CLANN NA NGAEL 0-11
MUINTIR BHÁIRE 0-8
TOMMY LYONS REPORTS
CLANN na nGael came out on top in a West Cork confined junior B football championship derby with Muintir Bháire at a sun-drenched Bantry last Saturday.
‘Come on the Scorchers’ was the shout from outside the wire before the ball was thrown in for this crucial all-West Cork clash.
It was war cry from olden days and the Drimoleague men needed all their battling qualities as Muintir Bháire put it up to them.
Clann had won their first-round game while Muintir had lost theirs. So ,it was a do-or-die encounter for the western side.
Muintir started this game determined not to suffer another defeat. In a low-scoring first half, they had three points on the board before Clann opened their account. Even though they faded somewhat in the second quarter, Muintir still led by three at the interval.
Unfortunately for Muintir, the wheels came off in the second half as their injury-hit side ran out of steam. Some changes in personnel and a few hard words during the break worked the oracle for the Scorchers. The eventual winners upped the pace in the second period and completely dominated the possession stakes.
Clann’s forwards, who had failed to break down the hard-working Muintir defence, found space and their shooting boots. It took them all of 52 minutes before they drew level on the scoreboard against a gallant Muintir fifteen.
The closing ten minutes saw the Scorchers surge to victor. Four unanswered points sealed the issue even though Muintir had the satisfaction of the closing score.
‘The first half was very poor,’ admitted Clann manager Aidan McCarthy.
‘In fairness to Muintir Bháire, they came hard at us and we just didn’t play, we didn’t hit any of our targets. We got back to basics in the second half and got over the line.
‘Our forwards just weren’t scoring in the first half. We have some great forwards but they just weren’t clicking. We weren’t giving the right pass, taking the wrong option but that came right after the break.’
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Muintir made the better start on a perfect day for football and played on a fine sod. Their young forward line looking very lively. Points from Ray O’Sullivan, Fionn Doonan and the impressive Ben Egan had them three up after 10 minutes. Luke Hurley opened Clann’s account to close the first quarter, 0-3 to 0-1.
Clann came more into the game in the second quarter with Hurley and Eoghan Daly gaining a grip at midfield. They found the great blocking down and tight marking of Muintir’s defence difficult to overcome.
Wrong options at vital times didn’t help their cause as they were limited to a single point from their best forward, Donal O’Donovan. Muintir were still giving as good as they got, with goalkeeper Damien O’Sullivan, Conor Bignell and Ben Egan working their socks off in defence.
Points from Ben and Joe Egan saw Muintir lead by three at half time, 0-5 to 0-2.
The second half saw a huge transformation in the game as the Scorchers took control of the middle third. The half started on an even keel with the teams swapping points, Donal O’Donovan with a pair for Clann and Seán O’Driscoll a pair for Muintir (one free).
That was to prove Muintir’s final score until the closing minute as Clann upped the pressure with goalkeeper Liam O’Farrell, defenders Ronan O’Driscoll, Ryan O’Donovan and Séamus O’Regan sealing off all avenues to goal. Midfielders Daly and Hurley provided quality ball to the forward. Paddy McCarthy led the way with Donal O’Donovan and Eric Crowley also finding the target.
It was still 0-7 to 0-5 in favour of Muintir entering the last quarter. That’s when the Scorchers embarked on a scoring spree, kicking seven unanswered points.
O’Donovan, Eric Crowley, Jack Coveney, Luke Hurley, Paddy McCarthy and Stephen McQueen all raised white flags. McCarthy was unlucky when he saw a shot rebound off the post. It was all over before Seán O’Driscoll had the last point of the day for Muintir.
‘We played great football in the first half today and were unlucky not to get a few more scores,’ Muintir manager Brendan O’Mahony said.
‘We missed a few points and had some goal chances we didn’t take. We had a lot of lads coming back from injury and they just weren’t fit enough in that second half. We were overpowered in the middle of the pitch and couldn’t get the ball into the forwards.’
Scorers
Clann na nGael: Donal O’Donovan 0-4, Luke Hurley, Eric Crowley 0-2 each, Robbie McQueen, Jack Coveney, Paddy McCarthy (1f) 0-1 each.
Muintir Bháire: Seán O’Driscoll 0-3 (1f), Ben Egan 0-2, Joe Egan, Fionn Doonan, Ray O’Sullivan 0-1 each.
Clann na nGael: Liam O’Farrell; Ronan O’Driscoll, J.J. Collins, Conor O’Mahony; Ryan O’Donovan, Séamus O’Regan, Jack Payne-Murphy; Eoghan Daly, Luke Hurley; Kevin O’Driscoll, James Russell, Cian O’Reilly; Donal O’Donovan, Paddy McCarthy, Eric Crowley.
Subs: Conor McCarthy for C O’Reilly (ht), Jack Coveney for J Russell (ht), Robbie McQueen for J Payne-Murphy (35), Daniel McCarthy for S O’Regan (48).
Muintir Bháire: Damien O’Sullivan; Conor Bignell, Alex Young, James Mallon; Joe Egan, Michael Allen, Ben Egan; Fionn Doonan, David O’Mahony, Ray O’Sullivan; Seán O’Driscoll, Colm Hegarty; Calvin Cronin, James Hickey, Stephen Hourihane.
Subs: Patryk Gacek for J Hickey (40), Luke O’Sullivan for B Egan (48), Timmy Kelleher for J Egan (53).
Referee: Frank Quill (Bantry Blues).
