Online Club Football Championship coverage brought to you by the Shannon Springs Hotel—home of The Old Lodge Gastropub.
*David Loftus breaks the challenge of Cian Mahony. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
CHAMPIONS Éire Óg have qualified for a fifth Clare SFC in six seasons, overcoming the challenge of St Joseph’s Miltown.
Éire Óg 1-20
St Joseph’s Miltown 0-11
Venue: Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosóg, Ennis
Three in a row chasing Éire Óg are preparing for another county final, seeing off Miltown by a margin of twelve points, one less than their third round encounter a month ago.
Mark McInerney once again led the way on the scoring front for Éire Óg, he had a personal haul of 0-10 but was afforded too much space and duly exploited with perfectly timed runs off the shoulder when chipping over efforts at his ease. Ronan Lanigan for the second game in a row scoring off either foot while serving as a solid anchor at centre back.
Making an impact on the scoring front was Jack Joyce who in the space of thirty nine seconds kicked a brace of two pointers for the champions.
Throughout the opening half it was reasonably tight but by the second half it was all one way traffic.
Cormac Murray’s goal chance on nineteen minutes was a turning point, while he managed to score a point, the Clare forward had more time and space than he realised and could well have rattled the net had he brought the ball further and closer to Bernard Power’s goal.
At the same goal but in the other half, it was a brilliant Ikem Ugwueru finish which undid a bright second half start from Miltown. Turnovers and misplaced Miltown passes were punished by the Ennis side, Micheál Murray was intercepted by Darren O’Brien in the move leading to Ugwueru’s major while after getting back to within four points the last involvement from Gordon Kelly saw him lose the ball in attack, allowing Éire Óg travel upfield and convert via Manus Doherty.
All photographs by Gerard O’Neill.
Ugwueru’s major and Doherty’s white flag really took the life out of Miltown. They had reduced the arrears to two points with a positive resumption when Micheál Murray and Eoin Cleary pointed from play and a free.
Following Doherty’s point on forty minutes, Miltown managed just two more points in the remainder of the game, underlining just how damaging the concession of those scorers were to morale, more than anything else.
Mark McInerney opened the scoring, Ciaran Russell providing the assist with the game a mere fifty two seconds old. Miltown went in front for the first and only time when Eoin Cleary capitalised when they were awarded a free for a Darren O’Brien breach while they overturned the subsequent Bernard Power kickout with Cleary again splitting the posts.
Both of Lanigan’s points came in succession and within three minutes to restore the advantage in Éire Óg’s favour. This was the start of Shane Daniels’ side scoring six points without a reply, a Mark McInerney two pointer thrown in for good measure.
Blocks in defence from Ralph Whelehan and Seánie Malone kept Éire Óg at bay in the closing stages of the half with points from Eoin Cleary on the double and Murray’s goal chance that went over seeing them cut it to a four point gap by the half-time whistle.
Mistakes from Miltown and Éire Óg’s ability to punish them saw the game turn from the two thirds mark onwards. Jack Joyce with a haul of five points from the bench including the brace of two pointers piled misery on the West Clare side but also has him pushing for a starting berth for the county final.
Mark McInerney also kept the scoreboard ticking in the dying stages but the life was well and truly gone out of the game as Éire Óg emerged victors by twelve points, one less than their third round meeting a month ago.
How Miltown allowed Mark McInerney the space to cut off the shoulder for various runs would have been their main failing in the opening half, where he chipped in with two points from play. They offered up too much of an area in parts of their defence, it was also evident when Ronan Lanigan had no pressure on him when landing his brace of scorers.
By the second half, it was the mistakes and soft turnovers which were most costly for Miltown. Seán O’Brien’s side finish the year as Cusack Cup finalists and semi-finalists for the first time since 2023, overall they have taken a step back in the right direction of where they should be as a club but the gap between them and Éire Óg has not decreased. Conor Cleary, Cóilin Hayes, Eoin Cleary and Micheál Murray were best for Miltown.
Between them, McInerney and Joyce kicked 0-15 for Éire Óg, Joyce finishing with five points in twenty minutes on the field will do his cause of starting versus Kilmurry Ibrickane no harm. David McNamara was missed in the middle third and his physicality will be required come county final day.
Shane Daniels’ side continue to get the job done, apart from their second round with Doonbeg they’ve yet to receive a stern test in this year’s campaign and they have been a level above of everything they have faced, the learnings from county semi-final weekend is the gap between them, Kilmurry Ibrickane and the rest is bigger than forecast at the beginning of the championship. Ronan Lanigan, Mark McInerney, Ikem Ugwueru, Manus Doherty, Ciaran Russell and Aaron Fitzgerald stood out for the Townies.
Scorers Éire Óg: M McInerney (0-10 1TPf 4f), J Joyce (0-5 2TP), I Ugwueru (1-1), R Lanigan (0-2), C Russell (0-1), M Doherty (0-1).
Scorers St Joseph’s Miltown: E Cleary (0-6 4f), C Murray (0-3 1f 1’45), M Murray (0-1), O Looney (0-1).
Éire Óg:
1: Bernard Power
2: Manus Doherty
3: Aaron Fitzgerald
4: Dean Ryan
5: Ciaran Russell
6: Ronan Lanigan
7: Gavin D’Auria
18: David Loftus
9: Darren O’Brien
14: Ikem Ugwueru
11: Gavin Murray
12: Darren Moroney
10: Oran Cahill
15: Mark McInerney
23: Danny Lyne
Subs:
20: Jack Joyce for O’Brien (40)
19: Éinne O’Connor for Cahill (43)
13: Luke Pyne for Lyne (48)
22: Jarlath Collins for Loftus (52)
17: Fionan Treacy for D’Auria (59)
St Joseph’s Miltown:
1: Cóilín Hayes
2: Eoin O’Brien
6: Seánie Malone
21: Stephen Murphy
7: Gordon Kelly
23: Seán Neylon
5: Paul Frawley
9: Conor Cleary
8: Micheál Murray
12: Ralph Whelehan
11: Cian O’Mahony
10: Oisin Looney
13: Cormac Murray
14: Darragh McDonagh
15: Eoin Cleary
Subs:
24: Conor Neylon for O’Mahony (HT)
25: Euan Lineen for Kelly (45)
30: David Barry for Frawley (45)
4: Jamesie O’Connor for Looney (53)
3: Cormac Devitt for Murphy (59)
Referee: Chris Maguire (Wolfe Tones)
