Naomh Eoin eliminate Ennistymon to take long route to last eight of Clare IFC

*Owen Lynch of Naomh Eoin keeps the ball from Ennistymon’s Ryan Barry. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.

NAOMH EOIN completed the quarter-final line-up in the Clare intermediate football championship when accounting for Ennistymon by a margin of eight points.

Naomh Eoin 2-16
Ennistymon 1-11
Venue: Páirc Cuar an Chláir, Cooraclare

After prevailing in the preliminary quarter-final, the reward for Naomh Eoin is a last eight tie with Clondegad in what will be their fourth time meeting the Ballynacally in as many seasons, the recent record is two wins for Naomh Eoin and one for Clondegad.

Left sweating at the conclusion of the first quarter where they trailed by four points, Naomh Eoin’s stronger attacking threat and the use of the conditions in the second half saw them outscore Ennistymon 2-14 0-8 for the remainder of the encounter.

Fionn Doherty’s departure from Treaty Utd in July has seen him serve as a powerful addition to the Naomh Eoin attack. The twenty one year old has offered pace and energy to their forward line while also chipping in with four points over the hour.

Alongside him Owen Lynch and Niall Bonfil continued to lead the Cross club’s attack, scoring 0-8 and 1-2 respectively.

There was just too much firepower for Ennistymon to handle and their task was made more difficult with the absence of corner back Conor Rynne who would have been assigned one of their three danger men.

Consolidating their status left Ennistymon in bonus territory and the odds were always against them for this play-off. They started well and had momentum but were unfortunate that the wind even picked up when they were playing against the elements.

Fred Hegarty opened the scoring from a two pointer with the game a mere eighty seconds old. The heavens opened just as referee Chris Maguire made his way out onto the field, moments before throwing the ball in. The rain remained for the duration of the opening half.

Points from Lynch and Bonfil got Naomh Eoin back on level terms with eight minutes played but Ennistymon took the lead again when a Paudie Considine free dropped in the danger area and was finished to the net by Ryan Barry.

Any joy for Ennistymon was short-lived with Fergal Keane’s long run from the middle ending with him drilling beyond Conor Morrissey to raise a green flag with seventeen minutes on the clock.

Seamus Boland’s side put 1-2 together without reply to go ahead for the first time but Ennistymon with a Fred Hegarty two pointer regained the lead on twenty five minutes.

Owen Lynch closed out the half with three points in a row seeing Naomh Eoin enter the dressing room 1-7 1-5 in front and they never fell behind for the rest of the match.

A run of 1-3 on the bounce on the restart saw Naomh Eoin put the game to bed inside the first eight minutes of the half. Niall Bonfil raided for 1-1 of this tally, Conor Magner providing a precision pass to set him through for the major while he linked up with a quick free from Lynch to split the posts.

With the game gone from their grasp, Ennistymon were only playing for pride and they did manage to add scores via Paudie Considine, Hegarty and centre back Seán Conneally. At the other end, Naomh Eoin also kept their account ticking with Doherty too hot to handle to help the Peninsula outfit to an eight point win.

Avoiding a relegation battle was the main focus for Ennistymon when setting out in this championship, they achieved this objective and will be content to have made the play-offs but will rightfully admit that they had a chance to defeat Killimer in round one and the West Clare side are now preparing for a quarter-final while the season for the Magpies’ second string has come to a conclusion.

With three U21A titles over the last four years, there is plenty of talent within Ennistymon so heightening the ambitions for this team next season would be justified. Finding the right mix between who is designated for the senior and intermediate grade is also important with some experienced footballers sitting on the sideline for the club’s top team who would be huge additions to this side. For Beano Rouine’s side, Joe Casey, Louis Griffin, Seán Conneally and Daniel Brody worked hard over the hour.

2024 finalists Naomh Eoin don’t appear to be championship favourites just yet but should they cause an upset to knock out Clondegad then their star will rise, it will be easier said than done though as the Ballynacally boys are one of the high-flying teams of this year’s intermediate race. Having beaten in the 2024 semi-final two years ago when the odds were against them, Naomh Eoin will have no fear of repeating the dose.

Seamus Boland’s side definitely have a scoring threat that requires the attention for any of their opponents but they struggled with a fast running team like the Banner in round one which is the area they need to focus in on over the next fortnight. Top performers in their latest outing included Fionn Doherty, Tomás Bonfil, Fergal Keane, Owen Lynch and Niall Bonfil.

All photographs by Gerard O’Neill.