Whitegate and Meelick through to final

Whitegate   1-14   Parteen   0-10
WHITEGATE booked their place in the U-21C final when they defeated Parteen at Ogonnelloe.

 

Ahead by two points at half-time, they had to withstand a strong start to the second half by the South-East Clare side before taking a grip on the game when they hit five unanswered points.

A Paddy Burke goal helped the winners to an interval lead of 1-4 to 0-5. The first half was evenly contested and when Parteen came within a point of the winners, everything pointed to the outcome going right to the death.

However, in the mid period of the second half, the winners took control and opened a five-point lead, which killed off Parteen’s hopes. Eoin Quirke hit some impressive scores during this period. Indeed Quirke, a member of last year’s Clare minor squad, was Whitegate’s and the game’s top scorer with seven points, one more than Parteen’s outstanding Martin Moroney.

Whitegate: Luke Solan; Gareth Bleach, Paul O’Rourke; Tom Hanley, Colin Burke, Michael Minogue; Michael Dooley, Liam Sugrue; Tomás McNamara, Eoin Quirke, Colin McDermott; Paddy Burke, Luke Patterson.
Subs: Reuban Noyes for Patterson, David Durack for Minogue, Dylan White for McNamara, James Lucas for Sugrue and Aidan McCarthy for Noyes.
Scorers: Eoin Quirke (0-7, 5f), Paddy Burke (1-1), Liam Sugrue (0-2), Conor McDermott, Michael Dooley, Tomás McNamara and Reuban Noyes (0-1 each).
Parteen: James Fox; Kevin McGleenan, Sean Beatty; Paul McDonald, Matthew McSweeney, Adam Aherne; Martin Moroney, Cian McCarthy; Gavin Higgins, Eoin Kelly, Stephen Flanagan; David Small, Noel Bridgeman.
Subs: Paul Curtis for Beatty and Barry O’Donnell for Flanagan.
Scorers: Martin Moroney (0-6) and David Small (0-4).

Meelick   2-9    Scariff-Ogonnelloe    1-10
WHEN Scariff-Ogonnelloe led 1-7 to 0-8 at the interval in their semi-final, after playing against a strong wind, everything pointed to them progressing to the final of the championship.

However, Meelick, early in the second half, got the upperhand and went on to record a two-point victory, helped by goals from Keith Moran and substitute Joe McCarthy.

The combination outfit were in as great position at half-time when they held a two-point lead after playing against the wind. As was the case in the opening round, Barry Nash was their top scorer and, on the day, he accounted for 1-5, the goal coming in the opening half.

Few would have bet against them progressing to the final at this stage but Meelick, with Damian Moloney outstanding at centre-back, came storming into the game after the break and never allowed their opponents time on the ball.

The winners had started well and went into a 0-4 to 0-1 lead after 10 minutes. Scariff-Ogonnelloe had the better of matters for the rest of the first half and deserved to be in front at the break.

From the resumption of play, Meelick took the initiative and had the better of matters in the vital areas. They quickly got back on terms and once they moved ahead, confidence grew and Scariff-Ogonnelloe struggled to win possession.

The amalgamation battled to the end but Damian Moloney, Sean O’Connor and Eoin Brewitt led the Meelick challenge and they are now getting ready for a final appearance.

Meelick: Roy Duffy; Niall Mullen, Bobby Sherlock; James Glynn, Damian Moloney, Eoin Brewitt; Gary Callinan, Colin Ryan; Lee Ryan, Sean O’Connor, Ciarán McCarthy; Oisín Hickey, Keith Moran.
Sub: Joe McCarthy for C McCarthy.
Scorers: Sean O’Connor (0-5), Keith Moran and Joe McCarthy (1-0 each), Oisín Hickey (0-2), Damian Moloney and Gary Callinan (0-1 each).
Scariff-Ogonnelloe: Andrew O’Dwyer (Scariff); Danny Cunnane (Ogonnelloe), Liam Bugler (Scariff); Jack Orme (Ogonnelloe), Cathal Madden (Scariff), Alan Corbett (Scariff); Martin Cunningham (Scariff), Sean Kikkers (Ogonnelloe); Cian Bradley (Ogonnelloe), Patrick O’Dwyer (Scariff), Rory Skelly (Ogonnelloe); John Scanlan (Scariff), Barry Nash (Scariff).
Sub: Aaron Bradley (Ogonnelloe) for O’Dwyer.
Scorers: Barry Nash (1-5), Rory Skelly and Martin Cunningham (0-2 each) and Alan Corbett (0-1).