Spirited performance not enough for Clare ladies

Galway 1-10   Clare 0-8

CLARE, despite a spirited performance, lost out to Galway in Round 2 of the All-Ireland Minor Championship in Tulla on Sunday afternoon. Having also lost their opening game to Cork, they are now out of the running for a semi-final spot.
Playing with the aid of a strong breeze in the opening half, Clare started the stronger and with points from captain, Niki Kaiser, Kate O’Gorman and Aoibheann Malone were ahead 0-4 to no score with 10 minutes on the clock. 

Galway’s centre-forward Ciana Ní Churraoin pulled back two points for the visitors when she converted two frees in the 12th and 14th minutes. The only goal of the game came in the 20th minute, when from an awkward angle Galway’s Aisling Breheny somehow managed to send her shot past Emer Murray in the Clare goals. Galway added another point when Orlaith McGrath pointed from play in the 23rd minute to stretch the visitors lead to two points.

Clare were dealt a blow with the loss of Kaiser through injury in the 25th minute, however, the home side rallied and with two converted frees from O’Gorman the sides were level at the break.

Galway piled on the pressure from the restart, and aided by the strong breeze in Dr Daly Park, were four points ahead mid-way through the half. Galway could have been further ahead but for stringent defending by Clare as Claire McMahon and Ellen Roche worked hard to contain the forwards, and with Murray pulling off some good saves Galway had to rely on Ní Churraoin from placed balls.

Galway made better use of the wind advantage in the second half than Clare had in the opening 30 minutes, and even with the hard-working Sinéad Quinn, Aoife Keane and Orla Devitt, Clare were unable to push ahead. O’Gorman converted a free for Clare in the 49th minute which was to be the home sides last point of the game.

Galway: Tara Murphy; Sinéad Cormican, Rachel Bannon, Laura Power; Catrina Murphy, Maria Cooney, Michelle Dunleavy; Niamh Hanniffy, Ciara Burke; Orlaith McGrath, Ciana ni Churraoin, Aisling Breheny; Sinead Gaffney, Maria Breheny (captain), Lisa Hayes.
Sub: Patricia Manning for Breheny.
Clare: Emer Murray (Sixmilebridge); Rae Wall (Éire Óg), Ellen Roche (Sixmilebridge), Claire McMahon (Éire Óg); Rea Flanagan (Ballyea), Sinéad Quinn (Inagh-Kilnamona), Aoife Keane (Inagh-Kilnamona); Niki Kaiser-Capt (Newmarket-on-Fergus, Orlaith Lynch (St Joseph’s); Fiona Murphy (Sixmilebridge), Orla Devitt (Éire Óg, Claire Taaffe (Killanena); Aoibheann Malone (Corofin), Kate O’Gorman (Kilkishen), Amy O’Brien (Corofin).
Subs: Lisa Donoghue (Whitegate) for Kaiser (inj) Eimear Casey for Wall (both 25 mins); Rebecca Crowe (Ruan) for Taaffe (44 mins); Zoe McInerney for O’Brien (55 mins); Aislinn Keogh (Newmarket-on-Fergus) for Lynch (58 mins).
Referee: Ger O’Dowd, Tipperary.