seanie Moloney, Mark McNamara, Gareth Barry; Kevin Clohessy, Conor Plunkett, Stephen O’Halloran; Patrick Kelly, Tyrone Kearse; Eamonn Callinan, Eric Flynn, Fergus Ryan; Aaron Considine, Danny Scanlan, Seánie Talty.
Subs: Conor O’Gorman for Moloney (inj); Fergal Griffin for Scanlan; Jason Considine for Talty and Niall Dunne for Considine.
Crusheen: Briain Dillon; John Brigdale, Cronan Dillon, Alan Brigdale; Jason Greene, Ciaran O’Doherty, Fergus Kennedy; Tony Meaney, Thomas Vaughan; Gearóid O’Donnell, Joe Meaney, Alan Tuohy; Paddy Meaney, Gerry O’Grady, Niall McMahon.
Subs: Patrick O’Grady for Vaughan; Dara O’Doherty for N McMahon; Niall Fitzgibbons for T Meaney and Conor O’Loughlin for Greene.

Sixmilebridge 3-19
Clonlara 1-6

Sixmilebridge were always in control at O’Garney Park last Thursday. They dominated the opening half and were well on their way to the points when they held a 2-9 to 0-2 half-time lead, the goals coming from Cyril Crowe and Trevor Purcell.
Crowe scored another goal in the second half as the home side continued their dominance over the title holders, who remain at the bottom of the table and in danger of being relegated to Division 2A.
Sixmilebridge: Derek Fahy; John Fennessy, Tadhg Keogh, Ray McNamara; Robert Conlon, Aidan Quilligan, Paidi Fitzpatrick; Mark Culbert, Anthony Liddane; Caimin Morey, Niall Gilligan, Shane Golden; Trevor Purcell, Cyril Crowe, Danny Morey.
Subs: Barry O’Connor for Quilligan and Rory Shanahan for Culbert.
Clonlara: Ger O’Connell; Brian Woods, Senan Nihill, Paul Collins; Pat O’Hare, John Moloney, Diarmuid O’Meara; Jason Murphy, John Barry; Tommy Lynch, Tomas O’Donovan, William Slattery; Cillian Fennessy, Donal Madden, Alan O’Connell.
Subs: Paul Nihill for Barry; Eoin Hackett for O’Meara and Neil Ryan for A O’Connell.

Whitegate 1-11
Tulla 0-12

A first-half goal from Ian Fahy proved decisive as Whitegate returned to winning ways when they beat Tulla last Thursday evening.
The goal helped the winners to a four-point interval advantage (1-5 to 0-4) and while Tulla fought back in the second half, they weren’t able to get back on terms and remain in danger of being relegated as a result of this loss.
Tulla did get to within a point of the winners and they had a couple of chances to level. Brian Quinn had a shot deflected behind for a 65, which Ray Stewart failed to convert. Whitegate then went two up when Andrew Fahy landed a free from midfield. In the final minute, Aidan Lynch had a chance but the Whitegate defence held firm.
Whitegate: Andrew Fahy; Shane Kelly, John Bugler, Cathal Mulvihill; John Minogue, Trevor Kelly, Cathal Jones; Patrick Minogue, John O’Brien; Tommy Madden, George Waterstone, Ian Fahy; Michael O’Brien, Stephen Malone, Michael Dooley.
Subs: Terence Fahy for Dooley; Niall Hayes for I Fahy (inj) and Stephen Jones for T Madden
Tulla: Sam Edbrook; Eugene Cooney, Paul Lynch, John Brennan; Cian McInerney, Mark Quinn, Karl Quinn; Declan Murphy, James Littleton; Trevor Vaughan, Andrew Quinn, Eanna Torpey; Ray Stewart, Ciaran Brennan, Brian Quinn.
Subs: Aidan Lynch for Vaughan; Brian Lynch for K Quinn; Conor O’Halloran for Littleton; Michael Murphy for E Torpey and Cathal Dinan for C Brennan.

