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*Chief marksman Peter Duggan caused problems for Clooney/Quin. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
CLOONEY/QUIN sealed their place in the quarter-finals of the TUS Clare senior hurling championship with a commanding fourteen point win over Cratloe.
Clooney/Quin 5-12
Cratloe 0-13
Venue: O’Garney Park, Sixmilebridge
By Peter O’Connell
Successive quarter-final appearances have been secured by Clooney/Quin after they produced a powerful attacking and equally as strong defensive display to send Cratloe out of the race for the Canon Hamilton.
In the minutes after this group 4 game in Sixmilebridge, Clooney-Quin manager Tommy Corbett revealed that Peter Duggan had spent the previous “two or three days” in bed battling illness.
Going on how he performed at full-forward on Saturday, Duggan might be tempted to spend the week in bed prior to Clooney/Quin’s quarter-final in a few weeks.
Positioned at full-forward where Diarmuid Ryan did his best to do a man marking job on his inter-county teammate, Duggan gave his side the attacking platform that was central to this win.
Cratloe deployed Enda Boyce as a sweeper in front of Duggan but that allowed the winners a free defensive man themselves, meaning that they could mix their game nicely between running and going long.
Most of the time they went long, Duggan either won clean possession or at worst broke it for a colleague.
Clooney/Quin did most of the damage in the first half playing into a strong breeze.
The elements were of no real help to Cratloe who were without Podge Collins and lacked any discernible pattern or pace in attack.
The winners led 3-6 to 0-8 at the interval with Duggan notching 2-3. He put away his first goal in the 14th minute just two minutes after Jimmy Corry did likewise following a Shane Harrison pass.
Duggan’s goal was created by a diagonal ball from Ronan O’Donnell. Diarmuid Ryan lost the flight of the ball but Duggan didn’t and flicked it to the net.
Just before the interval Duggan was pulled down by Ryan and the Clooney man hammered home the penalty.
The game was basically over at that stage but Cratloe did keep battling away with Rian Considine adding three second half frees to the five points he put over in the opening period.
The highlight from a Cratloe perspective was the return to competitive club action of Conor Ryan, a key part of their 2014 championship win.
Having had to retire from hurling due to illness he showed on his return that he can still win ball and hasn’t forgotten what to do with it when he gets it. Everybody in O’Garney Park was delighted to see the Ryan brothers play championship hurling together for the first time.
That was as good as it got for Cratloe though. They know that they have to rebuild and that will take time.
Clooney/Quin have time now to focus on their quarter-final and if the likes of Duggan, Jack O’Neill, Jimmy Corry, Shane McNamara and Cathal Hannon keep this up and add another bit to it, they have every chance of enjoying a lengthy autumn of hurling.
Scorers Clooney/Quin: P Duggan (2-06 5f 1’Pen), J Corry (1-02), D Fox (1-01), M Corry (1-00), J O’Neill (0-02), S Harrison (0-01)
Scorers Cratloe: R Considine (0-07 5f 2’65), S Neville (0-01), D Ryan (0-01 1f), C McGrath (0-01), C McInerney (0-01),
Clooney/Quin:
1: Cathal Hannon
4: Evan Maxted
25: Shane McNamara
2: John Cahill
5: Darragh Keogh
6: John Conneally
3: Conor Grogan
8: Jimmy Corry
9: Donagh O’Sullivan
23: Trevor Lee
22: Ronan O’Donnell
12: Jack O’Neill
13: Dannan Fox
11: Peter Duggan
15: Shane Harrison
Subs:
20: Mikey Corry for Fox (41)
26: Ulick O’Sullivan for O’Donnell (45)
17: Luke Harrison for J Corry (57)
21: Dylan Cunningham for S Harrison (61)
Cratloe:
1: Gearoid Ryan
2: Caimin Deegan
3: Liam Markham
7: Sean Collins
5: Shane Neville
6: Diarmuid Ryan
8: Enda Boyce
9: Rian McNamara
15: Conor McGrath
12: Cathal McInerney
11: Daithí Collins
10: Luke Healy
21: Jack McInerney
14: Sean Gallagher
13: Rian Considine
Subs:
26: Cathal Lohan for Gallagher (HT)
25: Conor Ryan for J McInerney (41)
20: Damien Browne for McNamara (50)
Referee: Niall Malone (Éire Óg)
