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*Éire Óg’s Darren Moroney. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
YOUNG PLAYERS are taking their chance with Éire Óg which is strengthening their bid to take spot in Group 3 of the TUS Clare SHC.
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A commanding nine point win over Newmarket-on-Fergus saw Éire Óg take a fully merited two points in round one and they’re eager to add to that when they face Wolfe Tones on Saturday afternoon.
Successive first round victories have now been recorded by the Townies who prior to this had lost their opening round ties in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. “We haven’t had a particularly good record of the first round of the championship in recent years. Last year against Clooney/Quin was probably our first time winning an opening round in a long time so we’re very pleased to have done so again,” manager Gerry O’Connor outlined.
Darren Moroney and Rian Mulcahy impressed in their championship debuts while the younger brigade of Darragh Stack, Fionnan Treacy, Marco Cleary and Robert Loftus were all prominent in their victory. “The team is getting younger which is another bonus. Some are getting older too of course but we had two more 17 year olds [Darren Moroney and Rian Mulcahy] that have made their way onto the team and performed and showed that they could hold their own on that stage”.
Looking ahead to round two which takes place in Fr Murphy Memorial Park, Newmarket-on-Fergus at 13:00, O’Connor pointed to the athleticism of the Wolfe Tones side. “Wolfe Tones are very, very impressive. They have a number of athletes around of the field so they’re extremely fit and it’s all to play for”.
Goals from Darren O’Brien and Marco Cleary were pivotal in their first round win along with their use of the ball, he felt. “The goals were crucial. Now the first one was fortuitous enough, Darren O’Brien floated in a high ball and David Reidy claims he got a touch but that’s still an ongoing debate.
“Ultimately when you break it all down, there was very little in that game. I thought both teams broke even in the middle but in the times when we won the ball there, our use of possession seemed to be a little bit better than theirs [Newmarket]. We varied the supply inside whereas they hit in a long of high ball that thankfully our full-back line were able to handle over the hour. I just felt that that slight variation on supply to the full-forward line was ultimately the difference between the two teams”.
Very little will separate teams this weekend, he predicted. “There will be nothing between any of the teams in the next round either. The Clare championship is so tight that you could be in a county final one year and the relegation play-offs the next”.
