*Conor Mullen delivers a long throw into the box.
A MASTERCLASS from Steven McGann and winning by six goals was not enough to save Clare’s Oscar Traynor campaign.
Clare District Soccer League 6
Kerry District Soccer League 0
Venue: Mounthawk Park, Tralee
Needing a two goal winning margin and Limerick District League to overcome Limerick Desmond League, Clare held their side of the bargain but a 1-1 draw between the Limerick outfits ensured their involvement in the competition for 2024 ended abruptly.
It certainly didn’t have to be this way for Clare as their display demonstrated on Sunday in Tralee, had they had their best squad in place for the entire competition they would be preparing for the knockout stages, instead they’re out. Not alone was it their best showing of the season, it was also the only one in which they managed to get on the scoresheet.
There’s no coincidence that this happened along with the introduction of Steven McGann to the squad and starting eleven. Put simply, had he featured in either of their two previous games, Clare would still be in the competition as the Ennis man brought a flair to their attack which had been lacking and managed to be the catalyst for the creation and finishing of more chances.
McGann finished the afternoon with a personal tally of four goals and played a pivotal role in Clare playing a smoother, crisper brand of football, they were of course aided by the Astro surface and poor opponents.
Within two minutes, Clare had their first goal. Conor Finnucane making his debut did well to win a corner which was swung in well by Dean Hegarty and finished over the line by McGann.
Confusion over the awarding of a free saw Clare caught but Seán Lovett spurned a glorious chance to equalise on nine minutes. He had another opportunity when Shane Lowth intercepted a Brian O’Connor pass back to Jamie Roche but the striker didn’t manage to trouble Shane Cusack.
Timing of tackles was well executed by Clare in the opening half with both Scott Kirkland and Conor Mullen on different occasions getting to the ball in the nick of time to prevent Kerry from capitalising. They withstood any pressure from the hosts and held a 1-0 advantage at half time.
Three minutes into the second half, Clare doubled their lead when Hegarty again had the assist and McGann the finish from an acute angle. Substitute Nnabuike Nneji was denied by the crossbar as the visitors completely suffocated Kerry.
A hat-trick was completed for McGann on fifty seven minutes when he was fouled in the box and made no mistake with the resulting penalty.
Goal number four arrived on seventy five minutes when Na played the ball back across the box to Brian O’Connor with the right winger producing a composed finish to the top left corner of the net.
Nice link up play from Jack O’Halloran and Dean Hegarty teed up McGann who reacted much too quickly for the Kerry defence to slot home his fourth goal of the afternoon.
Substitute Jashar Aliu had a tremendous strike on the eighty sixth minute to seal a comprehensive 6-0 win for Donie Garrihy’s side.
Clare’s journey ends in the competition but it didn’t have to be this way. With the calibre of player in the county, the semi-finals at least is where they should be but if the best players are not in the squad then outcomes like failing to emerge from the group are to be expected.
Had Limerick District prevailed and Clare advanced there would certainly have been reason to be hopeful. Clare moved the ball quickly, when they troubled Kerry it was how they implemented a swift pass and go approach, the surface definitely suited this and the manner in which McGann performed would leave Avenue Utd fairly confident of prevailing in future competitions if they end up playing on an Astro.
Alongside the excellent McGann, Shane Cusack was rock solid between the posts, Scott Kirkland was an air of calmness in tight spaces on the ball, Dean Hegarty’s use of the ball was very impressive, Conor Finnucane produced a very honest and hard-working display with captain Conor Mullen leading the way from defence alongside Harvey Cullinan.
Clare: Shane Cusack (Newmarket Celtic); Jamie Roche (Avenue Utd), Conor Mullen (Avenue Utd), Harvey Cullinan (Newmarket Cetlic); Scott Kirkland (Bridge Utd); Jack O’Halloran (Bridge Utd); Brian O’Connor (Newmarket Celtic), Steven McGann (Avenue Utd), Dean Hegarty (Newmarket Celtic); Nathan Boaventura (Newmarket Celtic), Conor Finnucane (Inch Crusaders).
Subs: Nnabuike Nneji (Avenue Utd) for Boaventura (HT), Jashar Aliu (Tulla Utd) for Finnucane (80), John Forson (Lifford FC) for O’Connor (80), Kuba Rubwiozski (Avenue Utd) for Cusack (80), Cathal Cullinan for Hegarty (82).
Kerry District Soccer League: Jack Rodgers; Chris O’Leary, Padraic Looney, Kevin McCarthy, John Ward; Sean Foley, Matt Keane, Darragh Lowth, Cianan Cooney, Shane Lowth, Sean Lovett.
Subs: Adam Ward for O’Leary (50), Tennyson Effegbare for Keane (55), Ciaran Clarke for Lovett (80), Samardoc Nemanja for J Ward (80)
