*Cratloe’s Diarmuid Ryan fields the ball. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
RECORDING “hard-fought wins” has made Colm Collins “very proud” of the manner in which Cratloe have qualified for the TUS Clare SFC quarter-finals.
The Clare Echo’s online coverage of the Clare SFC is with thanks to The Shannon Springs Hotel.
Back to back victories over Kildysart and St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield saw Cratloe advance to the last eight. They have been drawn among the seeded teams for the quarter-finals meaning their potential opponents are Ennistymon, St Breckans or St Joseph’s Miltown.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, Cratloe manager Collins reflected, “We’ve had two really hard-fought wins now, Kildysart and Doora/Barefield but you’ve to give credit to the lads to come out on top in two close games just shows you what they are made of, I’m very proud of the way they got the win”.
Reactions on the breaking ball have to improve within the Cratloe camp, the former Clare manager maintained. “We were slow on the breaking ball against Kildysart which we worked a good bit on but again versus Doora/Barefield it was the same story, that improved substantially in the second half so we were happy with the second half, we had a lot of things to improve on, I’m sure Doora/Barefield have a lot to improve on but they’re through so happy days, they have some nice guys coming through with a lot of talent so the future is bright for them”.
Cratloe came from a point down twice in the final seven minutes of the contest to draw level but it was Enda Boyce’s fifty ninth minute kick that put them ahead and subsequently directly into the quarter-finals. “There’s no question or doubt about that it was a hard game, Doora/Barefield fought on their backs, everything depended on it and it did, thankfully things worked out in the end”.
Group 1 featured three seeded teams at the outset of the championship which is why three emerge to the knockout stages. It brought with it difficult encounters in each outing, Collins said. “I always felt this group was tough, Éire Óg are obviously the favourites but I always felt the other teams were going to have a tough time with each other and it has proven out to be, there was no weak team that you’d say someone would win convincingly against, I’m delighted to have won those two tight games”.
Following Cratloe’s elimination from the TUS Clare SHC last weekend it means all energy can be exerted into the football campaign, the last time they had a clear run at football they ended up as champions in 2023.
