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*Wolfe Tones’ Rory Hayes. Photograph: Ruthie Griffin.
WOLFE TONES manager Barry Keane felt their quarter-final defeat to Éire Óg was eerily reminiscent of their group-stage clash with Kilmaley, as another third quarter collapse brought their championship campaign to an end.
The Shannon-based side were outscored 3-14 to 0-6 after half-time, managing just one point from play in the second half as Éire Óg turned a competitive contest into a comprehensive victory.
Speaking after the defeat, Barry Keane felt the game was very much a tale of two halves. “The quality of Éire Óg just shone through there in the second half. I mean their key players really came into it, and we struggled with their movement at times. They really started to move that bit better, their key players like Shane O’Donnell and David Reidy, they all started to come into the game. A couple of mistakes from us as well then didn’t help”.
Reigning champions Éire Óg rampaged for two early goals in the second half, Keane admitted they were crucial blows that his side struggled to recover from. “They were real sucker punches. It was nearly a carbon copy of Kilmaley where we conceded the two goals just after about ten minutes in the second half and that really just sucked the life out of us because whatever momentum we had coming out of the dressing room was gone and we were on the backfoot. Éire Óg know how to manage these situations very well, they’re not the favourites for this championship for any reason”.
He continued, “They squeezed right up on our puckout, they kind of knew that we were struggling in that area and they just pushed everyone up, and they have serious bodies in that part of the field too. We really struggled to cope with it and ultimately the game was gone really after the third quarter”.
The depth available to both sides also became a factor as the game wore on, with Wolfe Tones hampered by a number of injuries. “Obviously we had a lot of injuries there like Jack Cunningham, Gavin Carrig, lads you’d be looking at starting or coming off the bench. Aaron Cunningham played with a calf injury, he possibly shouldn’t have played, Ben O’Gorman was the same. When we lose players, we struggle because we just don’t have the numbers, you say like Éire Óg are bringing on lads there that are quality and ultimately that probably was a major difference as well too. I’m not taking anything away from Éire Óg, they were just really good in the second half and look that’s what champions do, they put the foot down when they had to”.
Aron Shanagher was another player they were unable to call upon due to the red card he picked up against Newmarket-on-Fergus. An appeal was put forward to have the suspension overturned, however, it was deemed unsuccessful. “We just brought it for an appeal, as per process. In fairness the reasons were shown to us and there was no complaints for the appeal,” Keane told The Clare Echo.
Having reached the knockout stages for the first time since 2022, Keane reflected on a campaign where his side showed plenty of promise but struggled to produce their best form on a consistent basis. “I made the comment before, I just want us to be more consistent. The first half today they were excellent, the same against Kilmaley, the same against Sixmilebridge. Against Newmarket we really roared into it when we were down to fourteen men, it’s just that consistency that probably catches us, but again I think that could be a bodies thing as well. We just need more bodies to come through, we have really good young fellas but it’s probably a bit early for them yet to come into it.
“I’ve no complaints with the year, the lads have given everything, they’ve been brilliant. That first half was really good, but you don’t win a championship on first halves,” he added.
