*Jamie Moylan goes to ground. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
CHAMPIONS Cratloe and Ennistymon are both through to the quarter-finals of the TUS Clare SFC after they played out an entertaining draw on Sunday afternoon.
Ennistymon 1-11
Cratloe 0-14
Venue: Cusack Park, Ennis
Of the two sides, Cratloe will be more relieved at the outcome, having only gone on level terms in the second half for the first half with fifty eight minutes played. Their character and ability to dig deep reared its head when it mattered as Ennistymon failed to put them away in the second half.
That said there was a lot to like about the Ennistymon performance. They lined out without Brendy Rouine and David Fitzgerald, Rouine who featured in the first round was ruled out through injury while Fitzgerald has yet to link up with the footballers since Clare’s All-Ireland win.
Cratloe didn’t utilise the wind at their advantage in the opening half and kept too many men behind the ball, subsequently it came as no surprise that they were four points adrift at the break with Ennistymon fully deserving of their lead.
Patient in possession, Ennistymon were able to cut through the Cratloe spine at speed. Their patient approach revolves around centre-back Cillian Rouine, he pulls the strings and is happy to solo on his own while walking around in the half-back line, he pulls the trigger when an opponent tries to press on him and goes through the gears, giving Ennistymon the chance to create a 2v1 or 3v2 scenario where they then work the ball through the lines to try manufacture a score.
Tommy Rooney with a tidy effort and a Cathal McInerney free, converted following a foul on him by Joey Rouine gave Cratloe a two point lead with five minutes on the clock.
Éanna Rouine was the first of Ennistymon’s six scores in the opening half, he produced the finish after Joshua Vaughan caught possession from a Noel Sexton kickout and delivered the ball into his club and Clare U20 teammate.
Diarmuid Fahy and Seán Rynne were on target to give Ennistymon the lead for the first time but it was soon relinquished when Seán Collins opened his account on fourteen minutes, the former county dual star returning to championship action after a concussion injury.
An example of Ennistymon’s patient build-up was typified with nineteen minutes on the clock when Liam Cotter had the score for a well-worked move. McInerney levelled matters, from a free on twenty minutes but it was cancelled out by Éanna Rouine on twenty one minutes.
Fahy’s return to the Ennistymon attack has certainly strengthened the cause of the North Clare side. He had the only goal of the game after leaping into the air and palming a Seán Rynne delivery to the net on twenty one minutes. They kicked on with scores from Tiernan Hogan and Josh Guyler while Cratloe added to their tally through McInerney and Jamie Moylan to leave a gap of four points at half time.
With the wind favouring Ennistymon they were expected to go further ahead in the second half but the biggest advantage they could muster was five points, always enough to leave a side with the experience of Cratloe with a chance.
Three unanswered scores saw Cratloe come within a point on thirty nine minutes but Ennistymon matched them with three scores of their own, Hogan, Éanna Rouine and Gearoid Barry splitting the posts.
Another three point burst from Cratloe saw them back to within a point and they found the leveller via Sean Collins. Ennistymon stuck their noses in front once again via Diarmuid Fahy but the equaliser arrived through Cathal McInerney to see the sides finish all square, a result which sees them secure quarter-final berths and eliminates Doonbeg from the title race.
Prior to Collins’ equaliser, Ennistymon had a glorious chance to put the game to bed. Cillian Rouine was put through on goal with a well-executed pass by his cousin Seán, he produced a nice side-step and had only Padraigh Chaplin left to beat but somehow managed to miss the target.
For Ger Quinlan’s Ennistymon, they delivered an improved showing on their first round win and appear to be moving in the right direction. They broke at pace and for the most part were smart in possession but some soft mistakes on their part allowed Cratloe to get a share of the spoils and it was certainly a point lost for them on this occasion. Their best included Diarmuid Fahy, Cillian Rouine and Seán Rynne.
Qualifying for the knockout stages was the very least Cratloe targeted and this result seals that objective. Their growing amount of injuries with Enda Boyce joining Podge Collins and Eoin Carey on the treatment table will be a concern. They looked leggy at times in this encounter but displayed the necessary character and their belief in themselves to pull things around is admirable. Cathal McInerney, Kevin Harnett and Conal O’Hanlon led the way for the reigning champions.
Scorers Ennistymon: D Fahy (1-2), E Rouine (0-3 1f), T Hogan (0-2), S Rynne (0-1), L Cotter (0-1), J Guyler (0-1), G Barry (0-1).
Scorers Cratloe: C McInerney (0-7 4f), S Collins (0-2), C O’Hanlon (0-2), T Rooney (0-1), J Moylan (0-1 1M), D Ryan (0-1).
Ennistymon:
1: Noel Sexton
4: Darragh Conneely
2: Joey Rouine
10: Ciaran McMahon
5: Liam Cotter
6: Cillian Rouine
7: Josh Guyler
13: Seán Rynne
9: Keith White
18: Joshua Vaughan
20: Seán Rouine
12: Tiernan Hogan
14: Éanna Rouine
11: Diarmuid Fahy
15: Gearoid Barry
Subs:
3: Conor Rynne for J Rouine (57)
Cratloe:
1: Padraigh Chaplin
4: Riain McNamara
3: Kevin Harnett
2: David Collins
11: Seán Collins
6: Michael Brennan
5: Enda Boyce
8: Diarmuid Ryan
9: Conor Ryan
10: Conal O’Hanlon
20: Jamie Moylan
12: Tommy Rooney
17: Jack McInerney
14: Cathal McInerney
15: Rian Considine
Subs:
21: Shane Neville for Boyce (19)
25: Keelan O’Donoghue for J McInerney (56)
Referee: Chris Maguire (Wolfe Tones)
