*Gavin Murray gets away from Joe Rafferty. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
CHAMPIONS ÉIRE Óg delivered another commanding display to secure their passage to the knockout stages of the Clare SFC.
Éire Óg 4-12
St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield 0-14
Venue: Zimmer Biomet Páirc Cíosóg, Ennis
The Clare Echo’s online coverage of the Clare SFC is with thanks to The Shannon Springs Hotel
A ten-point winning margin over St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield follows their first round nineteen point victory against Cratloe and seals their place in the quarter-finals, not that it was ever in any doubt the Townies would be among the teams in the knockout stages.
It took extra time when the sides clashed in the 2023 quarter-final and this year’s Cusack Cup decider but once Manus Doherty struck for goal on the stroke of half-time there was no doubting who was going to prevail in the latest clash between the neighbours.
Colm Walsh O’Loghlen finished the hour with 2-2 to his credit bringing his tally in two games to 2-9 from play. Despite being part of the county panel all year, he somehow was not considered worthy of a place in a matchday squad for any of Clare’s outings under Peter Keane this season, if emojis were par for the course in match reports it is at this juncture that the confused man emoji would be inserted.
Misplaced handpasses and basic unforced errors crept into Doora/Barefield’s game at different stages during Saturday evening’s tie, Joe Rafferty and Odhran O’Connell were both caught in this regard in the opening half and on both occasions they resulted in scoring opportunities for Mark McInerney, the first dropped short and the second was converted on twenty one minutes.
Both mistakes didn’t decide the game but when facing a side of Éire Óg’s calibre, there can be no instances of gifting the ball away and not expecting to face the repercussions. The manner in which they lost possession for their second goal was a far bigger mistake but the point remains, quality teams will punish you when you cough up the ball easily no matter where it is on the field.
There is a ruthless instinct is in Éire Óg and it’s why they were determined to strike for goals and why even with such a big lead at their shoulders, the likes of Ciaran Russell, Dean Ryan and Aaron Fitzgerald were fighting for every ball as if only a point separated the teams.
Doora/Barefield took the lead nine minutes in, Joe Rafferty and James Curran pointing in response to Walsh O’Loghlen’s opener. Eoghan Thynne and Liam Clune respectively had the assists for Doora/Barefield’s scores while Ikem Ugwueru got the champions back on level terms on eleven minutes.
They never fell behind for the remainder of the game with scores from Ciaran Russell and Mark McInerney including a two pointer free seeing them build up a four point advantage by the twenty first minute.
Paddy Bugler landed his first of four two pointers for The Parish on twenty two minutes before full-back Aaron Fitzgerald ventured up field and swung a nice kick at the ball to pick up his own two pointer, a sublime run from Oran Cahill helping him on his way.
Their last act of the half was a turning point. The break from a Tom O’Brien kickout was claimed by Éire Óg, Ikem Ugwueru and Gavin Murray combined as did Cahill and Darren O’Brien before Manus Doherty made a great run off the shoulder, collected possession and rattled the net for the second game running making it 1-8 0-4.
To their credit, Donagh Vaughan’s Doora/Barefield brought energy on the restart and cut the deficit to four points by the forty third minute, Cian McDonagh and Rafferty adding scores with another Bugler two pointer.
Walsh O’Loghlen and Fionn Kelleher traded scores before Ikem Ugwueru made a turnover in the Doora/Barefield full-back line, he fed the ball back to McInerney and the four point gap became seven.
Bugler replied with a two pointer before Walsh O’Loghlen received a pass from Darren Moroney and produced an injection of pace to finish to the net. He landed his second goal on fifty eight minutes when Éire Óg won a turnover off a Doora/Barefield kickout and finished the move with another well-taken effort.
Even though it was a ten point win it still wasn’t a five-star performance from Éire Óg. They gave space to Doora/Barefield to pick off scores and may pay the price for allowing a stronger opponent to come back into the game on more than one occasion. Crucially they were able to pick off the goals to put the pin in the balloon of their neighbours.
Cian Howard has started life in the senior championship with two clean sheets and this while county defender Ronan Lanigan recovers from injury. They’re bringing great energy to their performances all over the field, running in numbers with pace and power, they take stopping when they have the ball and they are going to take some stopping in their quest to win a fourth title in five years.
Best for Shane Daniels side were Colm Walsh O’Loghlen, Oran Cahill, Ciaran Russell and Aaron Fitzgerald.
With three teams emerging out of Group 1, St Joseph’s will need to beat Cratloe to guarantee their place in the knockout stages, otherwise they are looking at the potential of scoring difference determining how their season progresses. Their mistake count hurt their chances on this occasion but their ability to bounce back allied with Paddy Bugler’s ability to kick two pointers shows they certainly have something to offer in this year’s championship.
To have any chance of making a dent in the race for Jack Daly, they need all their big names to show up and perform which certainly didn’t happen for this game. Panel depth is also questionable, Tom Curran was ruled out with injury while the loss of the experienced Hannan twins has also been felt. Joe Rafferty, Paddy Bugler, James Curran and Michael Nash were prominent for The Parish.
Scorers Éire Óg: C Walsh O’Loghlen (2-2), M McInerney (1-4 1TPf 2f), M Doherty (1-0), A Fitzgerald (0-2 1TP), I Ugwueru (0-1), C Russell (0-1), A McGrath (0-1), J Joyce (0-1)
Scorers St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield: P Bugler (0-8 4TPF), J Rafferty (0-3), J Curran (0-1), C McDonagh (0-1), F Kelleher (0-1).
Éire Óg:
1: Cian Howard
4: Dean Ryan
3: Aaron Fitzgerald
7: Manus Doherty
5: Ciaran Russell
17: Gavin D’Auria
18: Darren Moroney
9: Darren O’Brien
8: David McNamara
11: Luke Pyne
12: Oran Cahill
22: Gavin Murray
15: Mark McInerney
6: Ikem Ugwueru
14: Colm Walsh O’Loghlen
Subs:
23: Aidan McGrath for Cahill (48)
13: Jack Joyce for Pyne (56)
10: Niall McMahon for Murray (56)
20: Luca Cleary for Walsh O’Loghlen (60)
2: Eoin Guilfoyle for Russell (60)
St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield:
1: Tom O’Brien
2: Sam Costelloe
3: Eoghan Boyle
19: Fionn Kelleher
5: James Curran
6: Conor O’Brien
7: Cian McDonough
9: Odhran O’Connell
18: Darragh O’Shea
10: Liam Clune
11: Eoghan Thynne
8: Michael Nash
17: Joseph Rafferty
8: Tom McDonald
15: Paddy Bugler
Subs:
21: Diarmuid Boyle for Clune (HT)
20: Charlie Hannan for O’Brien (54)
Referee: Fergal O’Brien (Broadford)