Inagh-Kilnamona 1-12
Cratloe 1-7

Cratloe led at half-time by a goal at Kilnamona on Sunday but the home side had the better of the second-half exchanges when a number of the Cratloe players tired, which wasn’t surprising, given that over half of their team had played a football league game the previous evening.
Pádraig Chaplin was the Cratloe goalscorer in the first half and this helped his side to a 1-4 to 0-4 half-time lead. Inspired by Ronan O’Looney, who was in sparkling form at centre-back, Inagh-Kilnamona had the better of the second-half exchanges and a goal from Brian Hehir helped them take the lead, after which they went on to win.
Inagh-Kilnamona: Patrick Kelly; Damian Hogan, Jamie Davin, Brian Glynn; Seán Devitt, Ronan O’Looney, David Hegarty; Cathal Griffin, Shane Griffin; Dermot Gannon, Cathal Lafferty, OwenVaughan; Brian Hehir, Eugene Cullinan, Conor Tierney.
Sub: Joe Griffin for C Griffin.
Cratloe: Seán Hayes; Philip Gleeson, Barry Duggan, David Ryan; Liam Markham, Michael Hawes, Patrick O’Gorman; Seán Chaplin, Damian Browne; Aidan Browne, James Enright, Conor Ryan; Gearóid Ryan, Padraig Chaplin, Conor McGrath.
Subs: John O’Gorman for Patrick O’Gorman and Joseph O’Connor for A Browne.

 

Division 2A

Shock victory for Scariff

Scariff 1-13
Broadford 2-9

Despite being short of the services of a couple of their more experienced players, including Brendan McNamara and Barry Murphy, Scariff caused a surprise on Sunday evening when they inflicted a first defeat of this campaign on Broadford.
An outstanding performance from Kenny McNamara was the highlight of the home side’s success. On the evening, he contributed 1-5 of his side’s tally and, generally, caused huge problems for Broadford.
The winners were 1-8 to 1-5 in front at half-time and while Broadford fought back strongly, Scariff held on for a narrow, merited win.
Goalscorers for Broadford were Padraic Hickey and Aonghus O’Brien.
Scariff: Shane Mulvihill; Cathal Nash, Darragh Kelly, Jim Minogue; Damian O’Grady, Enda Murphy, Conor McNamara; Shane Corry, Matthew Horan; Ross Horan, Michael Moroney, Evan McNamara; Alphie Rodgers, Brian Harte, Kenny McNamara.
Broadford: Kevin Ryan; Dara Corcoran, Ciaran Corcoran, John Corcoran; Peter O’Brien, Aidan O’Brien, Cathal Chaplin; Craig Chaplin, James Gunning; Padraic Hickey, John Clogan, Aonghus O’Brien; Mark Moloney, Padraic Taylor, Declan Teefy.
Subs: Alan Kilcoyne for Aonghus O’Brien (inj); Niall Moloney for Teefy; Kieran O’Connell for D Corcoran and Mark O’Donovan for N Moloney.

Tubber 2-14
Éire Óg 0-15

Goals from Eamonn Taaffe and Clive Earley helped Tubber to a victory over Éire Óg on Saturday evening, a result which leaves the Ennis side at the bottom of the league table.
Tubber: Paul Waters; Paul Fogarty, Justin McMahon, John O’Connor; Mark Earley, Patrick O’Connor, Fergal O’Grady; Barry O’Connor, Conor Earley; Ger O’Connor, Shane O’Connor, Eamonn Taaffe; David Donoghue, Tommy Lee, Clive Earley.
Subs: Dara O’Connor for Ger O’Connor and Nigel O’Donoghue for Lee.
Éire Óg: Kevin Brennan; Cormac O’Regan, John Mulcahy, Marc O’Donnell; Mark Fitzgerald, Kevin Moynihan, Ciaran Russell; Noel Murphy, Cathal Whelan; Ronan Keane, Barry Nugent, Damian McMahon; Danny Russell, Graham Glynn, Aaron Fitzgerald.

