Kildysart Hold Off Spirited Corofin In Clare IFC Opener

Clare IFC: Kildysart 0-13 Corofin 0-12

A strong closing 20 minutes saw Kildysart fend off a spirited challenge from Corofin in the opening round of the Clare intermediate football championship.

In that period, the winners outscored their opponents by 0-9 to 0-3 to move one step closer to another semi-final spot.

Corofin saw full-back Brendan Keane leave the field with an injury less than two minutes into the game, but they recovered from that early blow to see the game level at the opening water break.

Emmet McMahon opened the scoring from a free but the impressive Robin Mounsey and a textbook Jamie Malone point looped over Robert Eyres’ crossbar to put the North Clare men in front. Diarmuid O’Donnell and Kieran Eyres put Kildysart back into the lead, with Gearoid Cahill firing over a free to see the sides level.

The second quarter of the contest was slow to get going with both sides having trouble in finding in the target. Cahill and McMahon traded scores but it was the closing minutes that would really tell the story of the half. Diarmuid O’Donnell had a glorious chance for goal but saw his shot dragged wide of the upright. Corofin punished with another Cahill free before a second goal chance was passed up by last year’s beaten finalists as Oisín Coyle saw his shot well blocked on the line. Mounsey and Cahill closed the first half scoring to see Corofin ahead by 0-7 to 0-4 at the break.

That lead was extended early in the second period as the Cahill-Malone axis was causing real problems for the Kildysart defence. Shay and Jamie Malone notched further scores, but a dominant spell for Kildysart saw them draw the game level with five unanswered scores. Two of them came from the ageless Ger Bobby Kelly, while Emmet McMahon (2) and Neil O’Connor also landed scores. There was another great goal chance too but Keith O’Connor saw his shot just flicked wide. Mounsey and Kelly swapped scores just before the water break where the sides were level at 0-10 each.

Kelly, Neil O’Connor and McMahon pointed to push Kildysart three clear inside the final ten minutes but Rob Eyres was called on twice to deny Kevin Keane from close range.

Kildysart played the closing stages with 14 men after Kieran O’Brien was sent to the sinbin, and while Corofin cut the gap to the minimum with scores from Cahill and Malone, Kildysart held on.

Kildysart: Robert Eyres; John Ginnane, Kieran Leahy, Brian Eyres; Oisín Coyle, Conor Donnellan, Kieran Eyres; Kieran O’Brien, Keith O’Connor; Mikey Donnellan, Shane McNeilis, Conor Hassett; Diarmuid O’Donnell, Seamus Casey, Emmet McMahon.

Subs: Ger Kelly for Coyle, Neil O’Connor for Kieran Eyres, Michael Eustace for Ginnane, Steven Sheehan for Hassett, John Murtagh for Donnellan.

Scorers: Emmet McMahon (0-6, 5f), Ger Kelly (0-3), Neil O’Connor (0-2), Kieran Eyres (0-1, 1f), Diarmuid O’Donnell (0-1).

Corofin: Kieran Carkill; John Rees, Brendan Keane, Damien O’Loughlin; Colm Rice, Fionn Clancy, Shay Malone; Eoin Clancy, Kevin Keane; Sean O’Brien, Cillian Clancy, Gearoid Cahill; Robin Mounsey, Gearoid Kelly, Jamie Malone.

Subs: Conor Leen for Brendan Keane (inj), John Keane for Kelly, Diarmuid Cahill for Cillian Clancy, Damien Ryan for Eoin Clancy, Cillein Mullins for O’Brien.

Scorers: Gearoid Cahill (0-5, 2f), Robin Mounsey (0-3), Jamie Malone (0-3), Shay Malone (0-1, 1f).