The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
Scoring difference was required to decide placings at the top of Division 1A after three teams finished on the same points.
County champions Newmarket go top on a superior score difference, with Inagh-Kilnamona edging out Cratloe for second place.
Despite losing their 100% record when going down by the minimum margin to Whitegate in Division 1B, O’Callaghan’s Mills have claimed to top spot in this division, with Tubber in second place.
St Joseph’s suffered a one-point loss to Wolfe Tones in their final game on Sunday, which cost them a chance of progressing.
The win for the Shannon side wasn’t enough to save them from making the drop to Division 2, where they will be joined by Kilmaley, whose loss to Ruan, allied to other results, has sent them crashing down a division.
Clonlara and Broadford had already lost their places in Division 1A before the weekend’s round of games.
The semi-final pairings are Newmarket v Tubber and O’Callaghan’s Mills v Inagh-Kilnamona.
Cratloe 0-23 Inagh-Kilnamona 0-15
Cratloe travelled to Inagh on Saturday evening in the knowledge that they needed to beat Inagh-Kilnamona by nine points or more to secure a place in the semi-final of the Clare Champion Cup.
They were nine clear as the game slipped into injury time but the home side had the final say, with full-forward John Rynne pointing with the second-last puck of the game.
It was enough to deny Cratloe and send the Inagh-Kilnamona side into the semi-final of the competition, where they will play Division 1B winners, O’Callaghan’s Mills.
Cratloe, with their inter-county contingent bar the injured Sean Collins and Cathal McInerney in their line-up,
had the better of the second-half exchanges.
The home side made the better start and were 0-4 to 0-1 in front by the fifth minute. After 10 scoreless minutes, the sides found the target and from here to the finish exchanged points regularly before a Damian Browne effort tied up the game at 0-8 each a minute from the break. Browne then converted a free to leave Cratloe 0-9 to 0-8 in front.
The teams were level on three occasions in the first five minutes of the second half, at which stage the score stood at 0-11 each.
Cratloe stepped up a gear and hit four points without reply before Ger Arthur had one for the home side. Another four from Cratloe left them seven clear and two short of the lead they needed. Arthur had another for the home side but three Cratloe efforts from Enda Boyce, Shane Gleeson and Conor Ryan had them nine clear and heading for the semi-finals with three minutes to play.
Brian Hehir pointed for Inagh-Kilnamona and now they were heading for the semis with two minutes still to play. In the final minute of normal time Damian Browne had a Cratloe point and they were again looking at a place in the play-offs but John Rynne proved to be the hero for the home side with a point in injury time.
Cratloe: Gearóid Ryan; John O’Gorman, Barry Duggan, David Ryan; Enda Boyce (0-1), Michael Hawes, Martin ‘Ogie’ Murphy; Liam Markham, Conor Ryan (0-3); Damian Browne (0-11, 9f), Philip Gleeson (0-1) Sean Chaplin (0-1); Paudge Collins (0-2), Conor McGrath (0-2), Shane Gleeson (0-2).
Sub: David Collins for Chaplin.
Inagh-Kilnamona: Stephen Twomey; Sean Devitt, Dermot Lynch, David McCarthy; Kevin Hehir, Christopher O’Looney, Brian Hehir (0-1); Haulie Vaughan, Paul O’Looney (0-1); Ger Arthur (0-8, 7f), Eamonn Glynn, Cathal McConigley (0-2); Gerry Coote (0-1), John Rynne (0-2), Shane Griffin.
Subs: Cathal Lafferty for B Hehir, Tomás McConigley for C McConigley and B Hehir for Griffin.
Referee: Ger Hoey, Killanena.
Newmarket 3-19 Clonlara 0-10
Newmarket were always in control in this tie at Fr Murphy Park on Saturday evening and emerged as comfortable winners over Clonlara, who were again short a big number of their first-choice panel of players.
In addition to their six Clare senior panellists, the south east side were also short the services of a number of players due to injury and holidays.
First-half goals from Liam Clancy and James Liddy put the winners on the road to victory and were 2-8 to 0-6 in front at the interval. David Barrett was the team’s goalscorer in the second half.
James McInerney was prominent through at centre-back for the winners while David Barrett, Shane and James Liddy also impressed.
Newmarket: Darren Duggan; Eoin O’Brien, Niall O’Connor, Pádraig Kilmartin; Frank Melody, James McInerney, Noel Frawley; Martin O’Hanlon, Ronan Goode; Mike McInerney, David Barrett, Liam Clancy; James Liddy, Stephen Kelly, Shane Liddy.
Subs: Eoin McInerney for O’Hanlon, Neil Ryan for M McInerney, Alan McInerney for Goode, David Burke for J Liddy and Gearóid McMahon for J McInerney.
