All-Ireland Intermediate Championship Quarter-Final Westmeath 3-11 Clare 2-11 Clare suffered an agonising three point defeat to Westmeath in the TG4 All-Ireland intermediate quarter final, reports Ivan Smyth. When Clare trailed by eight points near the conclusion of the opening half and by six points after 40 minutes, it appeared their hopes of progressing through to the semi final were thin but Evan Talty’s side produced a tremendous fightback as they fell just short. Clare scored 1-2 without reply as substitute Chloe Towey found the net as her side cut their deficit to a single point with five minutes remaining. After Anna Jones (free) and Niamh O’Dea traded scores, Clare tried desperately to find the score needed to level or win this back and forth contest. O’Dea and Chloe Moloney both saw shots drift wide of the uprights with Westmeath desperately clinging on. However, they showed great composure when late in the game they scored two frees. Clare had a chance …
Read More »LADIES FOOTBALL: Make-or-break for Clare’s battle with the Lakes
Clare v Westmeath at Tuam Stadium Galway, Sunday, at 2pm (Garryowen McMahon, Mayo) IT’S essentially a crossroads of sorts for the Clare ladies’ footballers this Saturday. Having failed to win a knock-out championship tie since contesting the All-Ireland Intermediate Final five years ago, the Banner crave a breakthrough against a major opponent just to even validate their developmental progress, writes Eoin Brennan. And they certainly don’t come much bigger than Westmeath who are not only favourites for the title, having paid their dues in the 2020 final against Meath in December but are also only down from senior level since 2019. Experienced forwards Leona Archibald, Fiona Claffey, Ciara Blundell and Lucy McCartan are still in situ from their last knock-out meeting with Clare in the 2016 National League Division 2 Semi-Final. Clare will be extremely wary of that attacking prowess, having conceded seven goals so far in just two group outings. Perfect timing then for the potential return of former …
Read More »Rampant Clare footballers hammer Westmeath
Clare 1-18 Westmeath 0-10 WITH just three fixtures left to play in division 3 of the NFL, Clare took a huge stride towards promotion with a comprehensive win over Westmeath in Ennis on Sunday. They now sit joint second in the table, along with Tipperary. The Munster teams are two points behind Kildare, who have won all four of their games to date. Clare travel to O’Connor Park in Tullamore next Sunday, where they play Offaly who are currently on four points. Clare blitzed Westmeath who were completely off the pace, particularly in the first half. Such was Clare’s dominance they led 0-7 to 0-0 after 23 minutes with David Tubridy, Eoin Cleary, Pearse Lillis and Cathal O’Connor putting over those early points. Westmeath, who reached the 2015 Leinster final and were expected to at least contend for promotion, didn’t kick their first point until eight minutes before half time when substitute Shane Dempsey scored. They did come within four …
Read More »Clare footballers seek third win
WHAT a difference a win makes or, perhaps more significantly, what a difference a performance makes. Everything that Clare lacked in their Round 2 National Football League Division 3 game against Tipperary on February 7 was evident in last Sunday’s six-point win over Limerick. Nobody would question a team that gives all it can and loses a particular game but Clare did not seem fully focused in that first half against Tipperary, while their decision-making on the ball was poor. The challenge for them against Limerick was to first reacquaint themselves with an attitude that would lead to a 70-minute performance. They knew that if that happened, they would have every chance of winning and moving away from the bottom half of the table. Therefore, they will enter Sunday’s game at Cusack Park, Ennis [2pm start] against Westmeath confident and ready for another vital fixture. The Midland county, who defeated Meath for the first time in their history in 2015, …
Read More »Local Enterprise Offices launch
GOVERNMENT top brass will be out in force tomorrow (Tuesday) for the national launch of the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOS). Taoiseach, Enda Kenny; Tánaiste, Eamon Gilmore; Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton and Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government Phil Hogan will attend the launch at Westmeath Local Enterprise Office in Mullingar. Tomorrow’s event will announce that the 31 Local Enterprise Offices, based in every county, are now open for business and that 35 independent State agencies previously providing services in this area are now abolished. The LEOs will provide a “first-stop-shop” for all government supports for small business in easily accessible locations across the country.
Read More »Westmeath’s second half goals too much for Clare
By Seamus Hayes Westmeath 3-9 Clare 2-8 While Clare’s under 21 footballers showed improved form from their first round loss to Roscommon a week earlier, defeat was still their lot when they hosted Westmeath at Miltown on Saturday in round 2 of the Hastings cup under 21 football competition. The Banner side will complete their programme in this competition on Friday next when they will play Kildare under lights at St. Patricks GAA grounds in Limerick city. Clare got off to a dream start on Saturday when Jamie Malone goaled in the second minute but they failed to build on this and the visitors hit back with five unanswered points to lead by two at the end of the first quarter. A point each from midfielders Ciaran Devitt and Conor Cleary levelled the game and the teams went on to exchange points with Martin O’Leary’s effort for the home side leaving the half time score at 1-3 to 0-6. In the …
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