Clohessy points the way to opening win

IMPROVING considerably in the second half, Clare secured a place in the McGrath Cup quarter-final largely thanks to a seven-point return from Alan Clohessy. Time spent in the gym has bulked up most of the Clare team and their physique dwarfed that of UCC.
In the opening minutes, Clare didn’t look very sharp football-wise and relied on goal-line clearances from Niall White and Martin McMahon to keep the ball from entering their net. Fifteen minutes from half-time, Joe Hayes kept out UCC’s Seamus Hannafin, who had linked with Stephen O’Brien, thus denying the Cork students a clear goal-scoring opportunity.
Such was UCC’s vibrancy in the early minutes they led 0-3 to 0-0 eight minutes in. Daithí Casey scored all three points from frees and indeed scored nine points in total from dead balls. Clare will definitely have to sharpen up on their tackling if they are to seriously challenge for promotion from Division 4 of the NFL.
David O’Brien and Rory Donnelly scored Clare’s first two points from play, while 1-1 within three minutes from Timmy Ryan helped Clare into a 1-3 to 0-4 lead after 17 minutes.
Ryan’s point was set up by a Gary Brennan pass, while Clohessy placed the Kilmihil full-forward for the goal, although the move started at the far end when Gordon Kelly broke up a UCC attack.
Clare didn’t capitalise on their goal though and come the interval, UCC led 0-11 to 1-5, with Casey, Mark Collins and Stephen O’Brien notching the scores for the students.
Frees won by Donnelly and Cathal O’Connor were pointed by Clohessy shortly before half-time. Yellow cards for White and Graham Kelly underlined Clare’s tendency to concede frees, which Casey slotted over effortlessly.
With the wind behind them and their physical advantage manifesting itself, Clare restricted UCC to just two second-half points and added 0-8 themselves. Clohessy and Casey swapped early pointed frees, before Clare hit UCC with a flurry of scores and established a 1-10 to 0-12 lead by the 22nd minute. Clohessy scored four points in this period, two from play and indeed could have goaled as well. His shot was blocked by UCC’s Liam Jennings.
Mark Collins equalised for Cork 12 minutes from full-time but Clare closed out the game impressively, adding three points and keeping their opponents scoreless.
Clohessy landed a superb left-footed point after Cathal O’Connor had found Timmy Ryan with a diagonal ball before he placed the Liscannor forward. Brennan came more into the game at this stage and notched two excellent scores, one from a 60 yard free after Clohessy had been fouled.
Clare will play Cork IT on Sunday in Cooraclare at 2pm in the McGrath Cup quarter-final.
Management will hope that players like Martin McMahon, Alan Clohessy and Timmy Ryan, in the first half, reproduce last week’s form this weekend. McMahon and Clohessy were particularly outstanding. Brennan came into the game when Clare needed him, while Cratloe’s Conor Ryan made a solid debut in midfield beside the Clondegad man.
Niall White upped his game significantly in the second half, while Gordon Kelly was much more comfortable in the half-back line after he was moved from corner-back. Although he started in the full-back line, Kelly was selected at centre-back in the match programme and that’s the position where he is most effective. Laurence Healy played solidly at full-back, although one could envisage him slotting in at wing-back and providing an attacking outlet from there. John Hayes looked very impressive when introduced at wing-back for Graham Kelly and is surely certain to start on Sunday. The Clare half-forward line will need to work at lot harder this weekend, while Rory Donnelly should benefit from the match practice as long as he can stay clear of injury. With David Tubridy due back from holidays, Clare should be even more threatening up front on Sunday as they seek to lengthen their interest in the McGrath Cup with the league looming into view on February 6.

Clare: Joe Hayes (Lissycasey); Niall White (Doora-Barefield), Laurence Healy (Ennistymon), Gordon Kelly (Miltown – captain), Martin McMahon (Kilmurry Ibrickane), Shane McNeilis  (Kildysart), Graham Kelly (Miltown); Gary Brennan (Clondegad), Conor Ryan (Cratloe); Cathal O’Connor (Coolmeen), David O’Brien (Doora-Barefield), Diarmuid Daly (Corofin); Rory Donnelly (Cooraclare), Timmy Ryan (Kilmihil), Alan Clohessy (Liscannor).
Subs: John Hayes (Kilrush) for Graham Kelly (43), Michael Foran (O’Curry’s) for David O’Brien (45), Enda Lyons (Doora-Barefield) for Rory Donnelly (59) and Darren O’Neill (Éire Óg) for Conor Ryan (62).
Scorers: Alan Clohessy (0-7, 4f), Timmy Ryan (1-1), Gary Brennan (0-2, 1f), David O’Brien, Rory Donnelly and Diarmuid Daly (0-1) each.
Wides: 8; Frees won: 31; 45s: 0
Yellow cards: Niall White, Graham Kelly and Cathal O’Connor.

UCC: Darren Farry; Donal Óg O’Donovan, Eoin O’Mahony, Liam Jennings; Peter Crowley, Adrian Greany (captain), Bart Daly; John Buckley, Kevin O’Driscoll; Mark Collins, Daithí Casey, JB Spillane; Stephen O’Brien, Seamus Hannafin, Paul Honohan.
Subs: James Fitzpatrick for John Buckley (35), Mike Griffin for Daithí Casey (45), Philip Galvin for Donal Óg O’Donovan (55) and Shane Beston for Seamus Hannafin (inj, 67).
Scorers: Daithí Casey (0-9f), Mark Collins (0-2), Kevin O’Driscoll and Stephen O’Brien (0-1) each.
Wides: 7; Frees won: 33; 45s: 0
Yellow cards: Liam Jennings, Donal Óg O’Donovan and JB Spillane.
Referee: Padraig O’Sullivan (Kerry).

Entertainment on and off the field

GIVEN that last Sunday was day one of the new GAA season, there was bound to be the odd issue in Cooraclare as the GAA year yanked into action. Clare supporters didn’t break down the turnstiles in their eagerness to witness the county’s first game of 2011 but the 200 or so people who made the effort were entertained on and off the field. Regally so off it.
About 10 minutes before throw-in, Cooraclare steward Michael Kelly was seen using his full might to persuade the electronic scoreboard to do its stuff. A few thunderous belts later, the scoreboard grudgingly complied, lit up and didn’t act up thereafter. The excitement had just started though. With at most two minutes to spare before throw-in and referee Padraig O’Sullivan testing out his whistle, Cooraclare secretary Seán Chambers was urged to immediately present himself on the balcony where the match tannoy is located. Situated at the lower end of the field in Cooraclare, attempting to elicit what the starting teams were, Chambers cantered the length of the field towards the clubhouse having heard the call. But after bounding up the stairs before he was handed the microphone, Chambers was now completely out of breath. With no time to recover, he ploughed on, exhaling heavily as he called out the respective teams.
The late arrival of the match programmes hadn’t helped, with Chambers forced to forage for the identity of the two teams. Much later but with the game still on, Chambers issued an impassioned appeal to the assembled spectators for the loan of a set of jump leads. The public address, as the successful jump lead appeal proves, has its uses. But once availed of, it’s safer to switch off. How many newsreaders and even politicians have been caught saying what they really think, erroneously believing that their microphone was off? Add a gaggle of balcony-based Cooraclare people and their visitors to that list. Early in the second half, those who huddled in the stand filled their ears with tidings from the balcony. Of course, those doing the talking didn’t realise that their words were reverberating throughout the stand, where most of the crowd was situated.
What was conveyed across the Cooraclare airwaves cannot be revealed but those who were there know what they heard. Suffice to say, it temporarily diverted attention from what was happening between the lines and royally entertained the gasping gathering.