Injury-time heartbreak for Newmarket

De La Salle   1-10    Newmarket   0-10
AN injury-time goal ended newly crowned Clare champions Newmarket’s dream of Munster glory at O’Garney Park in Sixmilebridge on Sunday.

With the majority in the 2,509 attendance resigned to extra time, as the sides were locked at 0-10 each as the game went into injury time, the visitors and favourites struck the decisive blow.
There was no time for Newmarket to recover as the final whistle sounded on the puck-out leaving their followers devastated.

On a day when both sides enjoyed periods of dominance, few would have quibbled had the match gone to extra time. The more experienced Waterford outfit held the upperhand in the opening half but this wasn’t reflected on the scoreboard at the interval, which showed them just a point in front, 0-7 to 0-6.

The second half was dominated by the home team but, just like the winners in the opening 30 minutes, they failed to turn this dominance into scores. They looked to have struck a decisive blow at the three-quarter stage but the crossbar came to De La Salle’s aid.

Substitute James Liddy created the opening and his handpass found Mike McInerney, whose bullet-like drive beat the Waterford champions’ defence only to rebound into play off the crossbar. They continued to pile on the pressure but a couple of long frees from Colin Ryan drifted wide of the target.

A Mike McInerney point five minutes from the end levelled the game for the sixth time and this was still the position as 60 minutes elapsed, with just one minute of injury time signalled. It was enough for the visitors and John Keane found the net to silence the home following. The final whistle sounded on the puck-out and De La Salle had moved to within one step of a third provincial title.

With an unchanged side from that which played in the county final against Cratloe, Newmarket took to the field for their first Munster club fixture in 31 years.

They looked a little nervous in the early stages and it fell to young goalkeeper Darren Duggan to help steady things. His ball handling in those early minutes was most impressive and he showed great composure when winning a race for possession against All-Star John Mullane in the sixth minute, before getting in a good clearance.

The winners took the lead inside the opening minute when Bryan Phelan converted a 70m free and they held this advantage until the fourth minute, when Colin Ryan landed a 90m free.

The Waterford champions enjoyed the better of matters in the early minutes and added points from Mullane and Paudie Nevin before Newmarket’s next score, which was a David Barrett point in the ninth minute. By the end of the first quarter, the sides were tied at 0-4 each after Colin Ryan and Shane O’Brien Junior had pointed for the Blues.

De La Salle then hit three points in four minutes and it should have been four but Jake Dillon missed an easy 40m free in front of the posts. Newmarket finished the half with a brace from Colin Ryan, one from a 65’ and the other from a 20m free, to leave the minimum between the sides at the halfway point.

From the re-start Newmarket piled on the pressure and Shane O’Brien Senior hit points in the second and third minute to put the Clare champions ahead for the only time in the game.
With both sides fighting tooth and nail for every ball, De La Salle hit back with points from Jake Dillon (free) and Mullane to re-take the lead 11 minutes into the half.

Newmarket moved Mike McInerney to full-forward and he caused problems for the visitors, who smothered a goal chance in the 13th minute before McInerney, at the second attempt, blasted the ball inches over the bar. There was some confusion among the officials about the score and it was only after the referee consulted with the match officials that the white flag was raised.

Midfielder Dean Twomey, whose grandfather hails from Sixmilebridge, restored the winners’ lead straight from the puck-out but Newmarket were now enjoying their best spell and were most unlucky not to go back in front at the midpoint of the half. However, McInerney’s piledriver rebounded off the crossbar with the De La Salle defence beaten.

They continued to pile on the pressure but Colin Ryan’s efforts from two long-range fries drifted narrowly wide of the uprights, while he also missed the target from play.

Five minutes from the end, Ryan provided the pass for Mike McInerney to fire over the equaliser and five minutes later, the position was still the same, 0-10 each.

With most in the attendance preparing for extra time, De La Salle broke. Brenner’s puckout was moved forward by midfielder Twomey and the ball came to John Keane, who found the net. There was no time to hit back as the final whistle sounded on the puck-out and Newmarket’s great effort had just failed.

Despite suffering a leg injury early in the game, De La Salle captain Kevin Moran was outstanding, operating between centre and full-back. Bryan Phelan and Stephen Daniels were others to impress in defence for the visitors, while further afield Dean Twomey at midfield and John Keane up front played key roles.

Darren Duggan showed great maturity between the posts for the Clare side, while Eoin O’Brien excelled in defence and he got good support from Enda Barrett and James McInerney. Martin O’Hanlon got through a lot of work at midfield, while up front Colin Ryan, David Barrett, Mike McInerney and Shane O’Brien Senior had their moments.

De La Salle: Stephen Brenner; Conan Watt, Ian Flynn, Stephen Daniels; Bryan Phelan, Kevin Moran (captain), Eoin Madigan; Eddie Barrett, Dean Twomey; Paudie Nevin, David Greene, Jake Dillon; John Mullane, Jack Kennedy, John Keane.
Subs: Oran Keevers for Watt (36 minutes), Chris Sheehan for Madigan (49 minutes) and Shane McNulty for Greene (50 minutes).
Scorers: John Keane (1-2), Bryan Phelan (0-2f), Dean Twomey and John Mullane (0-2 each), Jake Dillon (f) and Paudie Nevin (0-1 each).
Frees for: 16; Wides: 13; 65s: 1.
Bookings: John Keane (12 minutes) and Jake Dillon (53 minutes).
Newmarket: Darren Duggan; Eoin O’Brien, James McInerney, Sean O’Connor; Niall O’Connor, Enda Barrett (captain), Alan Barrett; Eoin Hayes, Martin O’Hanlon; David Barrett, Colin Ryan, Mike McInerney; Shane O’Brien Junior, Anthony Kilmartin, Shane O’Brien Senior.
Subs: James Liddy for Kilmartin (38 minutes) and Shane Kelleher for S O’Brien Junior (52 minutes).
Scorers: Colin Ryan (0-4, 2f, 1 65), Mike McInerney and Shane O’Brien Senior (0-2 each), David Barrett and Shane O’Brien Junior (0-1 each).
Frees for: 12; wides: 8; 65s: 1.
Bookings: Anthony Kilmartin (31 minutes).
Referee: Johnny Ryan, Tipperary.