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*Odhran O’Connell of St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield tackles Corofin captain Kevin Keane. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
ST JOSEPH’S Doora/Barefield sealed their place in the quarter-finals of the Clare SFC for the fourth year in a row edging out Corofin following extra time.
St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield 1-21
Corofin 1-19
Venue: Clarecastle
Fighting tooth and nail for the eighth quarter-final spot, St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield and Corofin brought championship intensity to what was the first knockout tie of this year’s championship, a tie that had to be decided via extra time.
It was lights, camera and action until the floodlights in Clarecastle failed with fifteen minutes to go in the second half when the teams were tied at 1-13 apiece. Play was suspended for six minutes giving both teams an impromptu water break and coming at a stage when Corofin had the momentum, fresh from landing a Eoin Davoren two pointer.
Living up to its Friday night lights billing apart from the six minutes of darkness, the clash brought a nice crowd to Clarecastle and clearly demonstrated the need for matches in Clare to be spread out and manageable for supporters and neutrals to be able to attend games.
With the drama and excitement, the preliminary quarter-final has set the bar high and if the remaining seven games in the championship are at this level then it will be an almighty battle to claim the Jack Daly.
Paddy Bugler kicked the first of the game’s thirty five scores when converting a two pointer free just inside two minutes for St Joseph’s. Corofin hit back with a major when Eoin Davoren rifled the net, reacting well when a Gearoid Cahill delivery dropped short on six minutes.
Joe Rafferty equalised for Doora/Barefield on nine minutes but Corofin went three clear with a Davoren two pointer and Colm Breen’s first point of the evening. Three points in the space of two minutes via Bugler, Liam Clune and John Sheanon levelled matters for the second time, Clune reacting well when an Eoghan Thynne shot was superbly saved by Oisin Tierney.
Michael Nash put the Parish back in front when kicking a two pointer, Eoin Lahiffe getting through good work to team up with his dual teammate.
Inside the third quarter, Doora/Barefield went four ahead when Paddy Bugler raided for goal. A John Sheanon shot dropped short and into the direction of Thynne, his effort was blocked but spilled to Bugler who produced a soccer-style finish to the net on eighteen minutes.
Though Colm Breen replied with an orange flag, Doora/Barefield finished the half the stronger with a Nash single and a Diarmuid Boyle two pointer to hold a half-time lead of five points.
Corofin cut into the deficit on the get-go with Breen and Gearoid Cahill splitting the posts, Cahill was denied by the upright on thirty four minutes with Tom McDonald getting Doora/Barefield off the mark with a point on thirty six minutes.
Youngsters Breen and Seanán Kirby narrowed the gap back to two points with Clare U20 Colm kicking a two pointer before Kirby raised a white flag. Joe Rafferty replied once again for Donagh Vaughan’s charges but for the first time in the second half, the sides were level following an Eoin Davoren two pointer, then came the unforeseen lights failure which paused the play as Corofin were cleaning up on breaks from Doora/Barefield restarts.
When play resumed, Corofin nudged in front, Davoren scoring from play and then Kirby kicking his second of the evening.
Joe Rafferty stood tallest for Doora/Barefield in the closing stages, kicking four points in the final ten minutes, including the final two of normal time to ensure extra time was needed to determine a winner. Captain Kevin Keane and Colm Breen had put the intermediate champions two clear but their fifty fifth minute score was their last contribution on the board in normal time.
Goalkeeper Tom O’Brien was on alert to intercept link-up play between the Cahill brothers as Diarmuid tried to find Gearoid but the netminder sprung from his line in a vital moment. Gearoid Kelly did send Corofin in front with their next attack.
Darkness was creeping in to Clarecastle even though the floodlights remained functional, officials almost made a major blunder when calling for a breach against Corofin but the fading light meant the presence of Eoin Davoren was initially missed by the officials who thankfully admitted their error and an indirect free was then awarded to Doora/Barefield who were in possession with Fionn Kelleher holding the ball at the time.
From this indirect free, they worked the ball to Michael Nash who kicked the first and only two pointer of extra time to put them ahead by the minimum. They went two up by half time with Eoghan Thynne winning a turnover which started the move that Joe Rafferty ended when splitting the posts.
