Clare U-14s impress in Dublin blitz

SOME excellent camogie was played last Saturday by the Clare U-14A panel at St Bridget’s GAA grounds in Dublin. In all, the Clare girls played five games, winning four against Wexford, Tipperary, Kilkenny, Cork and losing out narrowly to old rivals, Tipperary, in the final of Division 1A.

Clare 2-0   Wexford 1-1

IN the early morning sunshine, the first game began at a rapid pace with an extremely competitive game against Wexford. The Clare girls were well up for this game, which was played at eight minutes aside.
The first score of the game was a goal and this came from Clare’s right corner-forward, Killanena’s Polly Edge O’Neill. There was some great midfield play from Aiobheann Duggan of Clooney/Quin and Kilmaley’s Abigail Connellan and some strong defending by Ballyea’s Chloe Devitt. Wexford replied with a point but Clare hit back with a goal from Scariff-Ogonnelloe’s Louise Browne after she won possession from Rachel Minogue.
The Clare full-back line of Clare Hehir, Orlaith Cotter, both of Inagh-Kilnamona and Feakle’s Aoife Touhy held tight, while there was some fine goalkeeping by Lauren Solan of Whitegate.

 

Clare 1-6   Tipperary 2-2

LITTLE did the Clare girls know that they would meet Tipperary again, three hours later in the U-14A final when they clashed in this tie. A loss to Tipperary by a single point in the Cork U-14 blitz was a great spur for the Clare girls.
The Clare captain on the day was Louise Brown of Corofin who scored the opening point after she won possession from Saoirse Glynn.
A fast puck-out from the Tipperary goalie resulted in a quick goal. Reagan Conway converted two placed balls leaving the score at the break, Clare 1-3 to Tipperary 1-0.
On resuming, the Clare girls kept the pressure on Tipperary. Truagh/Clonlara’s Róisín Begley crossed the ball from the corner, to an incoming Polly Edge O’Neill, who slotted it over the bar. There was some great work done in the full-forward line by Evelyn Duggan. Tipperary replied with a goal and a point but this did not stop Regan Conway adding two more points.
The Clare half-back line of Siobhán Lane (Corofin), Saoirse Glynn (Kilmaley) and Inagh-Kilnamona’s Jane Fitzgerald and Alisha Malone (Corofin) contributed a huge amount to this win.

Clare 1-2   Kilkenny 0-2

THIS game was Clare’s first meeting with Kilkenny in the U-14A grade in 2012.
The black and amber set the pace and Clare settled in quickly. Inagh-Kilnamona’s Andrea O’Keeffe was selected as full-forward for this game and she soon found the net, when she received a pass from Aoibheann Duggan of Clooney-Quin. Kilkenny battled hard but the Clare defence stood tall against the fast-paced Kilkenny forwards. Some really good defensive work was put in by the Inagh-Kilnamona girl Orlaith Cotter and this paid off with a long clearance delivered to Louise Brown, who increased the lead.
Kilkenny piled on the pressure in the second period but the introduction of Boardford’s Niamh Mulqueen was a crucial moment as she began to dominate the game. A long ball reached the hands of Andrea O Keeffe and it was quickly put over the bar.

Clare 2-2   Cork 0-2

THE Rebelettes awaited Clare in the semi-final and this game was played on a much smaller pitch than the previous games. Clare attacked from the start and Feakle’s Regan Conway goaled. A long puck-out from Cork set up an attack but Lauren Solan made some fine saves and her clearance led to Regan Conway adding another point to her tally. Abigail Connellan controlled the midfield at this stage. As the game restarted for the second half, Cork added two points. Sixmilebridge’s Keelin Lyons impressed in defence. Cork fought all the way to the end but Regan Conway added another point leaving Clare with a spot in the final.

Tipperary 1-1   Clare 0-0

THIS game was played directly after the semi-final with Cork. The Clare squad regrouped and set their sights on the final. The game was intense and produced some great camogie played at faster pace than the previous meeting with Tipperary in the morning. The Tipperary girls set up a fast attack and this resulted in them scoring a point. Some hard defensive work was put in by Saoirse Glynn and Keelin Lyons but the Tipperary midfield piled on the pressure on the Clare defence. Tipperary added another point. On the resumption, Clare’s Doireann Murphy and Polly Edge O’Neill tried really hard but a strong full-back made some fine clearances.
The Clare girls could not be faulted, as they worked very hard.
The Clare U-14A panel: Lauren Solan (Whitegate); Clare Hehir (Inagh-Kilnamona); Aoife Touhy (Feakle); Orlaith Cotter (Inagh-Kilnamona); Keelin Lyons (Sixmilebridge); Saoirse Glynn (Kilmaley); Siobhán Lane (Corofin); Jane Fitzgerald (Inagh-Kilnamona); Aiobheann Duggan (Clooney-Quin); Abigail Connellan (Kilmaley); Niamh Mulqueen (Broadford) Doireann Murphy (Clarecastle); Rachel Minouge (Scariff-Oggonnelloe); Regan Conway (Feakle); Róisín Begley (Truagh-Clonlara); Polly Edge O’Neill (Kilanena); Evelyn Duggan (Feakle); Chloe Devitt (Ballyea); Alisha Malone (Corofin); Andrea O’Keeffe (Inagh-Kilnamona).
The team is managed and coached by Anne McMahon (Kilmaley), Alan Whyte (Sixmilebridge), Brendan Lynch (Éire Óg), Stephan Powell (Éire Óg), Colm McEldowney (Clarecastle).

