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*Cratloe sharpshooter Rian Considine. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
ADVANCING to the quarter-finals of the Clare SHC is “a step forward” for Cratloe.
Semi-finalists in 2024, Cratloe didn’t advance from the group stages of the Clare SHC last season finishing third in a group which contained Kilmaley, Ballyea and Scariff, three of which are lining out in the last eight this weekend.
Cathal Lohan’s last-minute winner over Feakle in round three saw Cratloe snatch a place in the quarter-finals. “We’re extremely, extremely relieved. Look, we thought nothing else coming up here other than this was going to be a ferocious battle and that’s the way it turned out. The last few times these teams have met in the past few years there has only been a point or two in it ether way so luckily enough we came out on the right side of the result,” manager Alan Neville reflected.
Courage has been shown by Cratloe’s hurlers all season, Neville stressed. “We just had to stay in the game and in contend for period of that game. They [Feakle] started very well and got goals at the right time and managed to open up a bit of a gap but in fairness to our lads, every time Feakle got a goal we responded and got it back to a point. We were still only a point at half-time but Feakle came out in the second half and hit us with both barrels again but out lads have been courageous all year and shown great resilience in their previous two group matches and they did come roaring back into it as the second half developed”.
He continued, “As a management team we can ask no more of the lads than that as those are the characteristics you look for in a team, to stay in a game no matter what is throw at you and thankfully on this occasion we were able to dug out a result. Cathal [Lohan] popped up with a great score at the end and it’s the nature of the game now that there is no corner-backs any more as when a game opens up like that, players could find themselves in any position. Cathal has shown bravery all year and has been extremely good for us and he stepped up with a great score that turned out to be the winner”.
Big improvement is needed if Cratloe are to progress to the last four, the Clarecastle native acknowledged. “Look, the result doesn’t hide the fact that we know that we’ve still loads to work on. Our decision-making in particular was one factor that we’d be disappointed with as we missed a lot of chances. That lads themselves tend to be their own biggest critics so we’ll look back on the video as we’ll have to sharpen up on that if we are to go any further in the competition”.
“It’s just great to be in a quarter-final first and foremost. Last year we didn’t come out of the group so at least this is a step forward,” the two-time All-Ireland winner stated.