Wolfe Tones 2-12
St Joseph’s 0-14

Wolfe Tones kept up their challenge for promotion with a hard-earned win over St Joseph’s at Gurteen on Sunday evening.
The Shannon side were two points ahead at half-time when the score was 0-8 to 0-6. In the second half they edged in front with a goal from Gareth McPhillips but the result was still in doubt inside the final five minutes. A goal from substitute Ronan Hehir sealed victory for the winners.
Shane O’Connor and Ivor White scored most of the St Joseph’s points.
Wolfe Tones: Ray Carley; Mickey O’Connell, John Coen, John Guilfoyle; Seán Cahill, Bobby McPhillips, Frank Lohan; Barry Loughnane, Stephen McInerney; Gareth McPhillips, Declan O’Rourke, Brendan Hughes; Aaron Cunningham, Daniel Gallery, Daithí O’Connell.
Subs: Gary Leahy for Loughnane and Ronan Hehir for Gallery.
St Joseph’s: Paul Madden; Marty O’Regan, Ken Kennedy, Alan O’Neill; Cathal O’Sullivan, Mark Hallinan, Darragh O’Driscoll; Kevin Dilleen, Ivor White; Seán Flynn, Noel Brody, Damian Kennedy; Shane O’Connor, Declan Malone, Mike McNamara.
Subs: Paul Dullaghan for Malone.

O’Callaghan’s Mills 0-15
Kilmaley 0-11

O’Callaghan’s Mills moved into second place on the league table with a deserved win over Kilmaley on Sunday at O’Callaghan’s Mills.
The home side were 0-10 to 0-7 ahead at half-time and went on to hold the advantage in the second period.
Diarmuid Hehir did well at centre-back while John Cooney made a number of excellent saves. Adrian Flaherty was the team’s top scorer.
O’Callaghan’s Mills: John Cooney; Damian Noonan, Ger Frost, Gerry Cooney; Kevin McHugh, Diarmuid Hehir, Brian Donnellan; Niall Donovan, John McGrath; Enda McNamara, Declan Donovan, Adrian Flaherty; Alan Duggan, Padraic McKeogh, Brendan Hannon.
Sub: Fergus Donovan for P McKeogh (inj).
Kilmaley: Kieran Dillon; Martin O’Connor, Noel Casey, Seán Talty; Eoin O’Malley, Conor McMahon, Colin McGuane; Kenneth Kennedy, Raymond Kennedy; Niall McGuane, Anthony Cahill, Conor Clancy; Pádraig Talty, Seamus Hurley, Conor Neylon.
Subs: John Cabey for Hurley; Brian McMahon for R Kennedy; John Clohessy for Cahill; Brian McDonnell for P Talty and Paul McGuane for Neylon.

Ballyea 1-14
Corofin 0-14

A contribution of 12 points from Tony Griffin helped Ballyea to their win over Corofin on Sunday evening.
There was little between the sides throughout the tie and the only goal of the game proved decisive. It came after just five minutes, when a long- range free from Ballyea goalie Shane O’Neill went all the way into the net.
The teams were level at 1-4 to 0-7 at half time.
Ballyea: Shane O’Neill; David Sheehan, Kevin Sheehan, Eamon Griffin; Cathal O’Connor, Niall Keane, Francie O’Reilly; James Murphy, Alan Carigg; Brian Murphy, Cormac Murphy, Donal Chambers; Barry Coffey, Tony Griffin Gearóid O’Connell.
Subs: John Sheehan for E Griffin and Gary Brennan for B Coffey.
Corofin: Kevin Raftery; Shane Neylon, Luke O’Loughlin, Paudie Barry; Darren Malone, Dara Clancy, Pat Ryan; Ollie O’Loughlin, Dara Shannon; Damian Ryan, Declan Lee, Stephen Heagney; Eamonn Malone, Kevin Heagney, Killian Malone.
Subs: Eamonn Dunne for K Malone and Fionn Clancy for E Malone.

