Clare must tighten up defensively

THIS defeat will rankle with the Clare lady footballers until they play Cavan in their next league game on Sunday week. After half an hour of free flowing, attacking football Clare led 4-7 to 0-9 in Doonbeg.
Their 10-point lead looked unassailable while Galway couldn’t unearth any legal method of combating the threat of the Considine sisters and Niamh Keane in the Clare attack. In first half injury time, however, Galway hit Clare for 1-1, sandwiched between Eimear Considine’s second point from play. Still, Clare were well ahead when they returned to their dressing room, 4-8 to 1-10, and in optimum position to pick up their second Division 2 league win.
Unfortunately, their second half display was nowhere near as impressive. Galway upped their game and outscored the home county 2-10 to 1-3 in the second 30 minutes, with the winners’ support play particularly eye-catching.
Yet for much of the first half Galway were over-run, with Clare lethal in attack. After just four minutes centre-forward Niamh Keane hammered home a superb goal, cutting through the Galway defence and holding off three Galway defenders before hammering the ball into the roof of Lisa Murphy’s net. Clare now led 1-2 to 0-1 with Eimear and Ailish Considine have already pointed. Galway full-forward Mairead Coyne had scored the game’s first point.
Eleven minutes before the interval Ailish Considine buried Clare’s second goal, benefiting from a subtle flick from her sister, who had been picked out by a Maria Kelly delivery.
Ailish Considine added Clare’s third goal four minutes before half time, finishing soccer style having again been placed by her sister, who lined out at full-forward. Clare now led 3-6 to 0-8 and stretched that lead even further when Fiona Lafferty netted after Eimear Considine found her with a perceptive cross.
Ger Conneally’s goal just before half time pulled Galway closer though and it was a portent of what lay in store for Clare thereafter.
Galway outscored Clare 1-5 to 0-0 during the first 17 minutes of the second half, thereby taking a one-point lead, 2-15 to 4-8. Mairead Coyne scored her first goal eight minutes into the second half after linking up with Deirdre Brennan.
Now a point down and not winning meaningful possession in the middle third of the field, Clare needed someone to step up. Centre-forward Niamh Keane did just that, running at the Galway defence and burying her second goal, which perhaps Lisa Murphy could have made a better fist of diverting around the post. Substitute Katie Geoghegan added an immediate point leaving Clare three points ahead, 5-9 to 2-15. Significantly Galway outscored the home county 1-5 to 0-2 in the closing ten minutes. Mairead Coyne goaled again, while free-taker Tracy Leonard completed her tally of seven points. Midfielder Claire Hehir also kicked some top quality points.
Galway’s support play was excellent in the closing 15 minutes and as hard as Clare tried, they couldn’t match their ability to hold onto possession and support the player on the ball. The sin-binning (yellow card) of wing-back Eimear O’Connor left Clare a player down for the last seven minutes of normal time and for most of the seven minutes of injury time.
Clare’s priority before their next game will be to work on the defensive side of their game, without blunting their attacking threat. Some midfielders and half-backs went forward before the ball, which left them prone to getting caught on the counter attack when the move broke down.
If Clare can tighten up significantly at the back, they can still emerge from division two. Some of their play was excellent. It’s just that they must try to produce that level of excellence for most of the hour. Another feature of their display was the speed with which Emma O’Driscoll took her kick-outs. There are times when this works well but sometimes after conceding a score, a team needs half a minute to find their bearings again.
Ailish Considine was Clare’s best player, while Niamh Keane, Eimear Considine, Maria Kelly and Louise Henchy also did well. The Clare forwards will be wondering how they lost a game having scored 5-11, while the midfielders and defenders will have to adopt a slightly more conservative defensive strategy next time out.

Clare: Emma O’Driscoll (Banner Ladies); Clare Hester (Fergus Rovers), Lorraine Kelly (Fergus Rovers), Shauna Harvey (West Clare Gaels); Eimear O’Connor (Coolmeen), Louise Henchy (Banner Ladies), Deirdre Troy (West Clare Gaels); Marie Considine (Liscannor), Fiona Lafferty (Donaghmoyne); Roisín O’Looney (Cooraclare), Niamh Keane (Banner Ladies), Maria Kelly (West Clare Gaels); Ailish Considine (Kilmihil), Eimear Considine (Kilmihil), Susan McNamara (Banner Ladies).
Subs: Katie Geoghegan (West Clare Gaels) for Susan McNamara (46), Laurie Ryan (Banner Ladies) for Clare Hester (52).
Scorers: Ailish Considine (2-6, 0-4f); Niamh Keane (2-0), Fiona Lafferty (1-0), Eimear Considine (0-2), Marie Considine, Róisín O’Looney, Katie Geoghegan (0-1) each.
Wides: 11 Frees won: 17 45s: 2
Sin bin: Eimear O’Connor (53 minutes).

Galway: Lisa Murphy; Tessa Mullins, Marie Brennan, Siobhán Divilly; Clare Gibbons, Fabienne Cooney, Sineád Burke; Aoibheann Daly, Clare Hehir; Deirdre Brennan, Gillian Joyce, Charlotte Cooney; Tracy Leonard, Mairead Coyne, Geraldine Conneally.
Subs: Barbara Gannon for Clare Gibbons (24), Lisa Leonard for Gillian Joyce (52), Edel Concannon for Mairead Coyne.
Scorers: Mairead Coyne (2-2), Tracy Leonard (0-7, 0-5f), Ger Conneally (1-2), Clare Hehir (0-4), Deirdre Brennan (0-3), Gillian Joyce, Edel Concannon (0-1 each).
Wides: 2 Frees won: 19 45s: 1

Referee: Michael John O’Keeffe (Cork).