*Ronan Lanigan reaches highest to claim the ball. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
CLARE’s senior footballers have kicked off their Division 3 Allianz National League campaign with a hard-fought one point win over Sligo.
Clare 0-9
Sligo 1-5
Venue: Cusack Park, Ennis
Mark Fitzgerald’s first National League outing as Clare boss starts on a high note with the all-important two points in the bag against a stiff Sligo challenge, the Connacht side finishing with thirteen men.
For large spells of the second half it appeared that a draw was on the horizon but Aaron Griffin kicked the winning score in additional time. Griffin’s score was fitting in that it was the culmination of a gritty team move.
It began with Dermot Coughlan and Daniel Walsh applying the pressure to force a turnover and manifested further when Manus Doherty threw himself to the ground and scooped the ball forward while keeping it in play, Griffin then worked a one-two with Gavin Murray before the Lissycasey man landed the winner.
Referee Conor Lane appeared to be giving the visitors every chance of forcing a draw, the Cork man may have forgot he signalled five minutes of additional time as with seventy eight minutes on the clock Sligo goalkeeper Aidan Devanney was standing over a free to level the game which he failed to connect properly with, allowing Clare to divert the danger and record an opening round win.
Playing against a strong opening half gale it was Sligo that had the better of starts, even though they fell behind when Emmet McMahon was first off the mark on the fifth minute. Pat Spillane, a son of the Kerry great and Niall Murphy responded for the visitors to push them ahead but Clare were back on level terms by the tenth minute, a Ronan Lanigan interception igniting the move which ended with a Dermot Coughlan equaliser.
Two missed chances in a row from Sligo seemed to upset their rhythm, the second of which an effort from Jack Lavin was well caught by Clare captain Stephen Ryan. Clare meanwhile were beginning to settle and hit four points in succession to carve out a 0-6 0-2 half time advantage, thanks to Emmet McMahon, Aaron Griffin and Mark McInerney
Though they added four points, Clare also coughed up on three opportunities with McMahon, Coughlan and Ryan missing attempts.
On the restart, it got very ropy for Clare, inside fifteen seconds of the second half they saw Aaron Griffin pick up a black card and in Sligo’s first attack they raided for goal. The concession of this green flag will definitely stand out as one of the biggest blunders from the game, despite stopping Pat Spillane’s shot, snail-like reactions in the Banner defence allowed Sean Carrabine to kick the rebound to the net and suddenly the lead was reduced to a single score.
At a juncture when everything was at risk of going off kilter for Clare, a lifeline presented itself with the needless act by Sligo wing back Luke Towey of striking Emmet McMahon with his hand right in view of the match officials, a decision which ended his involvement in the tie as a straight red card was brandished. Kildysart’s McMahon was experiencing a tumultuous few moments at this spell and was on the ground twice, winning a free on one of these occasions but indirectly helping to wind down the clock for Griffin to return from his black card.
McMahon would eventually open Clare’s second half account on the forty ninth minute. Fitzgerald’s side didn’t look like registering scores from open play but crucially were not giving away much opportunities at the other end, thanks in part to the hassling and tenacity of Ronan Lanigan, Micheál Garry and Manus Doherty.
Three wides in a row saw Clare miss out on the chance to maintain the lead, this was punished by Sligo who kicked two points on the trot via Patrick O’Connor and Jack Lavin to equalise.
A glorious opportunity presented itself to Daniel Walsh but he lacked composure on the ball and Sligo overturned possession and put themselves in front for the first time since the ninth minute when Carrabine converted a free on sixty two minutes.
Ikem Ugwueru, a solid presence throughout for Clare, was fouled and a penalty awarded, a second yellow card for Paul Kilcoyne was the punishment putting Tony McEntee’s side down to thirteen men. Mark McInerney’s spot kick was stopped by Devanney and hope was beginning to evaporate of a Clare victory.
Fortunately, Clare were able to manufacture two more scores, McMahon and Griffin getting the final two points to ensure it was the hosts that put two points on the board and begin life in Division 3 with a win.
Starting with a win is hugely important for this new-look Clare side. While a lot will be said about transition, players stepping into the fold have been prepared for what awaits and appeared to embrace the extra responsibility. Leadership shown by players was one of the big positives from the encounter with the hassling displayed in different aspects of the field another real plus.
Use of the extra men requires work, Clare had a two man advantage but it didn’t show and greater tactical leadership from players must be demonstrated on the field. Overcoming last year’s Connacht finalists is a strong start but Clare need to keep moving on an upward graph as simply reproducing performances at this level won’t suffice as the weeks and months progress. Ronan Lanigan, Emmet McMahon, Micheál Garry and Ikem Ugwueru were standout players for the winners.
Sligo travelled to Ennis firmly confident of picking up a victory, that optimism was justified given that they possessed arguably a more experienced side but they produced a very inconsistent display where they came in and out of the contest. More damaging to them was their discipline, they picked up no red card in last year’s championship yet had two in seventy minutes in Ennis while they conceded 0-5 from frees and gave away a penalty. Still McEntee’s side are likely to be in the shake-up for promotion from Division 3.
Scorers Clare: E McMahon (0-5 4f), A Griffin (0-2), D Coughlan (0-1), M McInerney (0-1 1f)
Scorers Sligo: S Carrabine (1-1 1f), P Spillane (0-1), N Murphy (0-1 1f), P O’Connor (0-1), J Lavin (0-1)
Clare:
1: Stephen Ryan (Kilrush Shamrocks)
2: Manus Doherty (Éire Óg)
3: Ronan Lanigan (Éire Óg)
4: Micheál Garry (Cooraclare)
5: Ikem Ugwueru (Éire Óg)
6: Alan Sweeney (St Breckan’s)
7: Daniel Walsh (Kilmurry Ibrickane)
8: Gavin Murray (Éire Óg)
9: Brian McNamara (Cooraclare)
12: Ciaran Downes (Kilmihil)
11: Emmet McMahon (Kildysart)
10: Dermot Coughlan (Kilmurry Ibrickane)
13: Mark McInerney (Éire Óg)
14: Aaron Griffin (Lissycasey)
15: Shane Griffin (Lissycasey)
Subs:
19: Cormac Murray (St Joseph’s Miltown) for S Griffin (HT)
17: Éinne O’Connor (Éire Óg) for C Downes (59)
18: James Curran (St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield) for McNamara (61)
21: Fergal Guinnane (Kildysart) for McInerney (76)
Sligo:
1: Aidan Devanney (Cairy St Joseph’s)
25: Paul McNamara (St John’s)
4: Evan Lyons (Shamrock Gaels)
3: Eddie McGuinness (Tubbercurry)
5: Luke Towey (Naomh Molasie Gaels)
6: Darragh Cummins (St Vincent’s Dublin)
7: Jack Lavin (Ballymote)
9: Paul Kilcoyne (St Mary’s)
12: Cian Lally (Drumcliffe Rosses Point)
11: Eoghan Smith (Drumcliffe Rosses Point)
10: David Quinn (Shamrock Gaels)
8: Patrick O’Connor (St Farnan’s)
13: Pat Spillane (St Jude’s Dublin)
14: Sean Carrabine (Castleconnor)
15: Niall Murphy (Coolera Strandhill)
Subs:
2: Brian Cox (Cairy St Joseph’s) for Quinn (44)
24: Mikey Gordon (Easkey) for Spillane (52)
17: Alan McLaughlin (Naomh Molasie Gaels) for Smith (52)
19: Dillon Walsh (Owenmore Gaels) for Lally (62)
23: Mark Walsh (Owenmore Gaels) for Lavin (68)
Referee: Conor Lane (Cork)
