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Tag Archives: NFL

Very poor second half spells defeat for Clare

Limerick 2-10 Clare 1-5 CLARE produced their worst display of their 2015 NFL division 3 campaign when falling to Limerick by double scores in Newcastlewest on Sunday afternoon. It was Clare’s third successive league defeat. Limerick won simply because they were significantly more committed than Clare and completely dominated the last 25 minutes. Although Clare played with a very strong breeze in that second half they failed to score in the last 26 minutes. They were 1-4 to 0-2 behind at half time but just nine minutes into the second half the teams were tied at 1-5 each. It looked inevitable that Clare would go on and record a badly needed win. The Clare goal was scored by Pat Burke from the penalty spot afte pSeanie Buckley, under pressure from Podge Collins, picked the ball off the ground in the small square. Points from play, put over by Gary Brennan and Dean Ryan, tied the game and put Clare into …

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Beaten Clare improve in second half

Armagh 3-11 Clare 1-11 TEN points down at half-time, Clare produced a stirring second half display to drag themselves to within two points of Armagh half way through the second half. However it wasn’t sufficient to reel in the visiting county and joint division 3 table toppers. A second Tony Kernan goal, four minutes from time, sealed the win for Kieran McGeeney’s team who had lead 2-8 to 0-4 at the interval having comprehensively outplayed Clare in the opening half. Ironically the home county started very well and led 0-2 to 0-0 seven minutes with Shane Brennan and Jamie Malone pointing from play. Armagh however preceded to take over and kicked 2-5 without reply. In fact Clare were held scoreless for 17 minutes. In the interim full forward Ethan Rafferty, held off Clare full back Kevin Harnett to bury Armagh’s first goal, which was also their opening score. Thereafter Andy Mallon, one of three Armagh players to be black carded, …

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Clare well beaten by Tipperary in Thurles

Tipperary 2-11 Clare 1-8 CLARE’S chances of involving themselves in the contest for promotion to division 2 suffered a big setback in Thurles on Saturday afternoon when they fell to Tipperary, who now join Clare on four points from four games. Once Tipperary scored their first half goal Clare never looked likely to push the county county and the nearest they came to them was four points, six minutes from full-time. In a display which had echoes of their first half performance against Sligo, Clare simply gave the ball away too often when they went into contact. Tipperary were also more adept at funelling back and then breaking forward at pace. Tipperary led 1-5 to 0-4 at half time with Conor Sweeney netting in the 11th minute. Liam Casey delivered a long ball, which Sweeney flicked to the net as he was challenged by Gordon Kelly. Michael Quinlivan, who went off with a hamstring injury in the opening half and …

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Clare face Sligo in must win Ennis clash

AS Clare prepare for their third league game of 2015 in Cusack Park on Sunday, they do so in the knowledge that if they are to avoid fighting relegation, this is a must win game. Sligo are in even more dire need of the points following defeats to Limerick and Fermanagh. In losing to Louth, Clare simply spilled possession much too often. Although they played decent football in the opening half, once Louth gained in confidence and stepped it up, Clare were left floundering. Losing Ciaran Russell to a black card and Cathal O’Connor to injury, adversely affected Clare. They had to move Shane McGrath to midfield and Shane Hickey to wing back, which resulted in their attack becoming unbalanced while they couldn’t win sufficient primary ball in the middle of the field. Not scoring in the last 27 minutes is a reflection of Clare’s second half display which if replicated this weekend, will lead to certain defeat. Clare must …

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Cathal O'Connor tries to get past Leitrim's Shane Moran during their Round 2 Division 4 National Football League game at Miltown Malbay.

Footballers well beaten in Drogheda

(Peter O’Connell) Louth 1-16 Clare 0-13 NOT scoring in the last 27 minutes of their six point division 3 NFL loss to Louth in Drogheda was one of the primary reasons behind Clare’s defeat to their Leinster opponents. When David Tubridy pointed his sixth score, eight minutes into the second half, Clare led 0-13 to 1-7 and they looked set for their second win within a week. However the loss of Cathal O’Connor to injury and the black card shown to Ciaran Russell, in the fourth minute of the second half, derailed Clare who lost their composure in the second half. They weren’t helped by a poor refereeing decision, 13 minutes into the second half, when Gary Brennan was clearly fouled by Adrian Reid. Seconds earlier the Clare midfielder had his jersey pulled back as he cut through. However neither a penalty or a free was awarded. That said once Louth got a grip in the second half, Clare were …

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Footballers make great start to league campaign

(Peter O’Connell) Clare 1-16 Wexford 0-5 CLARE made a superb start to their NFL division 3 league campaign, beating Wexford by 14 points in Hennessy Memorial Park, Miltown on Sunday afternoon. Led by Gary Brennan, who dominated midfield and David Tubridy, who kicked 0-10 from play and frees, Clare were much sharper than Wexford who had Ciaran Lyng red carded three minutes into the second half. The David Power managed Wexford men also had midfielder Paddy Byrne and substitute Simon Donohue black carded. Clare led 0-8 to 0-3 at half largely thanks to five David Tubridy points, four of which the Doonbeg man kicked from frees won by Shane Hickey (two), Pat Burke and Tubridy himself. In addition Jamie Malone, Shane Brennan and Shane Hickey kicked a point each from play in that opening half. However two pivotal first half incidents in that opening period, both involved Clare goalkeeper Joe Hayes. The Lissycasey man saved twice inside two minutes. First …

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McMahon feels that Clare are ready to take it up a level

(Peter O’Connell) A Clare senior footballer since 2008, Martin McMahon has never played in a division above the basement league. That will change for him and his colleagues on Sunday when Clare play Wexford in their opening fixture of the division 3 league. The Mullagh man, who teaches at St Munchin’s in Limerick, was working in Dublin for several years before finding employment in the mid west. Not having to drive to and from the capital every weekend is something that he appreciates and feels fresher for it. “One thing I never really liked was the travelling. In Dublin you were leaving every Friday evening and heading back every Sunday evening. Then when you were getting close to championship you were up and down twice during the week. The best thing I find about being down is that you can do your gym sessions in groups. When I first started in Dublin there was only about two players away. I …

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Brave Clare fall just short

Peter O’Connell Tipperary 1-16 Clare 1-15 CLARE put in a brave, unyielding display in Saturday evenings NFL division 4 league final in Croke Park. The highlight was a magnificent goal, early in the second half from Kilmihil’s Martin O’Leary who was played in by fellow U/21 Jamie Malone. At that stage Clare led 1-11 to 1-8 and backed by a strong wind, it looked as if their first appearance in Croke Park since 2004 would end in victory. However they added just four points in the closing half hour with Tipperary tagging on 0-8 during the same spell. The game was watched by a crowd of 8,654 people. Conor Sweeney was the winners main man in attacking scoring their goal in the opening half and kicking an array of impressive points. Tipperary led 1-7 to 0-9 at half time, thanks to Sweeney’s 19th minute goal. In fact were it not for two excellent blocks from Kevin Hartnett, Tipperary could have …

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