Powerful performance secures title for Parteen

Parteen 0-13 Newmarket 0-6

PARTEEN captured the Intermediate Hurling League title with a comprehensive win over Newmarket at Cusack Park on Sunday evening.

Parteen 0-13 Newmarket 0-6

PARTEEN captured the Intermediate Hurling League title with a comprehensive win over Newmarket at Cusack Park on Sunday evening.
The winners dominated throughout and were well on their way to the title when they led by seven points, 0-9 to 0-2, at half-time.
When the South-East Clare side added the first three points of the second half to stretch their advantage to 10 points, they were well on their way to the title.
A powerful performance by their half-back line of Cillian Conlon, Colm O’Connell and Andrew Beatty laid the foundations for this victory on a day when they also held midfield dominance through the play of Colm Quinn and Joe O’Connor.
Corner-forward, Ronan Conlon, who finished the game as the top scorer with eight points, scored the first three points of the final.
Newmarket were dealt an early blow when they lost midfielder Brian Beano McMahon with a leg injury and this forced them to make a number of changes.
However, they were unable to break the dominance of the South-East Clare men whose first-half points came from Ronan Conlon with 0-6, Colm Quinn, Dara Yelerton and Ivan Conway, who is also the club secretary.
Newmarket needed to get back into contention in the early stages of the second half but it was the winners who took up where they had left off with further points from Conlon, Joe O’Connor and Padraic O’Connor.
Newmarket did create a couple of goal opportunities but Alan Murnane in the Parteen goal was in sparkling form and he pulled off a couple of great saves in the third quarter.
Niall Enright, Noel Frawley and Darren Duggan had points for the beaten finalists but, at the end of play, Parteen were deservingly in front.
After the game, Clare GAA Irish officer Tom Burke presented the trophy to the winner’s captain, Paul O’Dwyer. He was unable to play in the final due to a broken finger.
Having congratulated the South-East Clare men on their victory, Burke referred to recent proposals to extend the Limerick boundary into Clare and he voiced his opposition to these proposals and promised support to Parteen to remain within the Clare boundaries.

Parteen: Alan Murnane; David O’Sullivan, Donal Prendergast, Mark Cunningham; Andrew Beatty, Colm O’Connell, Cillian Conlon; Colm  Quinn, Joe O’Connor; Padraic O’Connor, Mark Boland, Brian Mc Sweeney; Dara Yelverton, Ivan Conway,  Ronan Conlon.
Subs: Jason Smith for O’Sullivan; Cathal O’Boyle for Conway and Pádraig O’Doherty for Boland.
Scorers: Ronan Conlon (0-8), Colm Quinn, Joe O’Connor, Padraic O’Connor, Ivan Conway and Dara Yelverton (0-1) each.

Newmarket: Ronan McCormack; Eanna McInerney, Seamus Meehan, Jimmy Clancy; Darren Cullinan, Ger Hannon, Pádraig O’Leary; Brian McMahon, Neil Ryan; Niall Enright, Anthony Kilmartin, Noel Frawley; Martin Frawley, Shane O’Leary, Rory Murphy.
Subs: Darren Duggan for N Ryan; Niall O’Connor for D Cullinan; David Liddy for O’Leary; Roger Compte for B McMahon (inj) and Paul McInerney for Murphy.
Scorers: Niall Enright (0-2), Neil Ryan, Noel Frawley, Darren Duggan and David Liddy (0-1) each.

Referee: Damian Fox, Wolfe Tones.