*John Conlon collides with Seadna Morey. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
GROUP 2 of the TUS Clare SHC is fully ajar with Clonlara, Crusheen and Sixmilebridge all chasing quarter-final places ahead of the weekend’s third round.
Crusheen must defeat Clonlara to keep their chances alive with The Bridge must overcome O’Callaghans Mills to stay in the hunt. Such outcomes will mean scoring difference and not head to head will decide who advances as more than two teams will be tied on four points.
By Friday evening, the picture will be much clearer. Clonlara and Crusheen do battle in Cusack Park at 18:30 while at the same time Clarecastle will host a repeat of the 2020 decider between Sixmilebridge and the Mills.
Clonlara are in a strong place following wins over O’Callaghans Mills and Sixmilebridge. “We’re delighted as this means a lot. We’re training very, very hard and we’ve also had many bad days over the past few years and lots of things questioned about us but we love our hurling and we won so it’s a good day. That said, the ‘Bridge are not gone out of the championship either and if we lose the next day, today won’t mean anything but that’s the Clare championship and it’s brilliant but it’s tough,” Clonlara boss Donal Madden said following The Bridge win.
Culture is changing within Clonlara, Madden added. “We have good guys and they have a lot of work done. The culture in our club is changing so I’m very proud of them. Diarmuid Stritch scored four points today and is a great young fella and is going to be something else in a long career ahead of him while John [Conlon] is John, he’s a one in a million. It isn’t just what he brings to the field either, it’s what he brings to our club. He’s a phenomenon and I’d put him up there as one of the greatest players to play for Clare.
“We won’t be getting carried away either though. Crusheen are waiting in the long grass and are waiting to have a hop off us so we have to be ready again. I saw them against the Mills and they were mightily impressive and are a serious side so if we lose to them we’re in trouble,” Madden commented.
A 3-17 0-16 win over O’Callaghans Mills saw Crusheen roar back into contention. “We got a couple of goals early on which was a huge bonus. We knew that the Mills weren’t going to lie down and in the first ten minutes of the second half they came out and hit us with everything and brought it back to two points. We were under serious pressure at that stage, taking wrong options, shooting from way out the field, all that kind of stuff but we brought on a couple of subs and they made such a difference,” manager Michael Browne noted.
Their panel made the difference in picking up their first win, the ex Clare selector believed. “The subs made a huge difference up front. I felt sorry for Diarmuid (Mullins) as he is just back from injury and he picked up an ankle injury but he will be okay. Breffni Horner really is a class forward and he showed it there today. If he gets any bit of space he really is a good player. It’s not about any one particular individual. This is about eighteen, nineteen, twenty players.
“These lads set out their stall at the start of the year and their aim was that they did not want to be the whipping boys as they have been for the past few years. They felt that they were capable of beating the Bridge and this shows that they weren’t that far off it. They are a good team. There are a lot of young lads and some older lads and isn’t it great to see Ger O’Grady putting in such an effort for the full hour and Cathal (Dillon) came on near the end. I know we will have a huge game the next day but we will enjoy this one for now and then we will get down and prepare for the next one,” Browne said.
Sixmilebridge manager Sean Stack is eagerly awaiting a response from his side this weekend. “We’re very disappointed with our display, Clonlara broke away from us towards the end of the first half but we actually got it back to a point early in the second half and probably should have pushed on from there. Credit to Clonlara though, they played well so congrats to them, they had a powerful last 15 minutes, worked the ball smartly and their defence stood up so hats off to them”.
Stack a two-time National League winner continued, “John Conlon has serious leadership qualities in him, has serious force and does all the right things. His work-rate is so honest but a lot of the Clonlara lads played really well and took the game to us from the start.
“You’ll get days like this but it’s how we respond now that’s most important. I mean it’s winner-takes all from here on in. We’re up against the Mills who also got a bit of a set-back again this weekend so we’ll see how it goes. It’s that what championship is all about though, it’s knock-out now the next day so hopefully that can put a bit off a different slant on things,” the retired secondary school teacher added.
It’s a case of regrouping ahead of the relegation battle for the Mills, selector Sean McNamara maintained. “We were under pressure after conceding the early goal but I felt that we got back into it and there was only the goal in it when we had a line ball in an attacking position and it ended up in our net. That was the game in my opinion and we were always chasing the game after that. We got it back to three in the second half but then got caught trying to push on and we then conceded another goal, maybe attacking too much.
“It’s disappointing after winning the league but sure no one remembers who wins the Clare Cup. It was great for us at the time. If you asked who won the National Football League this year no one could tell you but they know Dublin won the All-Ireland. It’s all about championship, the league was great in the winter. The next few weeks will be tough for us but we just have to work hard. We need to focus for the next two weeks and perform against the ‘Bridge even if the result doesn’t matter and we know we are facing into a relegation battle. It’s tougher this year as there is no group of four”.
