Clare ladies well beaten by Kerry

Kerry 5-23 
Clare 2-5

THE Clare lady footballers fell to a 27-point hammering in Listowel last Saturday, their fourth successive league defeat. Clare have already lost at home to Fermanagh and Kildare, while they lost by 25 points away to Galway.

Division 2 league semi-finalists last year, Clare are now fighting against demotion to Division 3, from where they were promoted in 2011.

In a game played in wintry weather, the 2012 All-Ireland finalists led 2-13 to 1-4 at half-time. Banner Ladies’ Niamh Keane scored the Clare goal in the opening half, while Ailish Considine and Keane pointed.
Patrice Dennehy scored Kerry’s first-half goals while the same player, along with Laura Rodgers, netted their second half goals.

Clare substituted Eimear and Ailish Considine at half-time, along with Fiona Lafferty. All three are on the Clare camogie panel that scored an excellent win over Galway in their Division 1 League match on Sunday.
The substitutions were made with that game in mind although it was of no help to the footballers, who were 12 points adrift at the interval.

Laura Hanrahan scored Clare’s second-half goal, while West Clare Gaels Marie Kelly scored their point.
Clare are due to play Cavan and Waterford in their upcoming games. Operating without some of their leading players, including Sineád Kelly, Louise Henchy and Niamh O’Dea, has considerably weakened the panel, while having to substitute three players, to keep them fresh for a camogie game, is not ideal either.

Clare manager John Bourke has a tough job and needs as much as help as he can get from everyone involved in ladies’ football.

Clare: Emma O’Driscoll, Niamh Cavanagh, Lorraine Kelly, Marie Foran; Sarah Bohannon, Eimear O’Connor, Kayleigh McCormack; Marie Considine, Fiona Lafferty; Maria Kelly, Niamh Keane, Eimear Considine; Róisín Looney, Ailish Considine, Sue Higgins.
Subs used: Aoife O’Neill, Laura Hanrahan, J Howley, Amy O’Brien, Sinéad Considine, Rebecca Culligan, Niamh Lardner, Shauna Keane.
Kerry: Edel Murphy, Gina Crowley, Aislinn Desmond, Aoife Lyons, Caroline Kelly, Julie Brosnan, Denise Hallissey, Lorraine Scanlon, Bernie Breen, Sarah Houlihan, Deirdre Corridan, Maria Quirke, Margaret Fitzgerald, Louise Galvin, Patrice Dennehy.
Subs used: Cassandra Buckley, Breda Lane, Cáit Lynch, Rosie Young, Emma Sherwood, Sarah Jane Joy, Laura Rogers.