*Banner’s Ronan Kilroy. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
BANNER overturned a six point deficit and managed to kick six points without reply to qualify for their first-ever Clare IFC final and devastate Kilrush Shamrocks.
Banner 0-15
Kilrush Shamrocks 1-11
Venue: St Michael’s Park, Kilmihil
Remarkably it wasn’t until the sixty second minute of this semi-final that Banner went in front but the Ennis club took the lead at the most important stage of the game to advance to the Clare IFC final for the first time in their forty nine year history.
Kilrush were the better team for the vast majority of this game but took the foot off the gas when the need was greatest while Banner’s big players stood tall to create their final quarter push where they limited the West Clare side to a single point and fired six points on the bounce to snatch victory from the grasp of the twenty-one time senior champions.
When the sides met in round three, Banner were deserving six point winners with their attack running riot and exposing gaps in the Kilrush defence.
One month later and it was clear that lessons were learned by John Fennell and his Kilrush management. They packed extra bodies to their defence, ex Clare minor Dylan O’Brien operating as a sweeper who wasn’t afraid to power forward, Seán Fennell was positioned to centre back and while he did well in some aspects, his offensive prowess was missed and particularly his ability to land two pointers.
Leading by six points with forty one minutes played, it appeared that the harsh lessons of the third round clash were going to bear fruit for the Shams but there was a Banner roar led by Shane Meehan who scored 0-4 in the final ten minutes of the contest, including a two pointer. His ability to win possession in rucks and sweep onto breaking ball made him effective throughout the game but it was really when the game was in the melting pot that he set the way.
Prior to this, it had been all one-way traffic with Kilrush leading from the start, almost until to the finish. A nervy Banner missed their first four shots on goal, Meehan opening their account on eight minutes but Kilrush had gone in front with a two pointer free from Conor Fennell and a Mark Bonfield point which was created by a Darragh Bolton run through the middle.
Conor Fennell fielded the ball from a Stephen Ryan kickout on thirteen minutes to set up Brian Wallace up and he made it a three point game.
Another Bolton run paid dividens for the Shams, this time when he teed up Don O’Driscoll with the Cork native firing to the net on nineteen minutes with the scoreboard reading 1-4 0-2.
Three of the next four scores fell to Shane Mernagh’s Banner, two from Meehan and a Seán McMahon free but Wallace would add his second of the evening before Conor Fennell fired over his second two pointer free which was met with a Ronan Kilroy point leaving a margin of four points between the sides at half time.
Momentum remained with the Shams on the restart, they conceded the first score of the half from McMahon but received major lifts when Tadhg Lysaght fired over a two pointer and then Stephen Ryan made a brilliant save to deny McMahon a major on thirty seven minutes.
Lysaght added to his tally on forty one minutes and the Shams led 1-10 0-7, it was the biggest gap between the sides but it served to ignite a response from Banner who finished the third quarter with the next two scores, McMahon and Meenaghan chipping away at the deficit.
A breach by Ronan Kilroy gave Kilrush a chance to make it a five point game again, Conor Fennell obliged but his score with forty seven minutes played was their last contribution to the scoreboard.
As they continued to plug away, the lively Meenaghan made it a four point game. There was a sense that it could be too big a mountain to climb for the Ennis club when Mark Cleary’s free from distance ricocheted off the upright but such a mood evaporated when in quick succession Kilroy kicked his second score of the day and then Meehan fired over Banner’s first and only two pointer which reduced it to a single point.
Meehan was the man to level matters on fifty five minutes, there were wides at either end in between what proved to be his match-winner as he tore up field and steadied himself before splitting the posts.
Still Kilrush had time to salvage something. They were awarded a free, Conor Fennell was in a tricky angle, everyone assumed he was going to go for a score but he played a precision pass to Seán Canny but the defender was blocked down, allowing Banner to clear their danger and power on to a historic county final appearance.
Of their five championship games thus far, this was the only instance where Banner were second fiddle and yet it was enough to get over the line in a county semi-final. They weren’t poor, it was more a case of they weren’t let play but there was definitely an element of nervousness in their start, an area they will need to tackle for the final. When they needed leaders, they had them in abundance with Shane Meehan delivering a sublime display. Cian Rynne as ever brought great fight in defence with Thomas Meenaghan showing his worth as one of the most in-form forwards in the county.
Championship exits always bring a sting but this will hurt Kilrush Shamrocks as they will feel they let promotion back to the senior ranks slip through their fingers. They got an awful lot right but this was a case of containing the dragon for so long but letting him out of his cage long enough to burn down an empire. Manager John Fennell was keen to make changes early in the second half when fatigue was beginning to set in and mistakes were mounting, he appeared to be overruled and substitutions then entered the fray too late when the tanks were already empty as opposed to running low on fuel. Brian Wallace, Conor Fennell, Tadhg Lysaght, Darragh Bolton and Stephen Ryan did well for Kilrush.
Scorers Banner: S Meehan (0-7 1TP), T Meenaghan (0-3), S McMahon (0-3 1f), R Kilroy (0-2).
Scorers Kilrush Shamrocks: C Fennell (0-5 2TPf), D O’Driscoll (1-0), T Lysaght (0-3 1TP), B Wallace (0-2), M Bonfield (0-1).
Banner:
1: Mark Cleary
4: Conor O’Toole
3: Cian Rynne
2: Cian Ruane
5: James Coakley
6: Eoin Walsh
7: Conor Dennehy
8: Fuwhad Akinwale
9: Brian McDonald
10: Ronan Kilroy
11: Shane Meehan
12: Seán McMahon
13: Seán Hegarty
14: Thomas Meenaghan
15: Cian O’Connor
Subs:
20: Johnny Martyn for Hegarty (27)
17: Ben O’Halloran for McDonald (39)
18: Liam Hughes for O’Connor (52)
22: Oisin McMahon for O’Toole (54)
21: Justin McGrath for Dennehy (60)
Kilrush Shamrocks:
1: Stephen Ryan
5: James Blunnie
3: Ross Cullinan
2: Padraig Browne
15: Dylan O’Brien
10: Ben McKiernan
11: Seán Fennell
6: Seán Canny
9: Darragh Bolton
8: Conor Fennell
18: Brian Wallace
13: Mark Bonfield
7: Tadhg Lysaght
17: Don O’Driscoll
14: Ross Phelan
Subs:
4: Jimmy Browne for Cullinan (51) (inj)
21: Matthew Moloney for O’Driscoll (54)
20: Jack Flavin for Bonfield (56)
12: Dean Neary for Lysaght (59)
Referee: Barry Kelly (St Joseph’s Miltown)
