Kelly goals clinch thrilling Clare win

Clare 3-13 Kerry 2-12

IF the Clare lady footballers were a weather front, we’d be living in as variable climate as is imaginable.
Their football is definitely full of variety, although their spirit seems resolute. If it wasn’t, they would have been well beaten by Kerry in Doonbeg last Sunday. Their four-point win secured a Division 2 semi-final place against Galway on Sunday, April 29 but that’s a mere particle of the story.
Throughout the hour, Clare mixed excellent defending with porous defensive play, sublime attacking football with ponderous play in front of goal, aggression with placidity.
The paucity of their first-half innings is underlined by the fact that Clare were eight points adrift (1-8 to 0-3) in the 29th minute. Luckily, Maria Kelly’s goal, a minute before the interval, infused Clare with vim and hope as they sat and plotted the remaining half hour’s football.
Kelly’s crucial and impressively executed goal was created by slick combination play involving Eimear O’Connor and Sarah Bohannan, who replaced the injured Ailish Considine. The latter pointed two of Clare’s first-half points, with Niamh O’Dea pointing the remainder from a free won by Niamh Keane.
Sarah Houlihan was the player of the half, with the Kerry forward notching a superb 1-4 from play for the Kingdom girls, who will play Mayo in the other semi-final. She goaled in the 17th minute after Kerry won a Clare kick-out. In fact, Clare’s inability to retain possession from their own kick-out was one of the main reasons why Kerry dominated most of the first half. On top of that, Kerry were more aggressive when competing for breaking ball in the middle third of the field.
The Clare girls had a lengthy chinwag at half-time because Kerry were ready to go for several minutes before the home county re-emerged. There was another brief hold-up when the referee insisted on being presented with the Kerry team list before he threw in the ball to restart the game.
Clare needed to start well and keep the pressure on Kerry but this plan went awry when Eimear Considine and Niamh O’Dea kicked early wides. Laura O’Sullivan’s fourth-minute point extended Kerry’s lead (1-9 to 1-3) and it looked as if more of the same was in the offing.
Suddenly, Clare decided to up their game, defend from the front, compete feverishly for loose ball and take on Kerry. The scores flowed with O’Dea, Maria Kelly, Fiona Lafferty and Eimear Considine kicking four successive points. Lafferty’s effort was an inspirational score while Niamh Keane played a key role in setting up Kelly and Considine’s points. Now trailing 1-9 to 1-7, Clare continued to move through the gears. Immediately after Eimear Considine’s point, Clare won the kick-out and Maria Kelly buried her second goal before immediately following up with a point from play.
Now completely transformed, Clare led 2-8 to 1-9 with 17 minutes left. Although rocking, Kerry didn’t capitulate as scores from Bernie Breen and Patrice Dennehy attest. Clare steadied though and soon led 2-12 to 1-11 with O’Dea, Marie Considine, Eimear Considine and O’Dea, with a magnificent point, kicking four successive points. At this stage, Clare led 2-12 to 1-11 seven minutes from time.
Eimear Considine’s score was a pivotal moment, coming seconds after Clare goalkeeper Emma O’Driscoll saved from Mary O’Keeffe. Yet again, Kerry showed their fortitude and tied the game at 2-12 each within minutes. Louise Galvin’s point from play was followed by a Patrice Dennehy penalty, awarded after Louise Henchy had impeded Deirdre Corridon.
With the teams now deadlocked, a moment of class was what both teams required. Niamh O’Dea provided just that and pointed Clare ahead a minute from time. Three minutes into injury time, Katie Geoghegan won a penalty, which Louise Henchy rocketed into the Kerry net.
Clare had secured an excellent win, bearing in mind that eight-point first-half deficit. They have the forwards to rack up match-winning scores against most teams. If they can tighten up defensively and perhaps adopt a more conservative approach in the middle of the field, Clare have every chance of reaching the league final on Saturday, May 12. 
Maria Kelly, Emma O’Driscoll, Louise Henchy, Shauna Harvey, Niamh Keane, marie Considine and Niamh O’Dea excelled for Clare once they got going while Patrice Dennehy and Sarah Houlihan were Kerry’s most dangerous attackers.

Clare: Emma O’Driscoll (Banner); Clare Hester (Fergus Rovers), Louise Henchy (Banner), Susan McNamara (Banner); Eimear O’Connor (Coolmeen), Lorraine Kelly (Fergus Rovers), Shauna Harvey (West Clare Gaels); Marie Considine (Liscannor), Fiona Lafferty (Donaghmoyne); Maria Kelly (West Clare Gaels), Niamh Keane (Banner), Maria Kelly (West Clare Gaels); Ailish Considine (Kilmihil), Niamh O’Dea (Banner), Eimear Considine (Kilmihil).
Subs: Deirdre Troy (West Clare Gaels) for Susan McNamara; Sarah Bohannon (Shannon Gaels) for Ailish Considine (injured); Katie Geoghegan (West Clare Gaels) for Sarah Bohannon.
Scorers: Maria Kelly (2-2), Niamh O’Dea (0-5), (0-3f), Louise Henchy 1-0 pen, Eimear Considine (0-2), Ailish Considine (0-2), (0-1f), Fiona Lafferty, Marie Considine (0-1) each.
Wides: 6; frees: 23; 45s: 2.

Kerry: Hannah Fortune; Cait Lynch, Aislinn Desmond, Laura Dunne; Julie O’Sullivan, Emma Sherwood, Cassandra Buckley; Bernie Breen (captain), Lorraine Scanlon; Louise Galvin, Maria Quirke, Maireád Finnegan; Sarah Houlihan, Deirdre Corridon, Patrice Dennehy.
Subs: Megan O’Connell for Sarah Houlihan; Amy Foley for Deirdre Corridon; Mary O’Keeffe for Maireád Finnegan.
Scorers: Patrice Dennehy (1-4, 1-0 pen), Sarah Houlihan (1-4), Deirdre Corridon, Laura O’Sullivan, Bernie Breen, Louise Galvin (0-1) each.
Wides: 12; frees: 23.

Referee: Richard O’Connor (Tipperary).