Clonlara: Ger O’Connell; Eoin Meehan, Pat O’Hare, Diarmuid O’Meara; Micheal O’Connor, Cillian Fennessy, Barry Moloney; William Slattery, Neil Ryan; Micheal O’Loughlin, Michael Collins, Kieran Murphy; Donal Madden, Jason Murphy, James Hastings.
Sub: Patrick Stritch for Collins.
Éire Óg 2-19 Clarecastle 0-16
Éire Óg showed the greater hunger for victory when they played rivals Clarecastle on Saturday proved the difference as they recorded a comfortable win over the Magpies.
Both sides had confirmed their places in the top group for next season before Saturday’s clash.
Éire Óg were four points ahead at the break and they never let their neighbours get closer than that in the second half.
Brian Dolan and David Reidy were the goalscorers.
Éire Óg: Philly Walsh; Ronan Cooney, Mark Fitzgerald, John Mulcahy; Ciarán Russell, Kevin Moynihan, Liam Corry; Aaron Fitzgerald, Tadhg McNamara; Graham Glynn, Barry Nugent, Niall McMahon; Davy O’Halloran, Brian Dolan, David Reidy.
Subs: Ronan Keane for Nugent and Noel Whelan for McMahon.
Clarecastle: Donogh Murphy; Gearóid Ryan, Conor Clancy, Kevin Clohessy; Seanie Moloney, Danny Scanlan, Patrick Kelly; Adam Healy, Fergus Ryan; Mark McGuane, Conor Plunkett, Conor O’Gorman; Eamonn Callinan, Derek Quinn, Stephen Ward.
Crusheen 3-14 Clooney-Quin 0-20
In this clash of neighbours, Crusheen emerged as three-point winners over Clooney-Quin on Saturday.
Clooney-Quin were three points to the good at half-time when the score was 0-14 to 1-8.
The goalscorers on the evening were Gerry O’Grady, Conor O’Donnell and John Brigdale as an understrength Crusheen emerged with three points to spare.
Crusheen: Donal Tuohy; Youen Horner, Shaun Dillon John Brigdale; Eddie Fogarty, Ciarán O’Doherty, Joseph Meaney; Fergus Kennedy, Conor O’Donnell; Jamie Fitzgibbon, Gearóid O’Donnell, Niall Fitzgibbon; Dara O’Doherty, Gerry O’Grady, Paddy Meaney.
Sub: Alan Tuohy for Fogarty and Rory Halpin for Brigdale.
Clooney-Quin: Damian O’Halloran; Enda Harrisson, Shane McNamara, Brian McInerney; Conor Harrison, Cillian Duggan, Mark O’Halloran; Paudie Ward, Donnacda Murphy; Ritchie Hennessy, James Casey, Ryan Taylor; Mike Daffy, Cathal Egan, Derek Ryan.
Sub: Fergal Lynch for M O’Halloran (inj).
Sixmilebridge 4-16 Broadford 1-12
Sixmilebridge made the short trip to Glenomra Park on Saturday to take on neighbours Broadford.
It was a game that mattered little to the overall standings, with the ’Bridge having secured their status for next season while the home side were already relegated back down to Division 1B for 2014.
The ’Bridge received a timely boost ahead of the upcoming second round of the championship in August with the return of the mercurial Niall Gilligan, who was introduced as a substitute.
For the second week in a row, four goals from the ’Bridge helped them record a good 13-point win, with Caimin Morey, Jamie Shanahan, Rory Shanahan and Danny Morey all finding the net.
Sixmilebridge: Derek Fahy; Eanna Burns, Paidi Fitzpatrick, Trevor Purcell; Paul Fitzpatrick, Caimin Morey (1-1), Noel Purcell; Pa Sheehan, Brian Carey (0-1); Rory Shanahan (1-1), Alan Mulready (0-3), Kevin Lynch; Danny Morey (1-3), Jamie Shanahan (1-4), Alex Morey (0-3).
Subs: Pa Freeman for Fahy, Niall Gilligan for Sheehan, Evan McInerney for Carey and Sean Lynch for R Shanahan.
Broadford: Cian O’Brien; Brian Taylor, Alan Kilcoyne, Stephen Gunning; Cathal Chaplin, Niall Moloney, Ciarán Corcoran; Craig Chaplin, Mark Moloney; Pádraig Taylor, Aonghus O’Brien, Declan Teefy; John Corcoran, Pádraig Hickey, Diarmid Moloney.
Subs: Shane Taylor for J Corcoran, Stiofan McMahon for D Moloney, Danny Reddan for Hickey and Jack Kelleher for B Taylor.
