Inagh-Kilnamona win comfortably

Inagh-Kilnamona 1-16   Scariff 0-12

INAGH/KILNAMONA were worthy winners over Scariff at Sixmilebridge on Saturday, the margin of victory not fully reflecting their superiority.
The East Clare side started well and led by 0-6 to 0-4 after 14 minutes but this was as good as it got for them. During the rest of the half, the winners were very much on top, outscoring Scariff by 1-7 to 0-1, their sole score coming in injury time.
Inagh/Kilnamona were in little real danger for most of the second half and their winning margin could have been greater but for a few rather casual wides. The game finished very badly for Scariff, as Conor McNamara was sent off in injury time, after a foul on an Inagh/Kilnamona back.
Niall Arthur had the first point for Inagh/Kilnamona in the first minute, while Shane McMahon had Scariff level on 90 seconds. Ger Arthur replied before a Ross Horan free levelled it in the fourth minute.
After Horan opened his account, the puckout from Patrick Kelly was grabbed by bustling centre-forward Cathal Lafferty, who put Inagh/Kilnamona back in front.
Scariff were still going well and they held a two-point lead after 14 minutes, 0-6 to 0-4.
In the 15th minute, Ger Arthur looked like he was fouled but although the whistle didn’t sound, he managed to offload to Lafferty who put it over the bar.  Inagh/Kilnamona took the initiative then, Niall Arthur pointing two frees, Eoin Vaughan adding one from play and Ger Arthur another.
Another two points were added, bringing the score to 0-6 to 0-11, when the game’s only goal came from Niall Arthur, who found the net after an assist from Vaughan.
While Barry Murphy got a point before the break, Scariff still found themselves seven behind, 1-11 to 0-7.
The week before, Inagh Kilnamona had let a good half-time lead slip against Crusheen in the Clare Champion Cup, but this wasn’t to be repeated.
They started the second half as they had finished the first, Ger Arthur and Cathal Lafferty increasing the lead by another two points. Scariff nearly got a lifeline when Ross Horan almost found the net after a great run by Pádraig Brody but ultimately, the winners rearguard got the ball out to safety.
By the mid-point of the half, the scoreline was 1-15 to 0-9 and there was a bit of inevitability about the last quarter of an hour. Horan, Conor McNamara and Alfie Rogers had points for Scariff, while the winners’ total was rounded off with a point from Haulie Vaughan.
It was a good win for Inagh/Kilnamona whose full-back line looked solid, with Brian Glynn and Dermot Lynch turning in fine performances. Their half-back line also did well, while Cathal Lafferty and the Arthurs were good sources of scores.
It was a disappointing evening for Scariff for which Darragh Kelly, Ross Horan and Barry Murphy had their moments.

Inagh-Kilnamona: Patrick Kelly; Milo Keane, Brian Glynn, Dermot Lynch; Ronan O’Looney, David Hegarty, Colm Pilkington; Thomas Kelly, Brian Foudy; Eoin Vaughan, Cathal Lafferty, Damien Lafferty; Conor Tierney, Niall Arthur, Ger Arthur.
Subs: Haulie Vaughan for Damien Lafferty, Shane Griffin for Eoin Vaughan, Dermot Gannon for Thomas Kelly, Jamie Davin for Conor Tierney.
Scorers: Niall Arthur (1-5, 0-3f), Ger Arthur (0-4, 0-2f), Cathal Lafferty (0-4), Eoin Vaughan, Conor Tierney, Haulie Vaughan (0-1 each).
Frees for: 12; wides: 7.
Yellow cards: Eoin Vaughan.
Red cards: 0
“We’re delighted to win in poor conditions and we know we’ve a lot of work to do for the next day,” Paul Gannon, manager

Scariff: Shane Mulvihill; Barry McNamara, Darragh Kelly, Jim Minogue; Patrick Minogue, Conor McNamara, Cathal Nash; Pádraig Brody, Diarmuid Nash; Michael Moroney, Kenny McNamara, Ross Horan; Alfie Rogers, Barry Murphy, Shane McMahon.
Subs: Matthew Horan for Michael Moroney.
Scorers: Ross Horan (0-3, 3f), Diarmuid Nash (0-2, 0-1f), Barry Murphy (0-2), Shane McMahon, Kenny McNamara, Pádraig Brody, Conor McNamara, Alfie Rogers (0-1 each).
Frees for: 17; wides: 6.
Yellow cards: Michael Moroney, Conor McNamara, Matthew Horan, Ross Horan.
Red card: Conor McNamara.
“We left ourselves with a lot to do at half-time. The goal was a killer, we nearly got back in it when we hit the post. We have been struggling for numbers but we have a couple of games left and we’ll be playing for pride,” Colm Kavanagh, Scariff selector