*Fred Hegarty prepares to fire Clare’s goal. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
FRED HEGARTY’s late goal saw Clare’s U20s pip Waterford in the first round of the Munster hurling championship.
Clare 1-10
Waterford 0-12
Venue: O’Garney Park, Sixmilebridge
With fifty seven minutes on the clock, Hegarty rattled the net, Paul Rodgers doing very well to feed the sliotar back to the Inagh/Kilnamona man who made no mistaske in dispatching his effort.
It was far from a complete performance from Clare who were well short of the high standards they set at minor level in a campaign that saw them win All-Ireland and provincial honours.
A return of just four points in the opening half had Clare trailing by three at the interval.
Fortunately for the hosts, Waterford failed to score for the entire third quarter allowing Clare to take the lead for only the second time in the game and slowly put their stamp on the game. The sides were level on three occasions in the second half and it looked like Clare would have to settle for a first round draw for the second year running.
In a results business, leaving Sixmilebridge with the win is the most important outcome for Clare, especially given that they let Waterford dominate the first half. There’s a lot to improve on for the second round at home to Limerick and that becomes the focus for Terence Fahy and his management.
Among those work-ons is the use of possession and delivery. Clare’s approach was on long high deliveries to their forward line which didn’t put the odds in favour of their attack and saw centre back Joe McDonnell mop up possession and lord matters in the first half. Therefore it came as little surprise that only two starting members of the Clare attack managed to register scores.
Referee Shane Scanlon who was composed throughout the affair, made a big call in the closing stages of the opening half when disallowing a Waterford goal. Pat Walsh according to the officials was adjudged to have been in the square when Hugo Quann delivered a dangerous dropping ball. Given that the majority of Clare supporters felt it was a harsh if not incorrect call is a sign in itself. Just before this, Waterford spurned a chance to tap over a scoreable free, instead going short only to be pulled by Scanlon as the two players were too close together.
Darren Moroney had Clare’s first score of the evening, Jamie Moylan making a block in defence to win a turnover and get the ball up field to the scoring zone. Fred Hegarty doubled the advantage on five minutes with a placed ball before Waterford hit back with four points in a row, three David Comerford placed balls before Seán Mackey got their first from play on sixteen minutes, a move arising from yet another McDonnell interception.
Hegarty linked up with Seán Arthur who popped to Daniel Costelloe to pick off Clare’s first score in fourteen minutes, Waterford added three more points before the break with Hegarty seeing out the half with a free to leave that three point margin.
Paul Rodgers and Ryan Hayes entered the fray at the interval with Hayes firing over the first score of the half on thirty two minutes. It was Ronan Kilroy who did very well to create the effort, withstanding a big hit and somehow having the composure to make a handpass to give the Tulla man the opportunity.
Points from Costelloe, Hegarty and substitute Jack Mescall shoved Clare ahead with forty five minutes on the clock. With ten minutes to go, Waterford had regained the lead, David Comerford and Shane Power on target.
When the gap remained at two points, Hegarty’s major swung momentum behind the hosts who then had Ronan Kilroy to thank for landing the winning score on fifty nine minutes bringing with a sense of relief more than anything as Clare certainly snatched the result from Waterford’s grasp.
Solid throughout the game were Clare’s full-back line of Robert Loftus flanked by Eoghan Gunning and Joe Casey with Ronan Kilroy also impressing. There’s a big lift needed across the board if Fahy’s charges are to be contenders for honours but a big plus is they kept their opponents scoreless for the entire third quarter and also scoreless from play in the first quarter. This was a nervy and jittery display so the Banner faithful will be hoping it’s a case of first day nerves.
All photographs by Gerard O’Neill.
Scorers Clare: F Hegarty (1-4 4f), D Costelloe (0-2), D Moroney (0-1), R Hayes (0-1), J Mescall (0-1), R Kilroy (0-1).
Scorers Waterford: D Comerford (0-6 2f 1’65), S Mackey (0-4), S Power (0-1), F Cooney (0-1).
Clare:
1: Mark Sheedy (Sixmilebridge)
2: Eoghan Gunning (Broadford)
3: Robert Loftus (Éire Óg)
4: Joe Casey (Kilmaley)
5: Jamie Moylan (Cratloe)
6: James Cullinan (Ruan)
7: Matthew O’Halloran (Sixmilebridge)
9: Darren Moroney (Éire Óg)
8: Daniel Costelloe (Ballyea)
12: Harry Doherty (Clarecastle)
11: Michael Collins (Clonlara)
10: Ronan Kilroy (Banner)
13: Marco Cleary (Éire Óg)
14: Seán Arthur (Newmarket-on-Fergus)
15: Fred Hegarty (Inagh/Kilnamona)
Subs:
22: Paul Rodgers (Scariff) for Cleary (HT)
18: Ryan Hayes (Tulla) for Doherty (HT)
20: Jack Mescall (Inagh/Kilnamona) for Collins (43)
19: Michael Power (Newmarket-on-Fergus) for Arthur (50)
21: Ronan Keane (Killanena) for Moroney (55)
Waterford:
1: James Comerford (Ballygunner)
19: Fiacra Cooney (Ballygunner)
3: Conor Lynch (Geraldines)
4: Tomás Ahern (Ballyduff Upper)
5: Bradley Penkert (Mount Sion)
6: Joe McDonnell (Tallow)
7: Cathal O’Sullivan (Ballygunner)
8: Hugo Quann (Lismore)
9: Paddy Spelman (Fourmilewater)
12: Mark Hurley (Ballygunner)
14: Seán Mackey (Fenor)
10: Shane Power (De La Salle)
15: David Comerford (St Mollerans)
11: Pat Walsh (Fourmilewater)
13: Gearoid O’Shea (St Mollerans)
Subs:
17: Pierce Quann (Dungarvan) for Walsh (47)
Referee: Shane Scanlon (Cork)
