East Clare amalgamation take first U21 title with strong finish

Christmas came early to Scariff-Ogonnelloe as they fired the last ten points to take their first ever Under 21A crown on a 2-17 to 1-12 scoreline against Corofin-Ruan in Clarecastle on Friday afternoon.

Thirty-five years after Scariff’s sole Under 21A success, their blossoming underage partnership with Ogonnelloe ensured that the current crop finally fulfilled their destiny after rising meteorically through the ranks before exacting full revenge on Corofin/Ruan who had edged them out in a five goals thriller at the penultimate stage twelve months previously.

Despite soaring seven clear against the strong conditions in the opening period following quickfire goals through inside assassins Mark Rodgers and Patrick Ryan, Scariff-Ogonnelloe were still forced to demonstrate their title-winning character by the two-thirds mark as they trailed the defending champions by two points.

The turning point was undoubtedly a double save from a miserly Scariff-Ogonnelloe defence at the turn of the final quarter that prevented Diarmuid Cahill as well as Jack McDonagh’s pulled rebound from providing the holders with a sizeable lead.

Instead, it seemed to inspire Scariff-Ogonnelloe to get back on track as only seconds later Mark Rodgers converted an equalising free and from that juncture, the East Clare side would never again look back over their shoulders.

Eight further unanswered points, five from the stick of talisman Rodgers, put the result beyond any doubt as Scariff-Ogonnelloe eased up to a historic first Under 21 victory as an amalgamation.

Spare a thought for a heartbroken Corofin-Ruan, who amidst their third knock-out match in five days, eventually demonstrated their war-weariness when failing to score for the last 25 minutes of the final.

The same spark that had lit up their 2021 breakthrough as well as this year’s campaign wasn’t as evident in the final itself albeit that Shane Punch, in what was his fourth match in five days after also playing for Mary I in Monday’s Third Level Division 1 League Final, stood out in terms of leadership abilities.

Cillian McGroary, Robin Mounsey and substitutes Darragh McInerney and Conor Leen (until suffering injury) also played their part for the holders who now have to regroup fast if they are to make amends and finish the year with some Under 21A silverware for Wednesday’s football equivalent against Ennistymon in Cusack Park (1pm).

Only able to manufacture five points from play through four different scorers was a poor return for Corofin-Ruan when compared to Scariff-Ogonnelloe who saw six different scorers combined for 2-11 from open play over the hour.

The main protagonists were undoubtedly county seniors Mark Rodgers and Patrick Crotty along with Patrick Ryan, with that triumvirate doing the bulk of their damage against the conditions.

Aided by a powerful half-back unit of Scott Cairns, Gearoid Sheedy and Shane Kavanagh and the tireless work-rate of Keelan Hartigan, Scariff-Ogonnelloe settled into their stride by the end of the opening quarter when a brace of goals in as many minutes through Rodgers and Ryan surged their side seven clear.

Benefitting from the direct route, first Patrick Ryan’s delivery from the left wing was excellently caught and finished to the net by Rodgers before an almost identical move this time saw Crotty tee up Ryan to power through and find the net at 2-4 to 0-3.

To their credit, Corofin-Ruan responded with the next four points including a brace of Shane Punch frees, a Diarmuid Cahill point and a second superb Robin Mounsey lineal from 45 metres to lower the areas to three by the 21st minute.

Patrick Crotty was unlucky to see a shot just clear the crossbar soon afterwards following a strong Rodgers run but there would be a last twist to come from the holders.

Not provided with advantage as Shane Punch found the net just as Joe Mullins’ whistle had gone for an earlier foul, Punch took his frustration out on the resulting 20 mete free to find the bottom right corner of the net to give Corofin/Ruan a timely half-time lifeline at 2-7 to 1-8.

Despite now facing into the wind, the champions’ maintained that momentum on the restart when adding the first four points through Punch 92), Mounsey and Cahill to snatch back the whip hand for the first time in over 30 minutes at 1-12 to 2-7.

Patrick Ryan did finally open Scariff-Ogonnelloe’s second half account by the two-thirds mark but then came that crucial double stop from goalkeeper Sean Treacy and an obstinate rearguard that proved the first step on the road to glory.

Nine consecutive final quarter points only rubber-stamped that eventuality. So while it was tough on a war-ravaged Corofin/Ruan, it certainly affirmed a Happy Christmas for Scariff-Ogonnelloe.

Scariff-Ogonnelloe: Sean Treacy; Seamus McCaul, Tadhg Kavanagh, Eoghan Keehan; Scott Cairns, Gearoid Sheedy, Shane Kavanagh; Conor Downes, Sean Collins; Liam Crotty, Keelan Hartigan, Patrick Crotty; Eanna O’Brien, Mark Rodgers, Patrick Ryan. Subs: Liam Harte for O’Brien (47), Adam Cunnane for Collins (51), Donnacha McNulty for Downes (63), Aaron Collins for Hartigan (65), Eoghan Heffernan for L. Crotty (65)
Scorers: Mark Rodgers (1-8, 6f); Patrick Ryan (1-3); Patrick Crotty (0-3); Eanna O’Brien, Keelan Hartigan, Conor Downes (0-1 each)

Corofin-Ruan: Kealan Mounsey; Jason Power, Ashley Brohan, Gearoid Hanrahan; Tom O’Halloran, Cillian McGroary, Eoin Fitzgerald; Patrick O’Halloran, Ryan Power; Kevin Keane, Diarmuid Cahill, Shane Punch; Robin Mounsey, Killian O’Connor, Jack McDonagh. Subs: Conor Leen for Hanrahan (16), Darragh McInerney for T. O’Halloran (16), James Organ for R. Power (45), Frankie Lyons for Leen (55, inj).
Scorers: Shane Punch (1-6, 1-5f); Robin Mounsey (0-3, 2s/l); Diarmuid Cahill (0-2); Jack McDonagh (0-1)

Referee: Joe Mullins (Clonlara)