*Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
ÉIRE ÓG emerged two point winners over Kilmaley to seal their place in the TUS Clare SHC final for the first time since 2022.
Éire Óg 1-14
Kilmaley 1-12
Venue: Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosóg, Ennis
The Clare Echo’s online coverage of the Clare SHC is with thanks to The Temple Gate Hotel.
It wasn’t the cracker that it had the makings to be but this won’t bother Éire Óg in the slightest who have kept their double dream alive with their footballers to face Lissycasey in the last four next weekend.
Though not saturated in high scoring, it was a battle to the last which had spectators in Cusack Park on the edge of their seats. The appetite amongst the public to get to the game led to a ten-minute delay to throw-in with crowds trying to get into the county grounds, they were treated to an incredibly tight encounter.
Missed chances from Kilmaley were costly, they coughed up on six opportunities in the first ten minutes alone while over the hour this figure rose to fourteen.
Goalkeeper Darragh Stack was exceptional with Éire Óg, making four vital saves in the tie, a contribution which is likely to put him in the thoughts of county manager Brian Lohan and his selectors, had he not been in the equation already.
A dream start with a goal from Darren Moroney had Éire Óg off to a flyer, David Reidy won possession from the throw-in, drew an opponent and Moroney calmly slotted low beyond Bryan O’Loughlin.
Kilmaley showed the spirit that has been ever-present in their campaign and were leading by the sounding of the half-time whistle.
With a big third quarter, the Townies took control outscoring their opponents 0-7 0-2.
Missed chances were far too common from Kilmaley and Éire Óg hit the last three scores of the tie to run out two point winners, responding to a Conor Cleary goal which turned out to be Kilmaley’s last contribution to the scoreboard on fifty minutes.
Starting with Darren Moroney at centre forward and David Reidy at midfield, the move worked a treat initially for Éire Óg and led to their opening score, the major on twelve seconds.
This didn’t deter Kilmaley who hit the next three scores to draw level on the sixth minute. Conor Cleary and Tom O’Rourke combined to set up Seán Kennedy for their first which was followed by white flags from Cleary and Éanna McMahon who was operating in a wing-forward role as part of a rejigged Kilmaley lineup which saw Brian McNamara assigned to mark Shane O’Donnell and out of their attack with Colin Carmody replacing Martin O’Connor in defence.
Stack picked out Oran Cahill with a precision delivery which the former Clare U20 hurler finished off by splitting the posts to see Éire Óg regain the lead on seven minutes.
Mikey O’Neill was a livewire for the duration of the game and he had the assist for Seán O’Loughlin’s equaliser on twelve minutes.
Michael O’Malley exchanged scores with David Reidy and Danny Russell before the Kilmaley captain gave his side the lead for the first time on thirty minutes to see them one point clear at the break.
On the restart, Éire Óg hit the ground running with five of the first six scores within the first eight minutes of the second half, their four point turnaround saw them hold their biggest lead of the game as it stood at 1-8 0-8.
In the middle of the field, Oran Cahill’s influence was growing he had two points on the bounce, followed by a Danny Russell free which was Éire Óg’s fifth without reply to hold a five point lead with forty three minutes gone.
Four O’Malley scores, three from placed balls saw Kilmaley clip away at the deficit before Conor Cleary struck for goal on fifty minutes to put them in front for the first time in the second half. Seán O’Loughlin turned over Darren Moroney from a short puckout before finding Cleary.
Despite the lift of the green flag, Kilmaley never kicked on and Éire Óg with three Russell placed balls in a row turned the tide, they even had two goal chances but a Bryan O’Loughlin double save denied efforts from Russell and Reidy.
Stack’s influence between the other posts was central to Éire Óg’s victory. He stopped four goal chances, misses that Kilmaley will rue but which the custodian did very well to keep out.
Gerry O’Connor’s side didn’t produce their best performance of the championship but regrouped at half time to take control, asserting their dominance in the middle of the park with Oran Cahill growing into the game to lead his side. The balance of their team is very evident with a different star man stepping up on each occasion, this time it was Stack who was well supported by Cahill, Darren Moroney, Aaron Fitzgerald, David Reidy and Darren O’Brien.
Semi-final defeats are never easy to take and this one will hurt for Kilmaley. It was their first time making the penultimate stage in seven years, when a point separated them from Cratloe, prior to this they had the pain of losing in a replay to Clonlara after the original fixture went to extra time but this two point loss to Éire Óg will sting as they will know they not only had the winning of this game but also the winning of the championship.
Scoring efficiency was far too low on their account and they hit just 1-2 from play in the entire second half which is not enough to win games, never mind senior championship semi-finals. Of their fourteen misses on goal, four were placed balls from O’Malley in what was a rare off day on the dead balls, his chance to equalise on sixty one minutes typifying this.
It didn’t come down to O’Malley as he was heavily involved in a lot of what Kilmaley did right. So too was Mikey O’Neill who since returning from a hamstring injury has been one of their standout players along with Brian McNamara who did an exceptional job keeping Shane O’Donnell scoreless while Conor Cleary had one of his greatest club campaigns, finishing this with 1-1 and a bundle of assists while Seán O’Loughlin also did well in attack.
Scorers Éire Óg: D Russell (0-6 5f 1’65), D Moroney (1-0), O Cahill (0-3), D O’Brien (0-2), D Reidy (0-1), D McNamara (0-1), A Fitzgerald (0-1)
Scorers Kilmaley: M O’Malley (0-7 5f 1’65), C Cleary (1-1), S Kennedy (0-1), É McMahon (0-1), S O’Loughlin (0-1), M O’Neill (0-1).
Éire Óg:
1: Darragh Stack
7: Rian Mulcahy
3: Ciaran Russell
2: Fionan Treacy
5: Robert Loftus
6: Aaron Fitzgerald
4: Liam Corry
11: David Reidy
8: Oran Cahill
12: David McNamara
9: Darren Moroney
13: Darren O’Brien
15: Marco Cleary
14: Danny Russell
10: Shane O’Donnell
Subs:
17: Jarlath Collins for Corry (41)
22: Eoin O’Regan for Mulcahy (48)
25: Tom Kavanagh for McNamara (52)
18: James O’Dwyer for O’Brien (56)
Kilmaley:
1: Bryan O’Loughlin
30: Brian McNamara
3: Colin McGuane
2: Joe Casey
19: Colin Carmody
6: Daire Keane
5: Aidan McGuane
8: Tommy Barry
9: Sean Kennedy
7: Éanna McMahon
14: Conor Cleary
11: Mikey O’Malley
13: Tom O’Rourke
12: Mikey O’Neill
10: Seán O’Loughlin
Subs:
15: Colm Killeen for McMahon (44)
18: Eoin Enright for Kennedy (51)
29: Cathal Darcy for Barry (51)
24: Seán Ronan for O’Rourke (60)
Referee: Fergal O’Brien (Broadford)
