Cratloe 1-10
Ballinacourty (Waterford) 0-11
GETTING stronger as the game wore on, Cratloe defied the perceived wisdom that playing a Munster club semi-final, the day after their first Clare football championship win, would derail them.
Instead they showed that they have the most admirable collection of lungs in Munster GAA.
Rather than celebrate the clubs historic county final win on Saturday night, Cratloe spent the evening in the ice chamber, preparing for Sunday’s provincial semi-final in Cusack Park, which was watched by 873 paying customers.
Come Sunday evening, they had plenty of time to party with a Munster club final appearance on December 1 also in the bag, against reigning Munster champions Dr Croke’s.
Sadly for Cratloe and particularly for Conor McGrath, they will have to take on the Kerry champions without their inspirational corner forward. Quiet against Doonbeg in the county final, McGrath was magnificent against Ballinacourty. His daintily finished goal was the games pivotal score, while he also weighed in with two points from play. However McGrath’s best ever display on the football field for his club was ruined in injury time when, along with Ballinacourty’s Richie Foley, he was red carded.
The cards were issued following an incident near the sideline opposite the main stand in Cusack Park. As huge as Cratloe’s achievement was, the red card deflated them somewhat in the minutes after the final whistle.
McGrath put away the goal just over a minute into the second half in a move started by a first time Fergal Lynch pass, which found Cathal McInerney in some space. McInerney timed his pass perfectly and McGrath, who missed a goal chance in the county final, finished delicately.
That score put Cratloe into a two-point lead, 1-5 to 0-6 having trailed 0-5 to 0-6 at half-time.
However Ballinacourty upped their game following the goal and come the fifth minute points from Patrick Hurney (2) and Gary Hurney had fired them into a 0-9 to 1-5 lead.
It’s significant that Cratloe, who had outstanding defensive performances from Seán Chaplin and Barry Duggan, conceded a mere two points in the closing 25 minutes.
Shortly after the Waterford champions went a point up, Cathal McInerney and Podge Collins responded with sublime scores from play. McInerney’s score followed a fast Liam Markham free, while Collin’s left foot point followed a pass from his brother Seán.
Eleven minutes from time, McInerney pointed a free, won by Óige Murphy, to help the winners into a 1-8 to 0-9 lead.
Ballinacourty again showed that they are made of good stuff with points from the outstanding Shane Briggs and Seán O’Hare, drawing them level, 1-8 to 0-11, with six minutes left.
Markham pointed Cratloe ahead again with a score that seemed to take an eternity to drop onto the roof of Stephen Enright’s net, while McGrath followed that with an excellent final point.
Everything was looking great for Cratloe at that stage and while they held on for the win, McGrath’s dismissal was a definite downer for the Clare champions.
McGrath also kicked a lovely first half point from play, following impressive link up play involving McInerney and Conor Ryan, who roamed all over Cusack Park.
McInerney kicked two first half points himself, one from a free, while Seán Collins and Markham put over a point each of Cratloe’s first half tally.
Patrick Hurney scored two nice points for Ballinacourty, which helped them into a 0-6 to 0-5 interval lead.
Cratloe upped their game considerably from their county final performance with Seán Chaplin, Barry Duggan, Conor Ryan, Cathal McInerney, Liam Markham, Podge Collins and man of the match McGrath the stand-out performers.
McGrath will be a huge loss for the Munster final but Cratloe have decent options in Seán Hynan and Brendan Bugler.
Ballinacourty were a step up from Cratloe’s opponents in Clare and played some good football, although they did lose their composure in the closing minutes, when it became clear that the game was going from them.
Cratloe: Pierce de Loughrey; Seán Chaplin, Barry Duggan, David Ryan; Óige Murphy, Michael Hawes, Enda Boyce; Fergal Lynch, Cillian Duggan; Liam Markham, Podge Collins, Conor Ryan; Cathal McInerney, Seán Collins, Conor McGrath.
Subs: Seán Hynan for Enda Boyce (42) and Brendan Bugler for Óige Murphy (53).
Scorers: Conor McGrath (1-2), Cathal McInerney (0-4, 0-2f), Liam Markham (0-2), Seán Collins, Podge Collins (0-1 each).
Wides: 9; frees won: 16; 45s: 0
Yellow cards: 0
Red card: Conor McGrath
Ballinacourty: Stephen Enright; Brian Looby, Shane Briggs, David Collins; Richie Foley, Seán O’Hare, Conor Maloney; John Hurney, Gary Hurney; James O’Mahoney, Mark Fives, Mark Ferncombe; Michael O’Halloran, Jason O’Brien, Patrick Hurney.
Subs: Shane Donovan for Jason O’Brien (half-time) and John Power for Michael O’Halloran (43).
Scorers: Patrick Hurney (0-4), John Hurney (0-2), James O’Mahoney, Michael O’Halloran, Mark Ferncombe, Shane Briggs and Seán O’Hare (0-1 each).
Wides: 7; frees won: 8; 45s: 1
Yellow cards: Jason O’Brien, Gary Hurney.
Red card: Richie Foley.
Referee: Derek O’Mahoney (Tipperary).
Peter O’Connell
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.