*A delighted Diarmuid Ryan at the final whistle. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
CRATLOE edged out Ennistymon following extra-time in the most exciting of the TUS Clare SFC quarter-finals.
Cratloe 2-14
Ennistymon 2-13
(After extra time)
Venue: Páirc Finne, Corofin
The Clare Echo’s coverage of the Clare SFC is with thanks to The Shannon Springs Hotel
Podge Collins struck the winner to send Cratloe back into the last four following eighty minutes of tense championship football in what was the first senior championship quarter-final held in Páirc Finne and the Corofin venue certainly held up even after extra time and the downpour of rains over recent days.
Twists and turns aplenty formed part of the liveliest quarter-final which included disallowed goals, hard hits, multiple cramps, a swirling crossfield breeze, darting runs and its fine share of poor shooting.
It was Ennistymon who forced extra time, Cillian Rouine with the last score in normal time after making a trademark bursting run through the spine of the opposing defence. A similar run was made in extra time where his shot bounced off the crossbar, inches denying him a green flag.
Bringing the game to extra time was no more than Ennistymon deserved. With such a high injury count within the Cratloe camp, David Collins, Conor Ryan, Eoin Carey and Tommy Rooney all missed out through injury, the younger fresher Ennistymon legs had a fine opportunity to kick on extra time but they were never let by a crafty Cratloe who despite using one substitute in both normal and extra time took the spoils.
From the off, Ennistymon started with intent, they were 1-3 0-0 in front by the seventh minute. Joshua Vaughan landed the major following a one-two involving Cillian and Seán Rouine. Josh Guyler, Brendy Rouine and Gearoid Barry all converted points prior to this.
It took Cratloe until the fourteenth minute to register a score and Tadhg Lohan was to man to ignire their challenge. He secured possession and tore past Sean Driscoll before putting the ball across the goal with Ryan Harkin on hand to palm to the net.
Cathal McInerney with the next two scores including a two pointer had them on level terms with nineteen minutes played, the two pointer arising after referee Chris Maguire deemed Seán Rouine did not hand the ball back after conceding a free prompting him to move the free forward. Strong protests were mounted in the aftermath of the free by Ennistymon that McInerney went inside the arc when kicking the score.
Courtesy of the Guyler brothers, Ennistymon regained the lead, Keelan kicked a two pointer before Josh extended their advantage to three points. Two converted frees from Seán Collins left Cratloe just one point adrift at half-time.
Brendy Rouine gave Ennistymon a perfect start to the second half. A sideline ball was taken quickly by his cousin Seán and was hit directly to Gearoid Barry who controlled and offloaded to the on-rushing Brendy to dispatch to the net.
A free from Brendy on thirty six minutes put them four points ahead but their wide count was beginning to mount.
As the second half wore on, Jamie Moylan was beginning to cause problems at full-forward, either creating goal chances or winning frees which Seán Collins and Cathal McInerney were happy to convert.
By the fifty second minute, Cratloe had taken the lead for the first time in the game. They kicked 1-3 without reply as Ennistymon went seventeen minutes without a score.
Diarmuid Ryan for the second championship game in a row stepped up with a vital goal for Cratloe, Cathal McInerney providing the assist.
Scores from Brendy and Cillian Rouine sandwiched between a Podge Collins point ensured extra time would determine the winner.
Despite Ennistymon kicking the first score of extra time through Seán Rouine, they failed to score for the remainder of the first half as Cratloe tagged on four points without reply to hold a 2-13 2-10 lead at the final break.
Resilience of Ennistymon’s side reared its head once more and they got back on level terms with white flags from Seán Rouine, Brendy and Seán Rynne. They could have had another point but Liam Cotter’s hand pass fell into the hands of Padraigh Chaplin.
They were also deprived of a goal with Chris Maguire not allowing Seán Conneally’s effort to stand on seventy one minutes. This was a massive turning point in the contest as a goal for Ennistymon at this juncture would have put them on the road to the semi-finals.
Instead wides continued to mount from the North Clare side and in Cratloe’s only shot on goal in the second half of extra time, Podge Collins hit the target to send them through to a third successive semi-final.
Losing this battle will be a tough pill for Ennistymon to swallow. They showed their quality at stages in this game, moving the ball tremendously well at pace to create scoring chances. Regrettably for them, they didn’t take all the chances that fell their way and particularly their ten wides in the second half proved costly. Close calls went against them, most notably the disallowed goal on their side and Harkin’s major which stood when questions of a square ball have been sounded loudly and the decisions here were inconsistent. Regardless, they still had time and opportunities to have secured a semi-final place and missed out on a chance to eliminate an under-strength Cratloe.
Resilience shown by Ennistymon is commendable and Declan Downes has put them on the right track in blending a more offensive approach to their game. They exit the championship at an earlier juncture this year but are one of the leading sides in the chasing pack and can be stronger once learnings are applied. Unsurprisingly with the Rouines at the heart of the club, they also were at the heart of this performance with Cillian, Joey, Brendy, Seán and Eoin all making big contributions along with Liam Cotter and Gearoid Barry.
Winning know-how and strong self-belief served Cratloe well who never panicked on the field. They were able to recover from falling six points down at the beginning of the game and fell five points behind early in the second half but always came back, they don’t relent with a handful of their team already the proud holders of three Clare SFC medals.
This was a huge test for Cratloe to prevail in considering the losses in their camp and the challenge that Ennistymon threw at them. They will renew rivalries with St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield in a fortnight’s time, while the picture with injuries may not be so rosy, the manner of this victory leaves them in a very healthy place mentally. Podge Collins, Diarmuid Ryan, Kevin Harnett, Cathal McInerney, Sean Collins, Jamie Moylan and Tadhg Lohan impressed for Colm Collins’ charges.
Scorers Cratloe: C McInerney (0-6 4f 1TPf), S Collins (0-4 3f), R Harkin (1-1), D Ryan (1-0), P Collins (0-3).
Scorers Ennistymon: B Rouine (1-4 4f), J Vaughan (1-0), J Guyler (0-2), K Guyler (0-2 1TP), S Rouine (0-2), G Barry (0-1), C Rouine (0-1), S Rynne (0-1).
Cratloe:
1: Padraigh Chaplin
4: Riain McNamara
3: Kevin Harnett
17: Mike Brennan
5: Enda Boyce
6: Liam Markham
7: Marc O’Brien
8: Diarmuid Ryan
10: Jamie Moylan
18: Ryan Harkin
14: Rian Considine
11: Sean Collins
13: Podge Collins
12: Tadhg Lohan
15: Cathal McInerney
Subs:
26: Conal O’Hanlon for Harkin (58)
Ennistymon:
1: Noel Sexton
5: Ciaran McMahon
4: Sean Driscoll
2: Joey Rouine
6: Liam Cotter
8: Cillian Rouine
3: Darragh Conneely
12: Eoin Rouine
9: Joshua Vaughan
11: Seán Rouine
7: Brendy Rouine
10: Tiernan Hogan
17: Keelan Guyler
14: Josh Guyler
13: Gearoid Barry
Subs:
19: Brian McNamara for Hogan (55)
20: Sean Conneally for K Guyler (58)
30: Seán Rynne for Vaughan (61)
27: Darren McNamara for J Guyler (77)
9: J Vaughan for E Rouine (76) (inj)
Referee: Chris Maguire (Wolfe Tones)
