Clare beaten in U-14 thriller

Waterford         5-4     Clare             3-7
The U-14 ladies football team travelled to Waterford in the opening round of the Munster Championship. Clare dominated for the majority of the game only to let it slip from their grasp in the last five minutes.

Clare’s Chloe Moloney notched the game’s first score when she powered her way through the Waterford defence to bury the first goal in an eight-goal game. Wing-forward Aoife Keane soon tagged on a point before Waterford responded with two points from Lucy O’Shea and Shauna Power. Some good work by midfielders Sarah Jane O’Connell and Aoibheann Malone kept the Banner pushing forward and when Gráinne Nolan was freed, she made no mistake in burying the ball in the Waterford net, putting Clare ahead by five points at the end of the first quarter.
When the referee awarded a penalty to Waterford for a foot block in the square, Sarah Supple converted and she stunned the Clare defence moments later with a goal from play, pushing the Déise a point ahead.
Undeterred, Clare finished the half on a strong note when they negated one of those goals with three points before the whistle, a fine score from corner-forward Anne Marie Hayes and two from the tireless Grainne Nolan, while Aoife Keane’s goal attempt came off the upright. When Tipperary referee Tony Fox sounded the half-time whistle, Clare led 2-4 to Waterford’s 2-2.
On the restart, a determined Chloe Moloney pushed The Banner ahead by another point and the woodwork saved the Déise’s Róisín Cahillane for a second time, as Gráinne Nolan tried to rifle one to the roof of the net.
In a spell of tit-for-tat football, no sooner was the ball pointed over the Clare posts when Nolan split the Waterford posts again. Within a minute, this was cancelled out by Waterford’s Sarah Supple.
The next foray into the Waterford danger area saw Nolan smothered out illegally and the resulting penalty was converted by Aoife Keane, restoring Clare’s five-point lead at the end of the third quarter.
Waterford’s next movement was rewarded by a goal from Hannah Murphy and a minute later at the other end, Clare’s Danah King’s goal was disallowed when Referee Fox deemed her to be loitering in the square. Nevertheless, more pressure on the Waterford defence yielded a converted free by Chloe Moloney.
The endless flow of ball from the Clare backs to the forwards all day showed great determination from Aoife Carraig, Nicole Golden, Emma Neylon, captain Elaine Casey, Becky Mahon and Eva O’Dea in the backs and midfielders Sarah Jane O’Connell and Aoibheann Malone who were also exceptional. O’Connell went off injured with fifteen minutes to go and Waterford exploited the adjustment period when a lapse of concentration gave away possession on the Clare half-forward line.
A lob into their full-forward line resulted in a Waterford goal, the teams were level. Two minutes later another lob which seemed to hang in the air forever was contested by the Waterford full-forward and the Clare custodian. Arriving a split second earlier, Waterford edged the ball into the net to go three points up.
Again the attacking nature of this Clare team forced the ball up-field in the last passage of play that had the equaliser written all over it; Elaine Casey to Aoibheann Malone and then carried forward by Chloe Moloney. The resulting foul on Moloney reduced the attack to a one kick, do or die situation which Gráinne Nolan managed to place perfectly below the crossbar but with the square and goal line flooded, this was always going to be difficult to pull off. As the ball was cleared, Tony Fox blew it up.  
Clare will reflect on the amount of goals leaked and the lost scoring opportunities in the lead up to their second round meeting with Limerick in Bruff on Saturday at 2pm.

Clare: Clionadh Egan (Liscannor), Aoife Carraig (Kilrush), Nicole Golden (Doonbeg), Emma Neylon (Banner Ladies), Becky Mahon (Kilmihil), Elaine Casey (Banner Ladies), Eva O’Dea (Banner Ladies), Sarah Jane O’Connell (Doora barefield), Aoibheann Malone (Banner Ladies), Aine Looney (Cooraclare), Chloe Moloney (Kilmury Ibrickane),  Aoife Keane (Banner Ladies), Anne Marie Hayes (Newmarket-on-Fergus), Grainne Nolan (Banner Ladies), Danah King (Wolfe Tones).
Subs: Gillian Finucane (Coolmeen) for Sarah Jane O’Connell, Kayla Crowley (Kilrush) for Aoife Carriag, Katie Coughlan (Kilmihil) for Anne Marie Hayes.
Waterford: Róisín Cahillane (Na Deise), Niamh Power (Stradbally), Nuala Landers (Ballyduff), Megan Dunford (Abbeyside), Mairead Meehan (Kilrosanty), Caoimhe McGrath (Abbeyside), Katie Hayes (Dungarvan), Liz Devine (Na Déise), Geraldine Power (Comeragh Rangers), Jessica Glavin (Ballyduff), Áine Power (Comeragh Rangers), Lauren Guiry (Ballymacarbry), Sarah Supple (Ardmore), Hannah Murphy (Na Deise).