*Dean Hegarty celebrates. Photograph: Joe Buckley
DEAN HEGARTY produced a man of the match display to send Newmarket Celtic through to the Ennis Carpets Clare Cup final.
Newmarket Celtic A 3
Fair Green Celtic 0
Venue: Frank Healy Park, Doora
Newmarket are now ninety minutes from claiming their twentieth Clare Cup title, more than any club in the county, having lost two of the last three finals they’ll be anxious to bring the Cup back to the village.
As expected, they accounted for the challenge of Fair Green Celtic on Friday evening. Given that Newmarket’s second string finished higher than Fair Green in the First Division, anything other than a victory here would have been one of the biggest sporting shocks in the county.
Heavy rainfall during the warm-up and for the opening ten minutes of the contest led to a scrappy first half with soft underfoot conditions making matters difficult for both sets of players.
Fair Green managed by Richie O’Grady would have been pleased with their start, they didn’t seem unduly threatened by anything thrown at them but they were never able to recover after conceding a goal right before half-time which impacted on their confidence and ability to reset.
Hegarty’s move from the left wing to the right brought dividends and the desired effect for Newmarket. After a cross from Aaron Rudd went longer than desired, Eoin Hayes managed to get on the ball, he played it to Jack Kelly who found Hegarty who produced an excellent finish to the back of the net to break the deadlock on forty minutes.
Prior to Rudd’s cross, Ian Collins executed two nice pieces of skill to get past Colin Smyth on not one but two occasions. Smyth was one of three Fair Green players to formerly have lined out with Newmarket, Sean Perrill and Garry Higgins also having spent their time in McDonough Memorial Park.
Hegarty struck for his second goal on fifty three minutes. Cathal Cullinan cleared the ball down the line in the direction of Aaron Rudd who distributed a superb ball across the park to the on-rushing Hegarty who was very composed to put the ball beyond Liam Deasy.
Their third and final goal arrived on eighty eight minutes when substitute Nathan Boaventure popped up with a brilliant finish, connecting perfectly with the ball.
Far from a memorable encounter, Newmarket Celtic won’t mind as their main objective was to qualify for the final and they did that. They may have struggled to get into the game early on amidst the downpour but they kicked on once they went in front.
As the season has progressed, Eoin O’Brien has found a steady balance to his team, they’ve added fresh blood and still remain in the hunt to capture a league and cup double. Eoin Hayes’ return from injury offers a timely lift at the crunch stage of the season.
Fitting in well with this narrative is how new leaders have emerged, Dean Hegarty has been their standout player of the season while Cathal Cullinan has seamlessly fitted in to a full-back role as has Antony Dabrynets at centre-half. Once again, Conor McDaid produced an industrious display in midfield with Ian Collins consistently taking the right option from full-back and Shane Cusack as ever setting the way. Bigger games await and so too do bigger performances where a greater attacking threat will be needed.
In what was their second ever Clare Cup semi-final appearance, Fair Green once again conceded three goals to dent their aspirations of reaching the big day. Aided by the rain, they were able to contain Newmarket early on, while they had a burst at the half hour mark which required an expertly timed Harvey Cullinan tackle to stop them making inroads and Shane Brown’s free moments later was caught comfortably by Cusack, they didn’t penetrate enough to look like they were going to raid for goal.
Life in the Premier Division awaits the Ennis club and they will be more than capable of holding their own in the top flight. To bolster their chances, they will have to make shrewd signings over the summer. Smarter calls will also be needed from the sideline as the decision not to start Eddie Shaw was a strange one for this semi-final, he had an impact when introduced on the hour mark and would have added to their overall challenge if on from the off.
Newmarket Celtic: Shane Cusack; Ian Collins, Antony Dabrynets, Harvey Cullinan, Cathal Cullinan; Jack Kelly, Conor McDaid, Aaron Rudd, Dean Hegarty, Eoin Hayes, Tadhg Noonan.
Subs: David McCarthy for Noonan (67), Cian McDonough for McDaid (67), Nathan Boaventura for Hayes (76), Kieran Hackett for Hegarty (85), Ronan McCormack for Rudd (89).
Fair Green Celtic: Liam Deasy; Jack Walsh, Hubert Kantecki, Shane Brown; Pa Sherlock, William Bello, Dario Fernandez, Bruce Piggot, Seán Perrill, Colin Smyth, Dean Coughlan.
Subs: Eddie Shaw for Sherlock (59), Lee Clohessy for Piggot (69), Ruairi Norrby for Browne (78) (inj), Garry Higgins for Coughlan (80), Ethan Coote for Walsh (90).
Referee: Brian Punch
