Parteen crowned U-15 champions

Parteen 3-9  Scariff-Ogonnellloe

History was made as Clare Bord na nÓg hosted its first underage championship final under floodlights at O’Garney Park in Sixmilebridge last week.

The opening minutes were played at a frantic pace and, within 60 seconds of the start, Parteen half-forward, Stephen O’Dwyer, had the ball in the Scariff-Ogonnelloe net to give the South-East Clare lads the perfect start. As the half progressed, Scariff-Ogonnelloe came more into the game and with Peter English playing well at midfield they picked off three points, with two coming from placed balls from English.
Following a quick move on the left side of their attack, the Scariff-Ogonnelloe corner-forward Adrian O’Grady placed the ball beyond James Fox in the Parteen goal to give the East Clare side a 1-3 to 1-0 lead approaching half-time. Parteen full-forward David Small raised a white flag from a free and scored another from play in the 32nd minute to leave the East Clare amalgamation ahead by a point at half-time, 1-3 to 1-2.
The second period began with some sustained pressure from Scariff-Ogonnelloe and they added another point to their tally to take a two-point lead. However, this score seemed to spark Parteen into life and with the half back line of Patrick Kerins, Shane O’Mullan and Kevin McGleenan getting more on top as the half progressed, Parteen found the platform they needed to launch attack after attack,
Noel Bridgeman, operating at midfield and aided by the excellent Cian McCarthy, took control of matters in that sector and he scored 1-2 by the 12th minute of the second half to give Parteen a lead they were never to relinquish. Points followed from Bridgeman (2) and David Small, before Noel Bridgeman raised a second green flag, following a superb pass from centre forward Adam Ahern. Parteen introduced David Staunton in the 45th minute for the injured Barry O’Donnell, who had been a thorn in Scariff-Ogonnelloe’s defence all evening.
Scariff-Ogonnelloe tried hard to get back into the game and were rewarded with another Peter English point to leave the score at 3-7 to 1-5 in favour of the South-East Clare side. James Fox made two outstanding saves in the Parteen goal and Eoghan Kelly and Gavin Higgins were now dominant in the full-back line with assistance from the excellent Killian Browne. Barry Nash and John Scanlon were working hard on the Scariff-Ogonnelloe half-forward line but were finding it difficult to break down a physically strong Parteen defence. David Small rounded off the scoring with two fine points, one from a 30m free, to leave Parteen victorious
Amid scenes of great joy, Parteen captain Eoghan Kelly accepted the U-15C championship cup from Bord treasurer Gerry Lynch. In his victory speech, Eoghan  paid special tribute to the team trainers Alan Small, Ivan Conway and Pairic O’Connor
On the way to reaching the county final, Parteen had wins over Bodyke, Cratloe and Smith O’Brien’s.

Parteen: James Fox, Eoghan Kelly, Gavin Higgins, Patrick Kerins, Shane O’Mullan, Killian Browne, Cian McCarthy, Kevin McGleenan, Stephen O’Dwyer (1-0), Adam Ahern, Barry O’Donnell, David Small (0-5), Noel Bridgeman (2-4), David Staunton, Cathal McSweeney, Niall Holland, Nathan Fox, Jack O’Donnell, Adam Moloney.
Scariff-Ogonnelloe: Ricky Bolton, Enda Nugent, Ronan Corry, Michael Barrett, Nick Peacock, Cathal Madden, Peter English, Jake Lennon, John Scanlon, Barry Nash, Daniel Cunnane, Aaron Bradley, Adrian O’Grady.