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*Inagh/Kilnamona defender, Shane Woods. Photograph: Ruthie Griffin.
ONLY INAGH/KILNAMONA have guaranteed their passage to the knockout stages of the Clare SHC following two rounds of the championship.
With a game to spare, Inagh/Kilnamona are in the last eight, their comfortable victory over St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield, coupled with a draw between Ballyea and Clonlara in the group’s other fixture confirming their advancement.
Speaking following their thirteen-point win in Ruan on Saturday evening, Inagh/Kilnamona manager Eugene Cullinan was delighted with the collective performance from his charges. “It was very much about the collective today. We knew Joseph’s were coming with a plan, it was a very effective plan against Clonlara so we were going to have work around that plan, which I think we did. Defences were on top maybe on both sides, so it was a real collective effort on our behalf. Even our bench made a big impact there, maybe not on the scoreboard I think we just got the one point, but all four subs made a big contribution to the play”.
It was very much a shootout between the free takers in the opening half, with Aidan McCarthy nailing all seven of his efforts from placed balls. “A good free taker is worth anything and Aidan really stepped up to the mark there today. It was a difficult breeze, there was a small bit of a breeze coming across, so even when you’re with the breeze it’s still difficult to nail them frees but he did brilliantly on them, as did their free taker as well”.
Éamonn Foudy’s range from his restarts was once again an aspect that caught the eye, with the Inagh-Kilnamona goalkeeper hitting a wide directly from one of his own puckouts. Foudy previously scored directly from a restart at Páirc na nGael during the Clare Cup last summer. “It’s a huge asset, and it’s something that we’ve been working on and hopefully we get a big benefit out of it going forward. The field in Ruan is a small little bit shorter, so it was really clinical today, but it’s a big asset for us”.
A draw between Ballyea and Clonlara was the ideal result for Inagh/Kilnamona as it guaranteed their place in the knockout stages, with their closing group-stage game against Clonlara now determining whether they finish top of the group. “Two wins out of two it’s definitely been a positive campaign and look it, there’s nothing won either. We still have to try and get out of this group and drive it on, it’s been very positive but there’s still a nice little bit to go yet”.
