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*John Conneally is outnumbered but retains possession. Photograph: Ruth Griffin.
CLOONEY/QUIN gave a strong account of themselves to seal their senior status and send O’Callaghans Mills into a relegation final with Corofin.
Clooney Quin 3-18
O’Callaghan’s Mills 1-18
Venue: Dr Daly Park, Tulla
O’Callaghan’s Mills knew it would take their best performance of the season against a Clooney/Quin side who had the potential to be in the race for Canon Hamilton this weekend. They needed a confidence-boosting first half to give them the platform to fight for the result in the latter stages.
But it didn’t happen for them. They only registered three scores from play in the first 30 minutes and left 17 chances behind them in that time – two shots on goal were saved comfortably by Cillian Duggan who caught another six efforts short while nine shots went wide.
Clooney/Quin meanwhile were well set up. A shorter puck out to the 45 gave them better retention and the platform to land mortars into the full forward line with Peter Duggan waiting.
Ryan Taylor was playing in a deeper role while Dannan Fox’s switch to corner forward gave him more grass to use his speed. Taylor had one effort on goal well hooked by Stephen Donnellan, but his tally for the championship stayed at 0-4 from the three previous games.
O’Callaghan’s Mills were more reliant on the placed ball than any other senior team in the championship with just 58% of scores coming from play. That may have added more pressure on the shoulders of Seán Boyce, but he duly delivered with a display that included nine frees and 1-1 from play.
Clooney/Quin’s goals were timely in the first, third and fourth quarters. Jimmy Corry put the ball in for Duggan to flick to Dannan Fox with a close-range finish. Corry was having a fine game himself out the field, using the space afforded to him to clip over four points in the first half and five in total.
Callum Hassett had three points in the first half. His first came with an assist from Darragh Keogh who caught a long delivery on the puck out.
The Mills reacted well to that opening goal and improved the return from their own puck out. Mike McGrath and Cormac Murphy popped up with scores. PJ O’Connell made some early changes, introducing Colm Cleary and Fionn Hickey who had both been named as starters in the programme.
The second half also saw O’Callaghan’s Mills improve their accuracy. It was helped by more patient build-up to provide more direct scoring opportunities. Aidan O’Gorman showed good vision as Fionn Hickey was teed up to rifle one over from the left.
Clooney/Quin had a nine-point cushion at half-time and quality ball into Peter Duggan was working as their primary weapon. The All-Star nominee was actually unmarked as the sliotar came his way on forty two minutes, but despite a decent scramble from the Mills’ rearguard, it broke to Dannan Fox for a simple finish. Duggan took delivery in a similar position from Jimmy Corry after 48 minutes to bring his tally for the day to 2-4. That meant 4-23 in four games with an injured ankle including 2-11 from play. He had three players around him on 54 minutes and calmly laid it off to Callum Hassett to bag his sixth point of the afternoon.
This championship isn’t over yet for the Mills and they played the final quarter with something to prove. Aidan O’Gorman lobbed in a place-ball in the hunt for a goal and Cillian Duggan had to save one at his feet from Darragh Moroney after an Aidan Fawl run.
Their major was impressive when it came. Colm Cleary combined well with Sean Boyce at speed and there was no stopping this one.
The Mills’ frustration was clear for all to see in Eoin McInerney’s red card after 57 minutes. This was their best scoring tally of the championship and it wasn’t going to be enough. Clooney Quin will reflect on how they fared in the Group of Death and look at ways to breathe life into next season.
Clooney/Quin scorers: Peter Duggan (2-4 3f); Callum Hassett (0-6); Jimmy Corry (0-5); Dannan Fox (1-1); Jack O’Neill (0-1); Sam Scanlan (0-1).
O’Callaghan’s Mills scorers: Seán Boyce (1-10 inc. 9f); Sean Cotter (0-2); Aidan Fawl (0-2); Mike McGrath (0-1); Fionn Hickey (0-1); Aidan O’Gorman (0-1); Cormac Murphy (0-1).
Clooney Quin:
1: Cillian Duggan
5: Cillian O’Gara
3: Shane McNamara
2: Brian McInerney
8: Conor Grogan
7: John Conneally
4: Evan Maxted
15: Ryan Taylor
6: Darragh Keogh
10: Jimmy Corry (cap)
12: Peter Duggan
9: Sam Scanlan
14: Dannan Fox
11: Jack O’Neill
13: Callum Hassett
Subs:
19: Ulick O’Sullivan for Brian McInerney (45’)
23: Martin Duggan for Sam Scanlan (49’)
20: Fionn O’Gara for Evan Maxted (52’)
18: Mike Corry for Jimmy Corry (57’)
O’Callaghan’s Mills:
1: Killian Nugent
19: Mike Cotter
3: Conor Cooney
4: Keith Donnelan
7: Patrick Donnellan
11: Aidan Fawl
21: Mike McGrath
6: Aidan O’Gorman (cap)
12: Darragh Moroney
14: Sean Cotter
25: Jacob Loughnane
9: Stephen Donnellan
8: Cormac Murphy
18: Sean O’Gorman
15: Sean Boyce
Subs:
13: Colm Cleary for Seán O’Gorman (’17)
10: Fionn Hickey for Jacob Loughnane (’29)
5: Eoin McInerney for Darragh Moroney (54’)
23: Mark Pewter for Mike Cotter (57’)
Referee: Chris Maguire (Wolfe Tones)
