Minors go down fighting

Kerry  0-15

Clare   0-9

A six-point win for Kerry suggests the home county won at their ease in Tralee last Saturday. Although they also led by six points at half-time, Kerry definitely did not simply swat the Banner men aside.
Six minutes from time Clare had Kerry on the rack and trailed by just two points, 0-11 to 0-9.

Lissycasey’s Conor Finucane had been on the field just two minutes when he cut through the Kerry defence, picked up a Kieran Malone popped pass and shot for goal. The home goalkeeper, Shane Ryan, despairingly dived towards his right post but luckily for him, the ball rocketed a few inches wide.
Had that effort rattled the net, it’s very likely that Clare would have held on to win and secured a semi-final against Waterford on May 15. Even a point would have brought Clare to within a white flag of Kerry, who had not managed a score in a 16-minute spell.
With Clare now frazzled and making hasty decisions, Kerry tagged on four late points, two from Jack Savage and a score apiece from Micheál Burns and Kieran Spillane.
As willing and combative as Clare were in the second half, they lost the game in the first half when they were hit for six unanswered points between the 16th and 25th minutes.
That spell left Kerry coasting at 0-9 to 0-2. Paddy O’Malley from play, assisted by Jack Browne and Barry Keating, from a free, were the Clare scorers.
Just before half-time Éimhin Courtney kicked the first of his three points from play, which left Kerry 0-9 to 0-3 ahead at half-time.
Conor Keane kicked four first half points for Kerry, with Killian Spillane, Jack Savage and corner-back Brian Sugrue completing their first half total. 
Spillane spurned a decent goal chance in the fourth minute, when he shot wide while Kerry, aided by a strong breeze, kicked five wides in the opening half. Clare kicked a similar number of efforts off target with Joe Downes, Éimhin Courtney, Barry Keating and Paddy O’Malley all kicking wides.
Liam Madigan replaced Joe Downes at half-time and within two minutes, Clare had pulled to within four points of Kerry. Courtney from play and O’Malley from a dead ball, following a foul on Eoin Hanrahan, left Clare trailing 0-9 to 0-5. Points from Kieran Murphy and Spillane stretched Kerry’s advantage back to six points, 0-11 to 0-5, by the eighth minute.
With Clare now winning plenty of breaks around the middle third, they enjoyed their best spell of their three Munster championship games this season. Keating, Courtney, O’Malley and Madigan kicked successive points, to pull within two points of Kerry, six minutes from time.
Fourteen minutes before Conor Finucane’s goal effort, Conal Ó hAiniféin made an incisive run through the Kerry defence but the run ended in a wide, with a goal chance if the offing.
In the closing minutes Clare goalkeeper Killian Normoyle saved impressively from Killian Spillane, although a few minutes earlier one of his kick-outs went awry, leading to a Kerry point.
In retrospect Clare’s first half performance cost them. They were in particular trouble on their own kick-out, losing 10 from 14, in that half.
It must be noted that the wind was a factor in relation to kick-outs as evidenced by Kerry losing four of their first five kick outs in the second half.
The loss of Éimhin Courtney, to injury, seven minutes from time, was a significant setback to Clare, while free-taker Paddy O’Malley had been substituted five minutes earlier.
When moved to centre-forward, Courtney excelled while elsewhere, Killian Normoyle, James Woods and Conal O’hAiniféin gave everything for Clare. The Clare full-back line had serious difficulty keeping tabs on Killian Spillane, son of former Kerry footballer Tom Spillane. Conor Keane, corner-back Pádraig O’Conchúir and Matthew Flaherty, in the first half, also played well for Mickey Ned O’Sullivan’s team.
While Clare have yet to make a real breakthrough at minor level, they have won at least one game in each of the last five seasons. In 2012 Kerry beat Clare by four points in Cusack Park and they were very competitive in Tralee last weekend.
They are definitely making steady if not spectacular progress at this level. Clare’s physical conditioning has improved noticeably in recent seasons and is a factor in ensuring competitiveness at this grade.
This Kerry team is not a vintage one but until Clare manage a win over Kerry, Cork or Tipperary, underage football will not progress to the next rung at inter-county level.

Clare: Killian Normoyle (Lissycasey); Darren Nagle (Liscannor), Jack O’Dea (Kilfenora), Fergal Pyne (Killimer); Jack Browne (Kilrush, captain), James Woods (Éire Óg), Kieran Malone (St Joseph’s, Miltown); Eoin Hanrahan (Doora-Barefield), Dara Walsh ((Éire Óg); Cian O’Dea (Kilfenora), Paddy O’Malley (Éire Óg), Conall O’hAiniféin (Doora-Barefield); Éimhin Courtney (Éire Óg), B Keating (Ennistymon), Joe Downes (Cooraclare).
Subs: Liam Madigan (Kilrush) for Joe Downes (half-time), Colm Pyne (Killimer) for Jack Browne (40), Conor Galvin (Clarecastle) for Cian O’Dea (44), Aidan Davidson (St Breckan’s) for Paddy O’Malley (47), Conor Finucane (Lissycasey) for Éimhin Courtney (53-inj).
Scorers: Éimhin Courtney (0-3), Paddy O’Malley (0-3, 0-2f), Barry Keating (0-2, 1f), Liam Madigan (0-1).
Wides: 12;  Frees: 17; 45s: 0
Yellow cards: Fergal Pyne, Jack Browne, Éimhin Courtney, Kieran Malone.
Kerry: Shane Ryan; Brian Sugrue, Cathal O’Lúing, Padraig O’Conchúir; Matthew Flaherty, Greg Horan, Fionán Clifford; Kevin Shanahan (captain), Kieran Murphy; David Foran, Jack Savage, Conor Jordan; Killian Spillane, Shane O’Connor, Conor Keane.
Subs: Tomás O’Sé for Conor Jordan (16), Micheál Burns for David Foran (34), Cian O’Connor for Kevin Shanahan (55), John Rice for Tomás Ó Sé (59), Barry O’Sullivan for Kieran Murphy (59).
Scorers: Killian Spillane (0-4), Jack Savage (0-4, 3f), Conor Keane (0-4, 2f), Brian Sugrue, Kieran Murphy, Micheál Burns (0-1 each).
Wides: 9;  Frees: 15; 45s: 0
Yellow cards: Shane O’Connor, Conor Keane, Tomás Ó Sé, Cathal O’Lúing.
Referee: Brendan Stack (Limerick).