As tiring bodies and an increasing amount of cramps came to the surface, scores dried up, each side only adding a single point in the second period of extra time, Rafferty for Doora/Barefield after Darragh Fahy won a free and Davoren for Corofin after working a nice one-two combination with Josh Ryan. They could have had another score but a free awarded to Diarmuid Cahill in a scoring zone was later overturned and instead given to St Joseph’s. This was enough for Doora/Barefield to prevail by two and advance to the quarter-finals and to see Corofin exit the championship.
Without Middle-East based Jamie Malone, Corofin’s cause took a major blow during the week when top scorer Cillian McGroary suffered a hamstring injury in training on Tuesday evening. His loss deprived them of their main man when it came to two pointers while Malone’s physicality and experience would have been a real asset in extra time. As the game progressed, they lost Damien O’Loughlin, Colm Breen and Gearoid Kelly to injuries in extra time, the exit of O’Loughlin is likely to rule him out of the club’s fourth round clash with Sixmilebridge in the Clare PIHC on Tuesday and strengthens their argument questioning the lack of player welfare in expecting their dual players to play four championship games in fourteen days.
Peadar O’Brien’s side demonstrated this year as they had done in 2022 that they belong in the top tier and must aim to be a regular presence in the knockout stages. Colm Breen, Christian Cummins and Eoin Davoren were their standout performers in this showing.
Quarter-final qualification was the target for Doora/Barefield when kicking off the championship over a month ago. The detour they have navigated will benefit them, particularly the extra time battle where they dug deep to nab the last of the ‘last eight’ spots. Though they struggled to win breaks from their kickouts in the second half, they weathered the storm and just had the supreme fitness and legs on Corofin to keep going.
Extra bodies will return for Donagh Vaughan’s side for their next outing, Tom Curran will have his suspension served while Odhran O’Connell, Liam Clune, Odhran Flynn and James Rafferty all work towards hitting full fitness. Moving Eoghan Thynne out the field brought a renewed energy to their cause while The Parish had strong showings from Joe Rafferty, Michael Nash, Fionn Kelleher, Cian McDonagh, Eoin Lahiffe and Diarmuid Boyle.
All photographs by Gerard O’Neill.
Scorers St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield: J Rafferty (0-8 6f), P Bugler (1-3 1TPf 1f), M Nash (0-5 2TP), D Boyle (0-2 1TP), L Clune (0-1), J Sheanon (0-1), T McDonald (0-1).
Scorers Corofin: E Davoren (1-6 1TP 1TPf), C Breen (0-5 1TP), S Kirby (0-2), E Doolin (0-1), G Cahilll (0-1), K Keane (0-1), G Kelly (0-1).
St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield:
1: Tom O’Brien
6: Fionn Kelleher
9: Darragh Fahy
4: Killian McIlroy
8: Odhran O’Connell
7: Diarmuid Boyle
5: Cian McDonagh
15: Tom McDonald
23: John Sheanon
17: Michael Nash
12: Eoin Lahiffe
25: Liam Clune
13: Paddy Bugler
11: Joe Rafferty
10: Eoghan Thynne
Subs:
3: Eoghan Boyle for Clune (45)
2: Odhran Flynn for O’Connell (51)
18: Conor O’Brien for McDonald (81)
Corofin:
1: Oisin Tierney
20: Marc O’Loughlin
5: Fionn Clancy
2: Cian O’Loughlin
4: Christian Cummins
6: Damien O’Loughlin
7: Kevin Keane
10: Gearoid Kelly
17: Cilléin Mullins
27: Caoimhin O’Donovan
26: Colm Breen
12: Evan Doolin
13: Seanán Kirby
23: Eoin Davoren
14: Gearoid Cahill
Subs:
29: Diarmuid Cahill for Kirby (60)
18: Michael Cahill for Cummins (FT)
3: Josh Ryan for D O’Loughlin (70) (inj)
11: Cian Doolin for Breen (77) (inj)
9: Darragh McGroary for Kelly (80) (inj)
Referee: Fergal O’Brien (Broadford)
