*Eoghan Gunning clears his lines for Broadford. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
BROADFORD’s “curve is on the way up” according to their coach as they currently remain unbeaten in the Clare SHC.
An opening round win over O’Callaghans Mills was followed by a second round draw with Scariff as Broadford now ready themselves for a final round showdown with Inagh/Kilnamona.
Reflecting on their second round tie, Broadford coach Ger Hickey said, “It was an absolute classic East Clare derby and I’m really proud of the lads as they fought to the death. We knew that we were coming with a big performance and a few breaks went against us in the end but I’m so proud of them.
“We knew that Scariff are a very good team and they showed that last year as well. So we knew that we were going to be up against it as we saw them against Inagh-Kilnamona and they produced a re-ally good performance. So we had to perform and we found the scores well in the first half. In the end we were really unlucky as we were up four with a couple of minutes to go so I’m sure it was a fabulous spectacle for the neutral but on the line It was very tense there for a finish,” he added.
It’s all to play for heading into this weekend with the trio of Broadford, Inagh/Kilnamona and Scariff all in contention to qualify from the group. “It’s a really tight group and we knew that we’d need something off Scariff and Inagh/Kilnamona and that’s still the case now. We’re still unbeaten now and that’s the main take from today. We looked to back up our performance against the Mills and we got that so we’re really pleased with that”.
Hickey told The Clare Echo, “We are disappointed that we didn’t get the two points but the performance shows that we’re moving up and our curve is on the way up and that’s what we’re looking for”.
