Ennistymon emerge victorious in North Clare derby to take last semi-final spot

*Brendy Rouine catches the ball. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill

ENNISTYMON claimed the last of the semi-final places in the TUS Clare SFC with a gritty win over North Clare rivals St Breckan’s.

Ennistymon 1-7
St Breckan’s 0-8
Venue: Hennessy Memorial Park, Miltown Malbay

A 1-4 burst without reply in the second half, keeping their opponents to a single point in the second half and the solid foundations of the first twenty minutes were central to Ennistymon’s victory.

It tees up a second semi-final in three years for Ennistymon who were the better side over the hour in the fourth of the quarter-finals.

Having operated with an emphasis on keeping possession, Ennistymon were the more influential side for the first twenty minutes despite playing against the elements.

They showed what they can do when attacking at odd with their first three scores, all of which arose after breaking at speed. Éanna Rouine opened their account on four minutes, the move stemming from Tiernan Hogan combining with Diarmuid Fahy and Brendy Rouine who recycled back to the Clare U20.

Brendy Rouine converted a free on fourteen minutes to give them the lead for the first time. He was fouled in possession after Keith White’s pass put Cillian Rouine through and he popped to young brother Brendy who was subsequently fouled.

Again it was a dink of a pass from White to create their third point. Cillian Rouine timed his run and came at blistering pace but his shot on goal just went over the crossbar on seventeen minutes.

All the while, St Breckan’s were not setting the world alight. Colm O’Brien got them off the mark initially with less than twenty five seconds on the clock. Jamie Stack added two frees over the next twenty four minutes to draw them level twice. During this period, they had nine missed chances.

Pressure was beginning to mount on the Ennistymon defence with St Breckan’s kicking five points on the bounce. They had goal chances too, a Rowan Danaher effort was blocked, the ball fell to Pádraig O’Dwyer who was turned over in possession. An excellent diving tackle from Ciaran McMahon on Dale Masterson prevented further danger.

Among this small sense of panic, Ennistymon saw goalkeeper Noel Sexton receive a black card after a Seán Rynne backwards free went awry and led to McGann dispossessing the netminder. Stack’s resulting free made it 0-7 0-3 to the Spa at half time.

Scores were in short supply on the resumption but Ennistymon put 1-4 on the board while ensuring their opponents didn’t register at the other end. Seán Rouine, Joshua Vaughan and two from Diarmuid Fahy levelled matters.

Liam Cotter got their goal on the sixtieth minute, he linked up with the Rouine brothers Brendy and Cillian before Josh Vaughan offloaded to allow him palm to the net to seal the win.

Cotter’s major managed to dissipate the tension brimming around Miltown Malbay which saw mentors Beano Rouine and Pat Haugh sent to the stands by referee Fergal O’Brien.

St Breckan’s paid the price for a sluggish start. They didn’t leave their stamp on the game and only began to take control when Liam Tierney was introduced, his subsequent injury was a big blow to them. Declan O’Keeffe’s side didn’t show enough of a spark for a sustained period and their lively attack didn’t get a foothold for long enough with Joey Rouine and Darragh Conneely on top on the opposing defence. For them, Dale Masterson, Colm O’Brien, Cian Burke and Rowan Danaher were most prominent.

Keen to prove that they can win when it matters, Ennistymon will need to maintain a united front for the stiffer tests that lie ahead because bigger prizes than a North Clare derby are on offer. For them, Joshua Vaughan, Brendy Rouine, Keith White, Cillian Rouine and Seán Rouine did best.

Scorers Ennistymon: L Cotter (1-0), D Fahy (0-2 1f), É Rouine (0-1), B Rouine (0-1 1f), C Rouine (0-1), S Rouine (0-1), J Vaughan (0-1).

Scorers St Breckan’s: J Stack (0-4 4f), J McGann (0-2), C O’Brien (0-1), L Tierney (0-1)

Ennistymon
1: Noel Sexton

4: Darragh Conneely
3: Joey Rouine
2: Ciaran McMahon

5: Liam Cotter
6: Cillian Rouine
7: Josh Guyler

11: Seán Rynne
9: Keith White

10: Joshua Vaughan
15: Seán Rouine
12: Tiernan Hogan

13: Diarmuid Fahy
8: Brendy Rouine
14: Éanna Rouine

Subs;
16: Conor Gallagher for E Rouine (HT)
Éanna Rouine for Gallagher (40)
23: Keelan Guyler for E Rouine (55)

St Breckan’s
1: Tristan O’Callaghan

2: Patrick Doherty
3: Cian Burke
4: Conor Burke

6: Alan Sweeney
5: Padraig O’Dwyer
17: Thomas O’Dwyer