Easy for Clonlara in South-East derby

Clonlara 2-25   Smith O’Brien’s 0-14

CLONLARA maintained their unbeaten run and advanced to the quarter-final of the championship with this comfortable victory over Smith O’Brien’s at Cusack Park on Sunday. Over the course of the hour, the winners picked off some impressive scores and they had victory secured long before Seanie McMahon sounded the final whistle.
Indeed, Clonlara were well in control by the end of the opening half, by which time they had a 13-point lead. They got off to a dream start with John Conlon finding the net after just 20 seconds when he was put clear by minor star Cathal O’Connell.
This score set the tone and the winners went on to dominate in most areas, picking off some impressive points. They were 1-3 in front before Mark O’Halloran opened the Killaloe side’s account in the 13th minute.
It was 1-5 to 0-1 at the end of the opening quarter and after Smith O’Brien’s hit a brace, the winners hit six in as many minutes to stretch their advantage to 11 with six minutes still to play in the half. They continued to pick off points in impressive fashion and when the half-time whistle sounded, all six forwards, along with defenders Nicky O’Connell and Pat O’Hare, had got on the scoresheet. The score at the mid-point was 1-17 to 0-7.
The Killaloe outfit made a good start to the second half, outscoring their opponents 0-4 to 0-1 and giving a glimmer of hope to their supporters. However, 10 minutes into this half, their hopes were dealt a cruel blow when full-back, Seamus Gleeson, picked up a second yellow card, which led to his dismissal.
Three minutes later, Smith O’Brien’s  captain Pat Vaughan and Clonlara’s Pat O’Hare were shown red following a clash and after this, the game fizzled out. John Conlon and Nicky O’Connell had points, which were followed by a goal from Tomás O’Donovan at the mid-point of the half. This really knocked the fight out of the Killaloe outfit and the final quarter proved to be low scoring with Clonlara adding 0-5 to their opponents’ tally of 0-3.
The winners’ defence was always in control with Nicky O’Connell particularly prominent.  Another plus was the return from injury of Cillian Fennessy, who came into the action when Senan Nihill picked up a hand injury.
For a disappointing Smith O’Brien’s outfit, Seamus Gleeson, until his dismissal, Trevor Howard and Mark O’Halloran did well.

Clonlara: Ger O’Connell; Shane O’Brien, John Moloney, Senan Nihill; Nicky O’Connell, Paul Nihill, Pat O’Hare; Cormac O’Donovan, Neil Ryan; Colm Galvin, Tomas O’Donovan, Tommy Lynch; John Conlon, Donal Madden, Cathal O’Connell.
Subs: Cillian Fennessy for S Nihill (inj) 38 minutes); James Hastings for Conlon (52 minutes); Conor O’Shea for Ryan (52 minutes).
Scorers: John Conlon (1-5, 0-2f); Nicky O’Connell (0-6, 4f); Tomás O’Donovan (1-2); Donal Madden (0-3); Cormac O’Donovan, Colm Galvin, Tommy Lynch, Cathal O’Connell (0-2 each); Pat O’Hare (0-1).
Frees for: 9; wides: 10.
Bookings: Cathal O’Connell (28 minutes).
Sent off: Pat O’Hare (42 minutes).
“We set out at the start of the campaign to get to the quarter-finals and we have achieved that. The lads got some great scores today. We will continue to take it one step at a time,” Tony O’Sullivan, Clonlara.
Smith O’Brien’s: Jonathon Hayes; Michael Culhane, Seamus Gleeson, Kevin McEvoy; Trevor Howard, Pat Vaughan, Shane Tuohy; Micheál Ryan, John Cusack; Kevin Walsh, Willie Neary, Mark O’Halloran; Anthony O’Sullivan, Liam Walsh, Shane O’Brien.
Subs: Seanie Conway for Neary (26 minutes); Mark Stritch for O’Brien (half-time); Brian McInerney for K Walsh (41 minutes); Dwane Sheedy for O’Sullivan (45 minutes); Mark McInerney for Ryan (52 minutes).
Scorers: Micheál Ryan (0-4, 2f); John Cusack (0-3), Mark O’Halloran, Liam Walsh (0-2 each) Kevin Walsh, Mark McInerney, Seanie Conway (0-1 each).
Frees: 15; wides: 13; 65: 1.
Bookings: Seamus Gleeson (30 minutes and 39 minutes); Kevin Walsh (36 minutes).
Sent off: Seamus Gleeson (39 minutes), Pat Vaughan (42 minutes).
“We needed the start they got. They got away to a fast start and pulled away from us. We are very disappointed but there is another round to go and we will give that our best shot. They have a few county players and they showed their experience,” Christy Rosney, Smith O’Brien’s.
Referee: Seanie McMahon, Newmarket.