Clann na nGael 0-11

Tracton 0-8

NOEL HORGAN REPORTS

THEY weren’t headed at any stage, and looked firmly on course for victory when they led by six points midway through the second half of the confined junior B football championship final at Páirc Uí Rinn on Friday evening.

It was by no means a smooth run-in for Clann na nGael, however, as they had to endure almost constant bombardment from a gutsy Tracton side before holding out for a win that gave the Drimoleague-Drinagh club its first taste of county championship glory since 2006.

That it was hard-earned in the end made the success all the sweeter.

It was a bit too close for comfort at the same time, and it was easy to appreciate why manager Mike O’Brien was quick to acknowledge the vital role played by the Clann na nGael rearguard in securing the long-awaited triumph.

Clann na nGael celebrate their victory in the McCarthy Insurance Group Confined Junior B Football Championship final at Páirc Uí Rinn. (Photo: George Hatchell)

‘I thought we defended really well overall, but we were under serious pressure, and it was a bit hairy there in the end,’ he admitted.

‘Out goalkeeper was excellent, Eoin (Daly) has been with us a long, long time, and I’m delighted for him.’

O’Brien felt it wasn’t Clann na nGael’s best performance of the season, suggesting the black cards issued to defenders Ronan O’Driscoll and Jack Coveney, nearing half time and towards the end of the second half respectively, might have unsettled the team a little.

‘We probably didn’t do enough up front today, we wasted a lot of chances, but we played good football at times, and the bottom line is we came out on top,’ said O’Brien, who has worked the oracle for Clann na nGael in his first season at the helm.

Aided by a stiff wind, Clann na nGael, with Kevin O’Driscoll and Luke Hurley giving them an edge at midfield, dominated the early exchanges, but a combination of over-elaboration and erratic shooting limited their progress.

Cian O’Reilly, Daniel McCarthy, Hurley, Paddy McCarthy, from a free, and Robbie McQueen were on target for the winners before Tracton got off the mark, courtesy of Daniel Flaherty from a free, all of 28 minutes into the first half.

Having broken their duck, Tracton, despite wasting a string of chances, shaped up much better approaching half time when Flaherty had a penalty saved by Clann na nGael goalkeeper Eoin Daly.

Daly had proved his worth when keeping out a rasper from Tracton’s Robin O’Donovan earlier in the half, at the end of which the teams had shared 12 wides, and Clann na nGael led by 0-6 to 0-2.

Clann na nGael's Eoghan Daly races away from Tracton's Eoin O'Donoghue. (Photo: George Hatchell)

Points from lively corner-forward Damien Fernandez and impressive centre-forward Robbie McQueen stretched the Scorchers’ advantage during the third-quarter.

With Eoin Daly again doing well to keep a clean sheet, brilliantly deflecting a shot from Tracton’s Eoin Lehane over the bar, Clann na nGael remained six points to the good, 0-10 to 0-4, after influential wing-back Ryan O’Donovan did much of the spadework for a Paddy McCarthy point in the 47th minute.

Then came Tracton’s gallant bid to pull the game of the fire, kick-started by a fine point from Robin O’Donovan, who, along with Josh Lehane, carried the main threat up front for the Minane Bridge men.

Midfielders Evan Lehane and Daniel Flaherty were others to the fore during the losers’ late resurgence, as was centre-back Cian Breathnach, who posted a two-pointer that made it 0-10 to 0-8 heading into stoppage time.

As the Clann na nGael rearguard, to a man, defended heroically, Tracton were unable to erase the deficit before the siege was lifted.

A Kevin O’Driscoll point sealed the Carbery side’s pillar-to-post win in the 63rd minute.

Scorers

Clann na nGael: R McQueen, K O’Driscoll, P McCarthy (1f), C O’Reilly (1f) 0-2 each; D McCarthy, L Hurley, D Fernandez 0-1 each.

Tracton: J Lehane, C Breathnach (2pt) 0-2 each; D Flaherty (f), E Lehane, R O’Donovan, M Castleton 0-1 each.

Clann na nGael: Eoin Daly; R O’Driscoll, JJ Collins, N Keating; R O’Donovan, H O’Donovan, J Coveney; K O’Driscoll, L Hurley; Eoghan Daly, R McQueen, C O’Reilly; D Fernandez, P McCarthy, D McCarthy.

Subs: W O’Donovan for R O’Driscoll (40), E Crowley for O’Reilly (45), L O’Farrell for D McCarthy (63).

Tracton: E O’Callaghan; D Duggan, D Good, J Kingston; K Webb, C Breathnach, S Dorney; E Lehane, D Flaherty; A Taylor, E O’Donoghue, I O’Brien; J Lehane, A Lyons, R O’Donovan.

Subs: C Harrington for O’Donoghue (ht), M Castleton for O’Brien (ht), E Kelly for Taylor (41), S Nunan for Lyons (50).

Referee: D Butler (Carrigtwohill).