*Daire Neville in full flight for Cratloe. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
It may not be their chief priority in 2026 but a first senior title in twelve years definitely was a feat not to be sniffed at for Cratloe following an emphatic Division 2 Final victory over Tulla.
Cratloe 4-30
Tulla 2-23
Venue: O’Garney Park, Sixmilebridge
Trailing by two points by the break, Conor Earley’s side used the sizeable wind advantage to pummel intermediate side Tulla into submission, with three goals in as many minutes on the restart through Rian Considine, Podge Collins and Marc O’Brien completely flipping the script.
Without Conor McGrath, Conor Ryan, David Collins and of course Diarmuid Ryan, Cratlioe still possessed enough experience and guile to hold off their sticky opponents, with Rian Considine remarkably unerring from placed balls, Podge Collins provided an insatiable hunger and touch of class while young guns Daire Neville and Marc O’Brien combined for 1-13 between them.
That was the main faultline of Tulla’s in that they were a little naive in defence but also slow to stamp out threats as Daire Neville simply ran riot through the second period but somehow was left unmarked until it was too late.
There were flashes of real quality from Tulla with Emmet Mulcahy superb over the entire hour and substitute Jack McSweeney raiding for 1-2 albeit that Brian Quinn’s side also had two penalties saved. But in truth, while silverware at any time is nice and would have complimented the Division 3 League crown garnered twelve months ago, successive promotions in league and championship are much more where their focus lies and the East Clare side have achieved half of that target to date.
Wind-assisted Tulla dominated the scoreboard and Cratloe’s restarts in the opening ten minutes with a brace of Mulcahy points inching them 0-5 to 0-2 clear. Podge Collins was unceremoniously hauled down for a 20 metre free converted by Rian Considine and from there Cratloe began to settle, picking off six of the next seven points including braces for Rian Considine and Daire Neville to nudge into the ascendency for the first time in 16 minutes at 0-9 to 0-7.
However, Cratloe’s failure to clear their lines saw Colin Corbett bear down on goal only to be brought down by Shane Gleeson for a 23rd minute penalty. Up stepped Ronan Molloy to strike towards the right corner but goalkeeper Eoin Deegan was equal to it pulling off a brilliant save that would be in vain as replacement Jack McSweeney was quickest to react to billow the roof of the net at 1-7 to 0-9.
Cratloe would surpass that major on the half hour mark with Riain McNamara and Podge Collins combined to perfectly tee up the onrushing Jamie Moylan to solo through and unleash an unstoppable shot to the right corner of the net at 1-12 to 1-10.
Crucially however, Tulla answered immediately as Emmet Mulcahy (2), Ronan Molloy, Daragh Corry and Andrew Conheady grabbed the last five points to inch 1-14 to 1-12 in front by the interval.
Whatever was in the half-time oranges, Cratloe came racing out of the blocks with a 3-1 blitz in the opening four minutes of the throw-in. The first goal demonstrated exactly how strong the wind was as Eoin Deegan’s puck-out bounced over Tulla’s last line into the welcome hand of Rian Considine to finish unmarked to the bottom right corner.
From the puck-out Jamie Moylan’s pinpoint cross field delivery picked out Podge Collins who looked to have initially lost his chance, only to strike over his shoulder on the turn for a sublime finish to the far corner.
Another Deegan boomer set up the fourth goal, again stemming from Rian Considine’s clever running as he cut in from the right corner, only to see his shot come back off the near post to the waiting Marc O’Brien to pull the rebound to the net at 4-13 to 1-15.
A nine point turnaround in just three minutes was difficult for Tulla to recover from as they would be fortunate not to concede a fifth goal a minute later but Daire Neville would be hooked while Marc O’Brien’s shot would blaze just wide of the right post.
Emmet Mulcahy’s ingenuity did pull back a much-needed goal at the three-quarters mark but by then Tulla had lost their shape somewhat and were being pulled and dragged around by the Cratloe attacking division, that it was only a temporary boost.
Instead, the elusive Daire Neville (6), Rian Considine (4) and Marc O’Brien (2) picked off points at will, with Dan Withycombe, Daragh Corry, Jack McSweeney and chief marksman Mulcahy providing the only real resistance.
Despite being 13 points between the sides entering the final ten minutes, there was no shortage of drama in the run-in as Dan Vaughan twice thwarted Rian Considine shots, equally Eoin Deegan saved an Emmet Mulcahy penalty earned by Corry while both sides would also end the game with only 14 men each.
They were for very different reasons though as despite Cratloe emptying their bench, Podge Collins elected to come off as a precaution after pulling up injured in the 56th minute while in injury-time an overly-robust pull saw Daragh Corry receive a straight red from Jaralth Donnellan. It mattered little to the outcome as Cratloe got some timely honours ahead of championship along with the significance of being first medal at senior level for three-quarters of the 20 players used.
Gallery of photographs by Gerard O’Neill.
Scorers for Cratloe: Rian Considine 1-13 (11f, 1’65), Daire Neville 0-10, Marc O’Brien 1-3, Podge Collins 1-2, Jamie Moylan 1-1, Jake Moylan 0-1
Scorers for Tulla: Emmet Mulcahy 1-9 (4f), Jack McSweeney 1-2, Daragh Corry 0-4, Ronan Molloy 0-3, Dan Withycombe 0-3, Willie Halpin 0-1, Andrew Conheady 0-1
Cratloe
1: Eoin Deegan
2: Eoin Carey
3: Shane Gleeson
4: Oisin Collins
30: Jamie Moylan
6: Cathal McInerney
5: Cathal Lohan
8: Riain McNamara
9: Enda Boyce
17: Jake Moylan
15: Rian Considine
10: Daire Neville
13: Podge Collins
14: John Flanagan
12: Marc O’Brien
Subs
7: Sam Sheehy for Carey (HT, inj)
24: Kevin Danaher for Jamie Moylan (47)
19: Jake Higgins for Flanagan (47)
21: Eanna Collins for Lohan (49)
29: Denis Mundy for McInerney (53)
Tulla
1: Dan Vaughan
4: Dara Ryan
3: Kevan Conlon
2: Ben Kelleher
5: Tony Leyden
6: Ryan Hayes
7: Padraic Mulconroy
8: Dan Withycombe
9: Cathal Culloo
15: Ronan Molloy
17: Daragh Corry
11: William Halpin
10: Emmet Mulcahy
12: Colin Corbett
13: Andrew Conheady
Subs
18: Jack McSweeney for Leyden (9, inj)
19: Darragh Walsh for Hayes (13-15, BS)
19: Walsh for Corbett (HT, inj)
20; Colm McInerney for Halpin (55),
14: Paul Lynch for Conheady (56)
Referee: Jarlath Donnellan (Wolfe Tones)
