*Mark McInerney celebrates scoring a goal for Clare. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
FRESH from producing a man of the match display for Clare’s footballers, Mark McInerney dedicated the Munster semi-final win to the late Dylan White.
Ennis native Dylan died at the age of twenty two on Good Friday following an illness. On Easter Saturday, Mark kicked 2-5 as the Clare senior footballers sealed their place in the Munster final for the third year running.
Both Dylan and Mark lined out on opposing sides with Ennis Town FC and Avenue Utd at schoolboys level while they were both representatives of Éire Óg.
Speaking to The Clare Echo following his impressive display at corner forward, Mark paid tribute to his fellow student at University of Galway. “We said beforehand how proud we are to play for the Clare jersey. A friend of most of ours passed away yesterday and we wanted to do it for him, we want to give everything we have when we come to play for Clare, thank God it worked out well for us today”.
He added, “Myself, Manus and Emmet would have played soccer with and against him growing up, he played for Éire Óg for a while so it is very sad, my heart goes out to the family, it is really tragic, rest in peace Dylan”.
Looking back on their 2-18 1-15 win over Tipperary, Mark said, “We’re delighted, it was a good performance for most of it”.
Steven O’Brien’s missed penalty on seven minutes which would have put Tipperary was a wake-up call for Clare, he acknowledged. “We got lucky, we got away with one there, we switched on a small bit after that, we started putting the ball over the bar and we got in control. At the end of the first half, they got a few scores to bring a bit closer so we had to reset, we came out the gates flying in the second half and controlled it from there, at the end of the game we gave them 1-4 without reply so we have things to work on”.
Along with kicking 2-5, McInerney produced a high tackle count to pressurise the Tipperary defence and contribute at least two turnovers in the opening half. This is an aspect of his game he is trying to strengthen, he admitted. “It is something I need to work on, it is definitely a part of my game which needs to improve, I had it in my head that I had to work hard. Peter (Keane) has a saying, the harder you work the luckier you get, that is what I want to follow”.
Tweaks to the 3v3 rule implemented to curb teams from using their goalkeepers as a spare man in their forward line ended an experiment which saw Mark listed as Clare’s sub-goalkeeper during the first half of the Allianz National Football League. “It was a strange enough period there but wherever they want me to play I’m ready to give it whatever I have even if I’m playing as a goalie, I’m back in it now so thank God for the rule change I suppose,” he said of his time as number sixteen.
This experiement has made him embrace a return to attack and being on the field of play. “Nobody wants to be outside the twenty six or not playing so when you get the chance you have to take it”.