 

Division 2B

All even between Bodyke and ’Bridge

Bodyke 4-9
Sixmilebridge 2-15

A contribution of 3-7 from Colm Madden was the highlight of their tie played at Bodyke on Saturday evening. Sixmilebridge led by four points at halftime when the score was 2-8 to 2-4. Madden scored both goals for Bodyke while Tommy Liddy scored two for the ’Bridge.
Sixmilebridge opened a six-point lead in the second half, with points, coming from Liddy and Stiofan Fitzpatrick.
Bodyke hit back with points from Madden and when he struck for his third goal, it put the home side into the lead. Tommy Liddy pointed in the last minute to earn Sixmilebridge a share of the spoils.
Bodyke: Seamus Ryan; Keith O’Donnell, Seán Doyle, Caimin Treacy; Colin Molloy, Ivan Pio McNamara, Shane Walsh; Diarmaid Walsh, Barry O’Brien; Trevor Kelly, Colm Madden, John Fitzgerald; Ciaran Malone, Danny McGuire, Seán McNamara.
Sixmilebridge: Seán Chaplin; Keith Walker, Jamie Keogh, Jonathon Hayes; Cathal Walsh, Erroll Tuohy, Christy Griffin; Jonathon Downes, Michael O’Halloran; Adrian Chaplin, Stiofán Fitzpatrick, Dara O’Connor; Ronan Mullane, Sam O’Sullivan, Tommy Liddy.
Subs: Ronan O’Shea for O’Sullivan and Stephen Fleming for Mullane.

Ogonnelloe 3-18
Killanena 0-15

Ogonnelloe got back to winning ways with a well-deserved victory over Killanena at Ogonnelloe on Sunday. The sides were evenly matched throughout the first half and Killanena led at half-time by 0-10 to 0-8.
However, the dismissal of Ronan Flaherty before half-time proved costly, as Ogonnelloe used the extra man to great effect after the break.
Early points in the second half from Peter O’Brien and a John MacKenna goal put Ogonnelloe in control while the Ogonnelloe backs limited Killanena to just five points for the final 30 minutes.
Further points from Joseph Mooney and John MacKenna, as well as two late Rory Skelly goals saw Ogonnelloe run out easy winners.
Best for the winners were Michael Costelloe, Peter O’Brien, Rory Skelly and Barry Kiely.
Ogonnelloe: Eoin Sheedy; Michael Mooney, Michael Costelloe, Henry Mooney;
Peter O’Brien, Patrick Barton, Michael O’Brien; John O’Brien, Barry Kiely; Paul Healy, Henry Vaughan, Joseph Mooney; Jamie Cunnane, John McKenna, Rory Skelly.
Subs: Robert Dreelan, Patrick Mooney.
Killanena: David Noone; Barry Noone, Joe Clancy, Pat Noone; Kieran Glynn, John O’Meara, Declan Noonan; Jack Houlihan, Gerry McNamara; Stephen McMahon, Ronan Flaherty, John Noonan; Fintan McNamara, Liam McNamara, Stephen Moloney.
Subs: Paul McCarthy for J Noonan; Michael Noonan for D Noonan and Shane Moroney for J Houlihan.

Ruan 1-11
Ennistymon 0-13

In a disappointing tie played at Ennistymon, Ruan scraped through with the minimum to spare over the home side.
Kevin O’Regan scored the important goal just before half-time, while Eoin Hanrahan and Caimin Howard scored big points in the second half.
Ruan: Pakie Roughan; Dara Brohan, Niall O’Connor, Gary Bell; Killian Ryan, Jonathon Clohessy, Dara Roughan; Tadhg Hanrahan, Caimin Howard; Michael Vaughan, Aidan Lynch, Eoin Hanrahan; Kevin O’Regan, John Punch, Colin O’Donoghue.
Subs: Leon Quirke for Brohan (inj) and Seán Cullinan for O’Regan.
Ennistymon: Cathal McDonagh; Brendan Hogan, Liam Driscoll, Michael A Devitt; Michael Nestor, Pádraig Kelleher, Seán Driscoll; Caoimhin Fahy, Aidan Slattery; Joe O’Loughlin, Brian McDonagh, Michael McDonagh; Tommy Hogan, Tadhg Malone, Pádraig Brennan.
Subs: John Mullins for ­Brennan.