Éire Óg 1-12
Kilkee 0-11

THIS fixture was the sole weekend championship game where the result had no practical bearing for either team. Kilkee knew before the throw-in that they would top the group whatever the result, while Éire Óg were aware that they were consigned to the bottom of the table.

 

However, at least the Ennis club can now prepare for their relegation semi-final meeting with Kilmihil buoyed by this performance and result. Kilkee will meet Wolfe Tones in the quarter-final in the knowledge that they will have to produce a much more intense display if they are to make it to the semi-final.
Éire Óg led 0-7 to 0-4 at half-time, with Brian McMahon, Eoin Glynn, Shane Daniels, David Russell, Seán O’Meara and Brian Frawley pointing.
Michael O’Shea and Barry Harte put over two points apiece for Kilkee, who had to replace the injured Micheál Keane 10 minutes before half-time.
Brian Frawley kicked his second point for the winners early in the second half, before Gearóid Lynch and Michael O’Shea points helped Kilkee to reduce the deficit to two points, 0-8 to 0-6.
Seán Crotty’s goal, 12 minutes into the second half, was the crucial score of the game and it followed a good run from Seán O’Meara, who capitalised on some slack Kilkee defending.
Now 1-8 to 0-6 up, Éire Óg held onto their advantage, adding closing points from O’Meara, David Ryan, Eoin Glynn and Shane Daniels.
The game lacked the edge of a knock-out championship fixture but that won’t be the case next time out when both clubs face season defining fixtures.

Éire Óg: Eoin Slattery; Saren Buttler, Donie Lyne, Michael O’Regan; Paul Madden, Alan Malone, Conor Healy; Brian Frawley, Shane Daniels; David Ryan, David Russell, Brian McMahon; Eoin Glynn, Seán Crotty, Seán O’Meara.
Subs: Robbie Malone for Alan Malone (inj) and Darren O’Neill for Paul Madden.
Scorers: Shane Daniels (0-3f), Seán Crotty (1-0), Eoin Glynn, Brian Frawley and Seán O’Meara (0-2) each, David Ryan, David Russell and Brian McMahon (0-1) each.

 

Kilkee: Kevin Harte; Darren Clarke, Darragh Kelly, Darren Owens; Diarmuid Keane, Thomas Galvin, Alan Russell; David Russell, Chris Williamson; Brian Harte, Barry Harte, Ronan Browne; Gearóid Lynch, Michael O’Shea, Micheál Keane.
Subs: Gavin Melican for Micheál Keane (inj), Christy Kirwan for Brian Harte, Derek Deloughrey for Darren Clarke and John Enright for Gavin Melican.
Scorers: Michael O’Shea (0-5, 3f), Barry Harte (0-3), Diarmuid Keane, Gearóid Lynch and Chris Williamson (0-1) each.

Referee: Barry Kelly, St Joseph’s, Miltown.

 

Cooraclare pick up momentum

Cooraclare 2-12
St Breckan’s 0-7

FOLLOWING their opening group game defeat to Kilkee last June, Cooraclare’s championship prospects looked grim. They had to defeat both Éire Óg and St Breckan’s if they were to have a say in the latter stages of the championship. This is exactly what has transpired and now Cooraclare are preparing for a quarter-final tie with Kilmurry Ibrickane, while St Breckan’s must make do with a Senior B semi-final meeting with Kilrush.
The scoreline looks emphatic and while Cooraclare definitely deserved to win, St Breckan’s had more of the play, especially in the second half, than their final tally indicates.
Last year’s intermediate champions were dealt a serious blow in the opening half when Stephen Tierney had to retire with a dead leg, while they also lost Raphael Considine to a shoulder injury at half-time. Another absentee was Greg O’Leary, who is on honeymoon.
With John Looney scoring five first-half points, four from play, Cooraclare led 0-9 to 0-4 at half-time. However, five of their first half points were kicked in the final five minutes of the opening period with Looney (three frees), David Marrinan and Michael McMahon pointing.
Pat Nagle kicked three first-half points for St Breckan’s, with Tierney kicking their first score from play in the fourth minute.
St Breckan’s had plenty of play in the second period but John Stack was their only scorer from play, while Pat Nagle kicked two more frees.
Cooraclare’s Seán Maguire and Gearóid Looney, one of his side’s best players, scored a goal each in the closing four minutes to guarantee a Cooraclare win.
Cooraclare were very solid defensively with David Marrinan particularly prominent in the opening half, while Joe Considine and Seán Maguire also played well. John and Gearóid Looney also made vital contributions for Cooraclare, while five of their six starting forwards scored from play.
St Breckan’s centre-back Michael Reddan played well, as did corner-back Donal Howley. Denis O’Driscoll worked hard in the St Breckan’s half-forward line but they were too reliant on Pat Nagle scores from frees. In fact, Nagle was their only starting forward to score.
Cooraclare manager Aidan Moloney will now prepare his team to take on his native club, Kilmurry Ibrickane in the quarter-final.

Cooraclare: Declan Keane; Fergal Lillis, Conor Marrinan, Thomas Downes; David Marrinan, Thomas Donnellan, Declan McMahon; Andrew O’Neill, Declan McMahon; Michael McMahon, Mark Tubridy, Seán McGuire; Gearóid Looney, John Looney, Rory Donnelly.
Subs: Michael Kelly for Michael McMahon and Kieran Hassett for Conor Marrinan.
Scorers: John Looney (0-7, 6f), Seán McGuire and Gearóid Looney (1-1) each, David Marrinan, Michael McMahon and Mark Tubridy (0-1) each.
Wides: 5
Yellow cards: Andrew O’Neill, Mark Tubridy and Declan McMahon.
“Fair play to the boys. When we lost the first game we were under pressure. If we lost again we were gone. This result was down to the hard work the boys have done over the last few weeks.” Cooraclare manager Aidan Moloney

St Breckan’s: Craig Flanagan; Daniel Carey, Conor Howley, Donal Howley; Raphael Considine, Michael Reddan, Cathal Blood; Shane O’Connor, Stephen Tierney; Denis O’Driscoll, John McDonagh, Pat Nagle; Mikey Keating, Conor Cormican, Seán Cormican.
Subs: John Stack for Stephen Tierney (inj), Stephen O’Flaherty for Raphael Considine (inj), Neil Hawes for Conor Howley, Eric Murrihy for Shane O’Connor and Darragh Curtin for John Stack.
Scorers: Pat Nagle (0-5, 1f), Stephen Tierney and John Stack (0-1) each.
“Naturally we’re disappointed at the result. After half-time we had a great spell for 20 minutes but we didn’t put it on the board. We threw everything at it and then we got caught on the break for two goals.” Neil Hawes, St Breckan’s trainer

Referee: Ger Keane, O’Curry’s.