Tag Archives: clare

Clare 0-11 Tipperary 0-11 IN the aftermath of Clare’s NFL division 2 draw with Tipperary in Ennis on Sunday, the visitors manager, Liam Kearns, expressed concern at the delay in an ambulance arriving at Cusack Park to bring an injured Tipperary mentor to hospital. Shane Stapleton was eventually removed, after a second half incident, during which he fell to the ground. “There is an ambulance about to collect him now. It still hasn’t got here, which is disappointing,” Kearns said. “He’s had a very bad bang to his head and we think he might have had a seizure so he’s going to hospital. Hopefully, he will be alright. It was a belt to his head. He went back and hit his head off the concrete behind him. He said to me after getting back up, ‘I don’t feel very well’. When I turned around again, he was lying on the ground in the foetal position. It is serious enough. Hopefully, …

Hurling fans faced into the 2018 season with hope more than confidence. The loss of a few regulars to retirement, travel and injury has meant that some key players from the past decade have had to be replaced. Defeat in the final of the Munster league by neighbours Limerick, on a day when the Banner men failed to match the physicality of their opponents, only added to those fears. Fast forward just three weeks and victories over Tipperary and Kilkenny in the opening two rounds of the national league have Clare fans instead dreaming of silverware again. Tipperary and Kilkenny are difficult to beat on any occasion but adding to the excitement about these results is the fact that they were fully merited. Indeed, Clare should have won both by a much greater margin, particularly Sunday’s game in Nowlan Park. While all involved are entitled to be pleased with these results, it must be remembered that their opponents, in both …

A 14-point defeat leaves little room for putting much of a spin on things. Clare were beaten in almost every sector on Sunday. From a management point of view, Colm Collins’ task is to try to pick up the players’ morale before Sunday’s game against Tipperary in Cusack Park at 2pm. As poor as Clare were in Navan, if they manage to somehow beat Tipperary, they will move ahead of them on the Division 2 table. For that to happen though, a mammoth improvement and lifting of effort levels is required. “We win together and we lose together. No player goes out to play poorly. This week we’ll have a look at it and go after the areas we feel we didn’t do well in. These things happen. Sometimes you turn in a really magical display and sometimes it’s poor. You’re never really as bad or as good as either. You just have to park it. There’s nothing we can …

Meath 0-21 Clare 0-7 COMPLETELY outclassed, particularly in the second half, Clare were beaten emphatically by Meath in Navan on Sunday afternoon. Clare now sit on one point from two games. They were outscored 0-15 to 0-3 in that second period, with Gary Brennan the only Clare player to score from play. In fact his point was the only score of the second half, with his rising shot going over the bar. Brennan was Clare’s outstanding player. However, Meath responded with 0-8 without reply and pulled away from a dishevelled Clare who lost their shape and increasingly lost hope as the second half evolved. Clare trailed 0-6 to 0-4 at half-time with Meath pulling two points ahead, when Bryan McMahon pointed, with the last kick, after a disputed free was taken quickly. Clare competed hard throughout the first half with Killian Roche kicking their opening score from a 45, while Pearse Lillis, Jamie Malone and Gary Brennan (free) added a …

Victories over Kilkenny at Nowlan Park don’t come about too often and Clare will be well aware of this as they head to the venue for Sunday’s round two league tie. That Kilkenny lost to Cork in Pairc Uí Caoimh on Saturday is sure to result in a greater effort from the Noresiders to get some points on the board. Both counties have players involved in Fitzgibbon Cup action this week, so the line-outs will not be named until after those games. Fears that the Noresiders would be without captain Cillian Buckley have receded. The defender, who was very impressive against Cork, was stretchered from the field in the closing stages but officials are understood to be confident that he will be fit to face Clare. It is also expected that TJ Reid and Liam Blanchfield, who were introduced during the course of Saturday’s game, will be in from the start this week. Clare were comfortable winners in the corresponding …

AS they head for Meath on Sunday, the Clare footballers and management will feel confident they have the capacity to kick a match-winning total. However, they will also dwell on the issues that were highlighted against Cavan and Cork in the McGrath Cup final. In those games, Clare have conceded 5-15 from play, while they kicked enough themselves to win either game. Management are introducing younger players to pivotal positions and those players must be given time to learn what football at this level is about. Based on what they have conceded in the games referred to, Clare will have to look at slightly readjusting their defensive plan for Meath, who beat them by nine points in Ennis last season and who drew with Roscommon on Sunday. They could opt to play a sweeper, if not for the entire 70 minutes, perhaps in the opening 15 minutes, to help them to settle and get a foothold in the game. Employing …

Sinn Féin MEP Liadh Ní Riada has called on all political parties, community groups, businesses and statutory bodies in Clare to work together to help negate the effects of Brexit on the county. The Ireland South MEP was speaking at the launch of her latest discussion document on Brexit in the Temple Gate Hotel in Ennis. The Mid-West and Brexit: The Potential Impacts of Britain’s Departure from the EU on Clare, ​​Limerick and North Tipperary examines the specific challenges that Brexit will pose for the region and lays out proposals for how they can best be tackled. “One of the main dangers of Brexit is that it can seem so vast and like such a major international issue that people tend to forget it will have a very real impact on their lives and their communities,” she said. “What I am am seeking to do with this document is remind people that Brexit is a local issue as well as …

Clare 1-12 Cavan 2-9 SIX points up, nine minutes into the second half, Clare were both relieved and disappointed to pick up a point from their first NFL division 2 league game of the new season in Ennis on Saturday. As the three minute of injury time ticked by, Clare led by a point after Keelan Sexton had kicked them 1-12 to 2-8 in front. However, Cavan equalised from a Bryan Magee free on a day when 16 players started their first league game. Clare had six players starting in the league for the first time, including four forwards. Following a very rocky started, during which Caoimhin O’Reilly goaled for Cavan after just 49 seconds, Clare went on to dominate the first half. They led 1-7 to 1-2 at half-time on a day when five of Clare’s six forwards scored from play. Éire Óg’s Eimihin Courtney goaled for Clare in the 12th minute, when full forward Sexton cleverly intercepted an …