*Darragh McNamara celebrate scoring Clooney/Quin’s third goal. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
SPRINKLED with youth, Clooney/Quin’s young guns also possess plenty of maturity which has led them to a first Clare SHC final appearance in eight years.
The Clare Echo’s online coverage of the Clare SHC is with thanks to The Temple Gate Hotel.
Clooney/Quin overcame Ballyea who are noted as one of the county’s most battle-hardened sides in Sunday’s semi-final in a 4-15 2-19 victory.
Fergal Lynch captained Clooney/Quin when they last contested a senior decider, losing out to Sixmilebridge following a replay in 2017. “I’d trade it in a heartbeat if I could get in to be captain or even playing some part but it is great to be there and to be part of it again, we’ve been pushing and knocking on the door for a while to try get into quarter-finals and semi-finals, last year was a bit of a disaster, it is amazing the difference a year makes, we’re there but finals are for winning,” he told The Clare Echo.
Four different goal scorers in every quarter of the game was crucial to their victory with Sam Scanlon, Peter Duggan, Darragh McNamara and Jerry O’Connor all raising green flags. “We have a lot of very potent forwards that like to express themselves, some of them are very young and only played in a Minor A final just twelve months ago, it is great we can have that talent to dip into and go after, the lads acquitted themselves well and we’ll be doing to do the exact same thing in two weeks time and perform to the best of our ability, whatever happens will happen and the result will take care of itself”.
How Clooney/Quin’s younger players have seamlessly adapted to the senior ranks has not surprised Lynch. “These lads are very mature players who have played in a lot of big games with Clare, St Flannan’s College, St Joseph’s Tulla and with Clooney/Quin as well, they are competitors and performers, it is not just about them, it is about the 34 lads training all year, we played ye (Newmarket-on-Fergus) in a Clare Cup earlier this year and only five of them were playing in that game and a lot of them were inter-county bound, it can have its advantages and disadvantages but this year we’ve managed it a bit better in how we’re approaching it and it is paying off”.
An increase in Clooney/Quin’s application in the second half was a defining moment in Sunday’s semi-final, the 2013 All-Ireland winner felt. “We had to try batten down the hatches with Tony (Kelly) and Conor (Grogan) did a really good job starting off but Tony being Tony he goes into positions and is able to get great scores, a few tactical changes and the lads up front working that bit harder, we didn’t stand by our principles and values in the first half on our workrate, that was evident in the stats and the lads really knuckled down in the second half and the stats were up in the semi-final and we got a result out of it”.
Offering a huge lift to their supporters was Martin Duggan’s point on sixty two minutes when the substitute managed to hook Jack Browne, turn over possession and split the ball between the posts. “We only used one sub against Feakle because we felt the lads were working really hard, training had gone really well in the last two weeks, lads were chomping at the bit and trying to improve and play some part in the semi-final because semi-finals are occasions in themselves, the cavalry that came in acquitted themselves well for Clooney/Quin’s cause”.
Éire Óg await in the county final and it will be an occasion to savour, Fergal said. “Éire Óg are an experienced team, they have been in the quarter-finals and semi-finals for last six or seven years, they have hugely experienced players and with that they have a real weapon in Shane O’Donnell, not alone talking about us having a few good young fellas, the Clearys are really good players, Rian Mulcahy, Darren Moroney, they are all good players and it will be an even keel game and we’re really looking forward to it”.
