*Caoilfhinn O’Dea. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
BACK to back wins for Kilmurry Ibrickane have them heading to the quarter-finals of the Clare SFC.
Kilmurry Ibrickane 0-18
St Breckans 0-15
Venue: Hennessy Memorial Park, Miltown Malbay
The Clare Echo’s online coverage of the Clare SFC is with thanks to The Shannon Springs Hotel.
A stubborn challenge from St Breckans certainly had them in contention as they gave the victors a stern test in Miltown Malbay but missed chances proved costly for the Spa outfit while the composure of key men for the Bricks was telling, most notably Dermot Coughlan at the beginning of the game and Caoilfinn O’Dea at the end of the tie.
Having built up a 0-6 0-1 lead inside the opening quarter, the Bricks conceded five points in the second quarter to see St Breckans within four points by the sounding of the half time whistle.
Indeed the margin could have been tighter had a two pointed free from Padraig Kelly not been disallowed. Kelly was deemed to have breached the arc by referee Chris Maguire when taking the free and his point which split the posts and reduced to arrears the two points. However the two pointer didn’t stand and Kilmurry Ibrickane soon made it 0-10 0-5 with an Evan Cahill score.
Key to the Bricks building up their early dominance was their exploits in the middle third. Their first three scorers were all members of their half back line, Dermot Coughlan landing a brace of two pointers before superbly timed runs from Joshua Moloney and Daragh Sexton saw them register white flags.
Jamie Stack was St Breckans’ sole scorer in the first quarter, they then reeled off three points in as many minutes from the nineteenth minute with Denis O’Callaghan, Kelly and Eoin Guerin on target.
There was plenty of missed chances from the North Clare outfit prior to this which included three wides in a row. Defender Darren Hickey made an excellent block to deny Shane Fitzpatrick a goal but his quick thinking saw Breckans earn a point. At the other end, Daniel Walsh was stopped from landing a major by the crossbar.
Walsh was first off the mark on the restart but St Breckans responded through Kelly and Stack to lower the deficit to three points. Coughlan kicked his third two pointer of the evening on forty two minutes before Stack was shown a black card a minute later.
Despite the absence of their marksmen, St Breckans kept in the game and had lowered the distance to a single point entering the final ten minutes of the tie.
Kilmurry Ibrickane’s composure saw them kick three points on the bounce to regain a four point lead, two in a row from Caoilfhionn O’Dea stemmed the tide once more.
Even though they have maximum points from their two outings, Kilmurry Ibrickane will feel they have a lot to work on. They are starting games at a ferocious pace and finishing strong but there is a noticeable second quarter dip where their opponents are making inroads, still they are performing at the most important stages of the game which is crucial to coming out on top.
Daniel Walsh’s return from the States strengthens their side and a return to the West Clare lifestyle will see him play a more influential part as they keep an eye on the knockout stages while also preparing for round three. Dermot Coughlan had an exceptional opening half and led by example throughout the game, Caoilfhinn O’Dea, Joshua Moloney, Daragh Sexton and Evan Cahill also impressed for the winners.
Leaving Miltown Malbay, St Breckans won’t be too deflated and will be able to take a lot of positives from their showing. They gave themselves a big hill to climb from the get-go but always tried to force their way back into the game, a decisive factor was that they never got back on level terms. Their pace is a powerful weapon particularly on counter attacks but missed chances and unforced errors prevented them from causing a massive upset. Colm O’Brien, Padraig Kelly, Ronan Fitzpatrick, Padraig O’Dwyer and Jack Sheedy were prominent for Patrick O’Neill’s charges.
Strength in depth is arguably separating Breckans from the top teams. The losses of Joe McGann (Australia) and Dale Masterson (transfer) along with Cian Burke’s ankle injury have been big losses. The presence of former county minor Aidan Davidson in the stand of Miltown Malbay, he has relocated to Australia, is a reminder of a player they could certainly do with to add to their attack.
County referees administrator Rory Hickey was among the officials assisting Chris Maguire for the encounter. The 2008 All-Ireland minor final referee was on duty as a linesman with Paul Howard on the other flank, Howard correctly alerted the referee to an incorrect call by the umpires which saw a Shane Hickey effort waved wide for a finish. Hickey’s presence on the line is a reminder that the Éire Óg clubman is certainly a loss to the refereeing ranks, he blew the final whistle for the last time in 2019.
Scorers Kilmurry Ibrickane: D Coughlan (0-6 2TP 1TPf), C O’Dea (0-3), D Sexton (0-2), C Talty (0-2), D Callinan (0-2 1f), J Moloney (0-1), D Walsh (0-1), E Cahill (0-1).
Scorers St Breckans: P Kelly (0-5 1TPf 1f 1’45), C O’Brien (0-3), J Stack (0-2 2f), E Guerin (0-1), S Fitzpatrick (0-1), P O’Dwyer (0-1), R Danaher (0-1)
Kilmurry Ibrickane:
1: David Sexton
2: Conor Kearney
4: Maurice Donnellan
3: Darren Hickey
7: Darragh Sexton
6: Dermot Coughlan
5: Joshua Moloney
8: Evan Cahill
9: Diarmuid King
10: Kevin Tubridy
11: Caoilfhionn O’Dea
12: Colin Considine
23: Daniel Walsh
14: Cathal Talty
15: Shane Hickey
Subs:
28: Daryn Callinan for Tubridy (40)
19: Cillian Darcy for Considine (47)
26: Jason Cushen for Walsh (56)
17: Diarmuid Comber for S Hickey (57)
Colin Considine for Donnellan (60) (inj)
St Breckans:
16: Tristan O’Callaghan
2: Patrick Doherty
3: Conor Burke
4: Ronan Fitzpatrick
14: Alan Sweeney
10: Jack Sheedy
7: Padraig O’Dwyer
9: Padraig Kelly
8: Micheál Flanagan
5: Rowan Danaher
15: Eoin Guerin
21: Denis O’Callaghan
19: Shane Fitzpatrick
11: Jamie Stack
20: Colm O’Brien
Subs:
30: Eoin Byrne for Flanagan (45)
18: Robert O’Connell for D O’Callaghan (57)
Referee: Chris Maguire (Wolfe Tones)
