*Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
ÉIRE ÓG have exited the Munster senior club championship at the first hurdle, losing by five points to Waterford champions Rathgormack.
Rathgormack (Waterford) 2-15
Eire Og Inis (Clare) 1-13
Venue: Cappoquin Logistics Fraher Field, Dungarvan
By Jordan Norris
An imperious individual performance from Jason Curry (0-9) proved pivotal as Rathgormack tasted victory in Munster for the first time since 1999 as they deservedly overcame the challenge of Éire Óg.
The four-in-a-row Waterford champions are the first Deise side to win a game in the Munster Senior Club Football Championship in eight years, as county final goalscorers Stephen Curry and Reece O’Mahony repeated the trick to secure a famous victory for the green and red.
With five Clare titles in six seasons, Éire Óg have yet to record an away win in the province during this spell which has been glorious inside the county but utterly forgettable within Munster.
Rathgormack led at the break after a frantic first-half where momentum shifted entirely approaching the interval. It was Éire Óg who opened the scoring, and it was a truly perfect start for the visitors, as they struck the opening goal with just two minutes on the clock.
A lightning-fast break from Bernard Power’s kickout sent Darren Moroney racing away and he handpassed over the top to the onrushing Gavin Murray, who cleverly punched the bouncing ball past Paudie Hunt and into the far right corner to delight those who made the long journey from Ennis.
A Jason Curry free opened the host’s account, but there was to be no reprieve as the left boot of Mark McInerney began to cause them the world of trouble. Approaching nine minutes, McInerney got on the end of a patient move to blaze over a superb strike outside the arc, and the orange flag was flying moments later as he capitalised upon a breach to kick a two-point free, making it 1-4 to 0-1 in his side’s favour.
Had you said Rathgormack would lead 15 minutes later, you’d have certainly raised eyebrows – but Kenny Hassett’s men kicked into gear to outscore their opponents 1-6 to 0-1 for the rest of the half.
Conor Murray’s turnover afforded Francis Roche the opportunity to fire their first from play on 16 minutes, before an outstanding strike from Jason Curry from all of 47 metres sailed between the uprights and it was back to a goal game. A Ciaran Russell effort settled Eire Og, but approaching the break, Curry again found the target from just outside the arc and it was very much game on.
Murray was then given far too much room and duly obliged to put the minimum between the sides as a minute of added time was called, and it was in that extra minute where Rathgormack struck gold – Francis Roche marauded forward and found Stephen Curry lurking off his shoulder, and in an exact replica of his goal from the Waterford Senior Football Championship Final two weeks prior, he calmly powered home to make it 1-7 to 1-5.
A McInerney free upon the resumption again put the minimum between the sides, but Rathgormack soon found themselves ahead by five. Another jaw-dropping two-pointer from Curry gave them impetus, before Reece O’Mahony found the target and Curry pointed a close-range free.
Ikem Ugwueru’s influence began to show as McInerney fired over two frees in quick succession, the first of which raised another orange flag – and the gap went back to two approaching the final ten minutes.
The excellent Roche teed up Billy Power to settle Rathgormack, but a wonderful sliced two-pointer from substitute Jack Joyce at the other end soon had it back to a one-point affair. A close range McInerney free levelled the match for the first time on 54 minutes, and it was like basketball as Power and Russell traded scores going down the home straight.
Power teed up Conor Murray to edge Rathgormack back in front, and it was a moment of quality from the latter that decided the game on 58 minutes – an amazing outside of the boot pass from Murray on the right flank picked out the unmarked O’Mahony and he hit the net from close range to send Rathgormack supporters into raptures.
The visitors tried in vain to reduce arrears, and fittingly it was Curry who pointed the final score for a result that will prove a real shot in the arm for Waterford football.
Scorers for Rathgormack: Jason Curry (0-9; 3tp; 0-3f); Reece O’Mahony (1-1); Stephen Curry (1-0); Billy Power and Conor Murray (0-2 each); Francis Roche (0-1)
Scorers for Éire Óg: Mark McInerney (0-9; 0-7f; 2 tpf); Gavin Murray (1-0); Jack Joyce (0-2; 1tp); Ciaran Russell (0-2)
Rathgormack:
1: Padraig Hunt
2: Liam Mulligan
3: Sean Hahessy
4: Willie Hahessy
5: Glen Power
6: Tom Walsh
18: Reece O’Mahony
8: Billy Power
9: Michael Curry
10: Francis Roche
20: Thomas Skehan
12: Jason Curry
13: Adam Murra
14: Stephen Curry
15: Conor Murray.
Subs
7; Cathal Crowch for Skehan (54)
23: Ciaran Power for Conor Murray (60; inj)
Éire Óg:
1: Bernard Power;
2: Manus Doherty
3: Aaron Fitzgerald
4: Dean Ryan
5: Ciaran Russell
6: Ronan Lanigan
7: Gavin D’Auria
8: David McNamara
9: Darren O’Brien
10: Oran Cahill
11: Gavin Murray
12: Darren Moroney
23: Danny Lyne
14: Ikem Ugwueru
15: Mark McInerney.
Subs:
19: Einne O’Connor for D’Auria (39)
20: Jack Joyce for Danny Lyne (42);
29: Colm Walsh O’Loghlen for Ronan Lanigan (49)
13: Luke Pyne for Darren Moroney (58)
Referee: James Regan (Cork)