U-14B

AS part of Clare camogie invasion of Dublin, the U-14B squad swung into action last Saturday in their first match against Antrim. In contrast to previous blitzes, Clare quickly took control and with Corina McMahon and Sarah Moloney driving things on at midfield, Clare took a decisive grip on the game. The full-forward line of Maeve Donnellan (1-0), Amie Wiley (0-1) and Jade O’Rourke (2-0) capped a great display for Clare. With a raft of subs introduced, Clare continued to impress, with Siobhán O’Connell, Catherine Donnellan and Amy Broderick to the fore. The final score was Clare 3-1 Antrim 0-0.
The next match was against Kilkenny. With 27 on the panel, the team showed seven changes in personnel. This was a much tougher affair with plenty of good hurling. Kilkenny slowly got a foothold in the game and grabbed a goal and a point despite Trojan work by the defence, led by captain Clare Commons, Katie Minogue, Alex Potter and goalie Aoife O’Connor, who was magnificent throughout. These were the only scores in the game, with Clare upping the ante in the second half. Led by Laura McGrath, Joanne O’Gorman and Áine Feehily, they took the game to Kilkenny, to no avail. The final score was Kilkenny 1-1 Clare 0-0.
The final match was against Dublin. They had won all their matches up this and the Banner girls had to win well to qualify. From the start, Clare took the game to the Dubs but were stopped again and again by a stubborn Dublin rearguard. Towards the end of the first half, Dublin struck for a goal against the run of play. From there to the finish, Clare brought the game to Dublin but in pushing forward for the equaliser, they were caught for a goal and a point. Best for Clare were Amie Wiley, Orla Moloney and Clodagh Nash. The final score was 2-1 to 0-0.
Despite the results, this was another positive step for the second string.
The members of the panel: Aoife O’Connor, Clare Commons (captain), Katie Minogue, Clodagh Nash, Laura McGrath, Alex Potter, Orla Maloney, Corina McMahon, Sarah Maloney, Chloe Eustace, Joanne O’Gorman, Amy Broderick, Maeve Donnellan, Amie Wiley, Jade O’Rourke, Áine O’Grady, Siobhán O’Connell, Áine Ronan, Nora O’Rourke, Róisín O’Loughlin, Nora Casey, Catherine Donnellan, Megan Crowley, Orla Purcell, Áine Fehily, Rebecca O’Leary and Karin Gallagher.

Clare U-15 Development

CLARE U-15 development panel recommenced training four weeks ago after a break that allowed girls to concentrate on their Junior Certificate. A panel of 36 girls have been attending training twice weekly. With only 24 places for each blitz, competition is high and the girls have shown great commitment and dedication. The Paul Beecher Dublin Annual Blitz last weekend was the first blitz of the season. Due to an unprecedented number of injuries within the last week, only 20 girls were able to travel. Clare had victories over Dublin, Kildare, and Tipperary to reach the final.
Dublin were once again their opponents with Clare having emerged victorious in their previous game. This was a hard-fought first half. Dublin playing with the aide of a strong breeze were denied any scores by the tenacious Clare defence. Indeed, the only score of the first half came from the stick of Clare’s Lauren Tuohy. Clare settled quickly in the second half when Annemarie Hayes crashed home a great goal. Dublin continued to exert pressure on the Clare defence and were rewarded with a point from play. However, with the Dublin backs struggling to contain a lively Clare forward line, Caoimhe Hoey scored a great point. Clare were now dominant throughout the field and Clare produced some great play. Ria Flanagan drove forward supported by Lauren Tuohy, who sent a lovely pass to Emma O’Connell in the corner. The crossbar denied Emma but Eimer Neilan finished to the net. This effectively put the game beyond Dublin’s reach and Clare ran out winners on a scoreline of 2-3 to 0-1. Clare will now host their home blitz on July 29.

Clare: Deirdre Cotter, Marie Looney, Megan O’Brien, Carol Browne, Edel McNamara, Ria Flanagan, Aisling McMahon (captain), Niamh McInerney, Rebecca Conellan, Jessica Leamy, Lauren Tuohy, Kealy Power, Annemarie Hayes, Eimer Neilan, Louise Stringer, Caoimhe Hoey, Sinéad Hogg, Leah Irwin, Hannah King, Emma O’Connell.
Mentors: Carmel McGrath, Alan Whyte and Michael McMahon.