*Fionn Kelleher. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
WITH SUCH a large provisional panel in place, Clare’s footballers were eager to impress when they took to the field against Galway on Thursday night.
Dedicated supporters and family members from both counties travelled to Cregg and then made the short detour to the Galway GAA Centre of Excellence in Laghtgeorge for the game which finished 0-16 1-12 in favour of the hosts. The Clare Echo was among them and we cast our eye on the top performers in saffron and blue.
Over fifty footballers are currently on the county senior panel as Paul Madden and his management aim to assemble the strongest squad possible as they bid to win promotion to Division 2 of the Allianz National Football League before attention turns to the Munster SFC and efforts to qualify for a fourth successive provincial final.
Thursday’s one point loss to Galway was Clare’s first inter-county challenge of the season, there have been internal matches since the return to play window of November 21st. This was an audition of sorts and while there wasn’t a lot at stake in terms of results, there was a lot on the line for footballers hoping to keep their place on the panel. One consequence was some players focusing more so on how they fared as opposed to the team with their performance, an approach that ultimately led to Clare coughing up opportunities late on which itself lost the game as chances to draw and even go ahead fell by the wayside.
Making matters slightly more difficult to impress was with every player getting at most a half at football but this was a necessity to give game time to as many footballers as possible.
Clare supporters will be delighted to hear that in one month, Madden and his management team of Ger Quinlan, Shane Daniels and Kieran Murphy have done what last season’s manager Peter Keane was unable to do in eight months. That being, finding a midfield partner for Brian McNamara.
Filling that void is none other than Darragh Bohannon who was one of Clare’s best players in the challenge match. A year spent travelling deprived last year’s set-up of the Shannon Gaels midfielder. It was evident from the warm-up that he was going to bring physicality to proceedings as he roughed up his teammates in Kieran Murphy’s small-sided game. The twenty six year old kicked two points in the opening half.
Alongside him Brian McNamara brought his usual class in the centre of the pitch. As he glided forward launching half a dozen attacks, the Clare management must have been counting their blessings that the UL student opted to turn down joining the county hurlers for 2026. He had the assist for the only green flag of the game when the tie was a mere three minutes old.
Goalkeeper Tristan O’Callaghan will be rightfully very pleased with his showing between the posts. O’Callaghan was one of three goalkeepers to see action over the hour, his St Breckan’s clubmate Eoin Byrne had great length from his kickouts and converted a 45 with Cian Corry of Killimer composed when dealing with a dropping ball in the closing stages. Of the three, Tristan came out trumps, largely due to his excellent two first half saves, the manner in which he got a strong hand to Jack Nolan’s goal chance on eleven minutes was very impressive. He was also more vocal of the trio in communicating his instructions but was on the pitch for longer.
Physicality and controlled aggression came in spades from corner back Fionn Kelleher. His tackling was well-timed and packed a punch in a metaphoric sense, one such fair hit forced an opponent off the field with injury. He made three turnovers in the opening half and brought a strong work ethic. Over the hour, he was Clare’s best defender.
Composed in saffron and blue, Caoilfhionn O’Dea certainly didn’t look out of place in the county colours. Starting out at centre forward, the Kilmurry Ibrickane man showed for the ball when Clare moved forward and his goal was a well-taken effort. He came close to adding to his tally but his attempt at a point came off the upright on five minutes. More games will see him put up his hand for more minutes at inter-county, a level which Bricks supporters have long-believed he should be playing.
Getting through an amount of the work in the same line of the field was Brendy Rouine. Positioned at wing forward, the TUS student was up and down the field frequently contributing to Clare’s cause defensively and offensively. He produced a superb block to not alone stop a Galway attempt at a point but also turnover possession and kick start a move which resulted in Aaron Griffin kicking the ball wide. On the attacking front, Brendy reacted quickly to capitalise when the chance for a point came his way, O’Dea helping him along the way. His first shot dropped short earlier in the game but Rouine maintained composure to ensure it was second time a treat.
Introduced at half time, Evan Cahill brought energy in the middle of the park. The Kilmurry Ibrickane clubman who is one of only two U20s on the provisional panel burst forward with an excellent run in the third quarter, a move which deserved to end in a score but unfortunately didn’t. Cahill looked quick and sharp when on the field and it wasn’t just because of the bright orange boots.
Keen to make his mark was Michael Nash who was also among the new additions in the middle third at the interval. The St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield clubman is a very fresh member of the panel having joined the ranks in the past fortnight for an internal game where he impressed sufficiently to be kept on. Nash had among the highest possession counts for Clare in the second half, he always attempted to drive forward with the ball, he was confident but sensible and was nearly going to attempt land a two pointer when he quickly copped the most likely outcome was a Galway block and Clare losing possession if he went for the kick.
Wearing number fourteen but not appearing until the second half was Morgan Garry at wing forward. The Clondegad man wasn’t a scoring threat but he was in the engine room and linking up the play while making himself available. He played for New York last season and didn’t do his Clare chances any harm with an industrious half.
On the same flank of the field was Liam Cotter at wing back. Similar to Nash, Cotter drove forward and was an attacking launchpad. Among his most performance attributes in this showing was his willingness to listen to his teammates to help make the best decision when in possession. The Ennistymon man held up the ball well and offloaded at the right time.
