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*Evan Cahill of Kilmaley strikes under pressure from Patrick Crotty. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
KILMALEY have qualified for the Clare SHC final for the first time in twenty two years, seeing off Scariff by eleven points.
Kilmaley 0-25
Scariff 1-11
Venue: Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosóg, Ennis
In the first of the semi-finals it was Kilmaley who emerged on top, the battle scars that Scariff have borne this year took its toll but Brian Culbert’s side with incredible tenacity and desire were worthy winners.
Fighting for every ball and willing to go the extra inch, Brian Culbert’s Kilmaley showed the signs of a side spurred on from their exit at the semi-final stage last season. The missed chances which cost them against Éire Óg were still visible as they returned to the penultimate juncture of the championship but this time round it didn’t serve as a fatal blow.
Putting Scariff under enormous pressure on their own puckout, it led to three scoring chances in the first quarter alone, only Seán Kennedy’s effort went over but nonetheless demonstrated the focus placed on work ethic within their camp. They also had the legs and found another level in the closing stages, firing off six points on the trot to carve out the eleven point win.
A repeat pairing of the 2004 semi-final, Scariff were frustrated with the performance of referee Kevin Walsh back then and they were left annoyed with some of the calls by match official Joe Mullins.
Getting the rub of the green on the decision was something that didn’t fall the way of the way of the side in green. They rarely got frees in scoring positions whereas Tom O’Rourke finished with nine points from frees.
They had right to be aggrieved when Mark Rodgers was pulled for steps after Joe Casey had lost his footing and ended up knocking down the Clare attacker when he was bearing down on goal. They went from coming close to getting a major to conceding a free.
Photographs by Ruthie Griffin.
Point number eighteen for Kilmaley also saw some inconsistency from the referee when Colm Killeen was let away with a chop in front of the stand, allowing the winners claim possession back and finish off with a Daire Keane point. Moments later Scott Cairns was penalised for a chop allowing O’Rourke to add to his tally.
Mullins did not define who won and lost though, Scariff’s missed chances in a flurry during the third quarter hindered their chances of making inroads but so too did the injuries they encountered along the way with Patrick Ryan and Keelan Hartigan limited in their involvement while Daniel Treacy was ruled out of the tie.
Mikey O’Neill was a big loss for Kilmaley but the depth of their panel is stronger than Scariff and he will be moving heaven and earth to be available for their county final.
Aidan McGuane excelled in defence for Kilmaley as did Joe Casey who was once again tasked with trying to curb one of the county’s top forwards. Tommy Barry Cian Moloney and Brian McNamara impressed further up the field while Seán O’Loughlin may have only scored one point from corner forward but set the standard in terms of workrate with his tracking, tackling and hunger to win back the ball.
Shane Kavanagh opened the scoring, reeling off a trademark effort from wing back but Kilmaley with three O’Rourke frees on the trot took the front.
Scariff regained the lead when Mark Rodgers made a superb catch from the sky and popped the sliotar to Rory Ryan who was clinical with his finish beyond Bryan O’Loughlin.
Kavanagh levelled matters with a free on ten minutes after O’Rourke converted his fourth free and Seán Kennedy capitalised when Conor Downes was turned over on a short puckout.
Brian McNamara after making a big hit on Liam Crotty that led to the midfielder receiving treatment, fired Kilmaley back in front on thirteen minutes, he was their top scorer from play in attack for the opening half. His athleticism is a huge addition to their side and they received a similar boost on the other wing with fellow Clare football midfielder Evan Cahill making his championship debut.
William Kavanagh was called upon to make an excellent save from Seán O’Loughlin on the quarter hour mark with O’Rourke and Patrick Crotty swapping scores on two occasions.
McNamara added his second on twenty four minutes but Scariff replied with points from the Rodgers brothers, Mark and Paul to tie matters for the fourth time.
Three points on the trot including a brace from Cian Moloney and a Tom O’Rourke free left Kilmaley 0-12 1-6 ahead at the interval.
Within fifty one seconds of the restart, there were goal chances at either end. Michael Scanlan at full-back blocked a Moloney attempt before Bryan O’Loughlin made a stop on Mark Rodgers.
Tom O’Rourke’s first score from play opened the scoring in the second half before Patrick Crotty cancelled it out at the other end. Points from O’Rourke, Seán O’Loughlin and Daire Keane extended Kilmaley’s lead to six on thirty seven minutes.
Then came a flurry of Scariff chances including the instance where Rodgers was hard done by not to earn a free and instead be pulled for overcarrying. Rory Ryan had an effort for goal in their next attack, the sliotar falling his way after Bryan O’Loughlin made a save from Patrick Ryan.
Over a five minute period, neither side scored but had a combined seven misses, Kilmaley would go ten minutes without a score but Scariff only added two points in this period.
O’Loughlin in the Kilmaley goal made his third stop of the day when denying Shane Kavanagh from a 21m free, won by Mark Rodgers. He pointed the resulting 65 but Kilmaley hit back with two points in succession.
Indeed Scariff failed to score from play for the final quarter as Kilmaley went in for the kill, outscoring them 0-8 0-2 in this period and this included a. burst of six points on the trot at the finish.
Along with the absenteeism, the missed chances hurt Scariff as much. Patrick Crotty has produced an excellent championship for the East Clare side, he was the most prolific of their forward line with Mark Rodgers menacing every time he was on the ball but he was not fed with sufficient supply. Shane Kavanagh and Matthew Crotty in defence also stood out for Donal Moloney’s side.
Scorers Kilmaley: T O’Rourke (0-11 9f 1’65), B McNamara (0-3), C Moloney (0-2), D Keane (0-2), S Kennedy (0-1), S O’Loughlin (0-1), C Cleary (0-1), É McMahon (0-1), C Killeen (0-1), E Enright (0-1)
Scorers Scariff: S Kavanagh (0-4 2f 1’65), P Crotty (0-3), R Ryan (1-0), M Rodgers (0-2 1f), P Rodgers (0-1), L Crotty (0-1).
Gallery of photographs by Gerard O’Neill.
Kilmaley:
1: Bryan O’Loughlin
4: Colin Carmody
2: Joe Casey
3: Colin McGuane
5: Aidan McGuane
6: Mikey O’Malley
7: Daire Keane
9: Seán Kennedy
8: Tommy Barry
12: Brian McNamara
10: Cian Moloney
26: Evan Cahill
15: Seán O’Loughlin
14: Conor Cleary
13: Tom O’Rourke
Subs:
23: Eoin Enright for Kennedy (44)
18: Colm Killeen for Cahill (46)
19: Éanna McMahon for Moloney (56)
22: Oisin Looney for S O’Loughlin(56)
20: Joe Carmody for Barry (58)
Scariff:
1: William Kavanagh
2: Seamus McCaul
12: Michael Scanlan
4: Scott Cairns
5: Conor Downes
6: Matthew Crotty
7: Shane Kavanagh
8: Liam Crotty
9: Paul Rodgers
19: Luke Madden
11: Patrick Crotty
10: Rossa Keehan
13: Rory Ryan
14: Mark Rodgers
15: Patrick Nugent
Subs:
30: Patrick Ryan for Nugent (HT)
17: Diarmaid Nash for Madden (HT)
22: Seán Collins for Keehan (39)
21: Éanna O’Brien for P Rodgers (51)
18: Keelan Hartigan for R Ryan (55)
Referee: Joe Mullins (Clonlara)
