Clare 2-11 Limerick 0-5
THE Clare minor footballers made very light work of an exceptionally poor Limerick team in Cusack Park on Wednesday evening.
Playing with plenty of fire and putting some exceptional attacking play together, Clare were fully deserving of their 12-point win and restored their pride after their 11-point defeat to Kerry in the opening round in Tralee. Clare will now play Tipperary in the Munster semi-final in Thurles on May 13. [doptg id=”66″]
Although they led 1-7 to 0-3 at half-time, Clare were relatively slow to settle in the opening half and, in fact, they were 0-3 to 0-1 behind after nine minutes. However, Limerick stuck to their ploy of keeping players behind the ball and didn’t appear to have any inside players whom they could locate with direct ball.
Seán Malone, who had an outsanding first half, put over the game’s opening score in the sixth minute. It was a portent of things to come from the Miltown man, who ran rings around the Limerick full-back line for much of that half.
Limerick, who had the breeze, responded with three successive points from Mark Connolly, Mike Morrisssey (both frees) and Ed Sheehy from play.
Clare needed a score to settle them and it was Malone who struck in the 20th minute. Nigel Murray and Alan Sweeney played Malone in soccer-style and he rammed the ball into the roof of Aaron Murphy’s net.
Malone followed with his second point from play, while Colm Pyne, attacking from full-back, fired over a superb left-footed point. Clearly on a roll and playing with real confidence, Clare added four further points in the closing five minutes. Keelan Sexton and Colin Hehir, who also forced a good save from the Limerick goalkeeper, put over a point each. Sexton, from a free following a foul on the impressive Seán O’Donoghue, and full-forward Cillian Brennan completed Clare’s first-half tally.
Points from Sexton in the opening minutes of the second half, one from a free, kept Clare ticking over. Conor Lynch could have added a goal but he forced Aaron Murphy into a good save. Lynch appeared then to get the finishing touch to Clare’s second goal 16 minutes from time, following a delicate back heel from wing-back Liam Devitt, which bamboozled the Limerick defence.
The closing minutes were marked by a couple of scuffles, which resulted in a second yellow card for Limerick full-back Luke O’Connell. The final point was fittingly put over by Seán Malone, who was outstanding. The only downside for Clare was the loss of the three players to injury, with Paraic McNamara, Seán O’Donoghue and Pearse Lillis all picking up knocks and having to be replaced.
Along with Malone, Seán O’Donoghue and Darragh Bohannon did well at midfield, while Colm Pyne, Pearse Lillis, Colin Hehir and Conor Lynch also impressed for the home county.
Clare: Killian Roche (Cooraclare); Kieran Killeen (Kilmurry Ibrickane), Colm Pyne (Killimer), Conor O’Halloran (Éire Óg); Liam Devitt (Ennistymon), Pearse Lillis (Cooraclare), Colin Hehir (Miltown); Darragh Bohannon (Shannon Gaels), Seán O’Donoghue (Cooraclare); Alan Sweeney (St Breckan’s), Nigel Murray (O’Curry’s), Keelan Sexton (Kilmurry Ibrickane, captain); Paraic McNamara (Kilmaley), Cillian Brennan (Clondegad), Seán Malone (Miltown).
Subs: Cormac Murray (Miltown) for Paraic McNamara (inj, 16), Conor Lynch (Clondegad) for Seán O’Donoghue (inj, 33), Niall McCarthy (Lissycasey) for Pearse Lillis (inj), Maurice Nugent (Doora-Barefield) for Nigel Murray (44), Jack Morrisssey (Cooraclare) for Alan Sweeney (50) and Conor Downes (Naomh Eoin) for Coin Hehir (57).
Scorers: Seán Malone (1-3), Keelan Sexton (0-5, 0-3f), Conor Lynch (1-0), Colm Pyne, Colin Hehir and Cillian Brennan (0-1 each).
Wides: 7 Frees: 25
Yellow card: Keelan Sexton.
Limerick: Aaron Murphy; David Hanley, Luke O’Connell, Fionn Murphy; John Wallace, Seán Ives, Seán Murphy; Adam Kerins, Michael Whelan; Colm McSweeney, Mikey Morrissey (captain), Ed Sheehy; Diarmuid Kelly, Mark Connolly, James Ryan.
Subs: Paul Maher for David Hanley (half-time), Adam Storan for James Ryan (35), Cameron Stephenson for Michael Whelan (44), Richard Hayes for Colm McSweeney (53), Dillon Corrigan for Mark Connolly, Andrew White for Mikey Morrissey (both 55).
Scorers: Adam Storan (0-2, 0-1f), Mikey Morrissey, Mark Connolly (0-1f each) and Ed Sheehy (0-1).
Wides: 3 Frees: 21
Yellow cards: Seán Murphy, Adam Kerins, Ed Sheehy, Luke O’Connell and Cameron Stephenson.
Red card: Luke O’Connell.
Referee: Seamus Mulvihill (Kerry).
By Peter O’Connell
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.