Keith White claims the ball in a sea of bodies. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
ENNISTYMON didn’t make it easy on themselves but they still came out on top against Doonbeg to start their 2024 Clare SFC bid on a winning note.
Ennistymon 1-7
Doonbeg 0-8
Venue: Hennessy Memorial Park, Miltown Malbay
Fitness and a stronger panel was crucial to Ennistymon producing an improved second half showing, one which was sufficient to join Cratloe at the top of Group 3 following the first round of action in the TUS Clare senior football championship.
Trailing by six points at half time, Ennistymon mounted a successful second half comeback to pick up a two point win in the first round of the Clare SFC, keeping their opponents scoreless and kicking 1-5 on the bounce.
Back in the setting of Miltown Malbay where they only scored two points in the Cusack Cup final, it looked like Ennistymon were going to slump to another defeat, especially when they only kicked two points in the first half. Things appeared to be going against them in the third quarter with the marginal calls from referee John O’Connell going against them but they stood tall when they had to.
Doonbeg dominated the opening half and their six point advantage at the interval was fully merited. They kept Ennistymon without a score for the first twenty minutes of the tie and by this juncture kicked over six points of their own.
Darragh Burns was doing the bulk of the damage, finishing the first half with four points to his name, all impressive scores, three off the right boot and one off the left. The best was arguably his second, coming on the fifth minute from an acute angle.
Aiding the Doonbeg forwards such as Burns was the amount of space in front of them, this coupled with the accurate delivery from outside allowed them to run onto the ball, control it, take their man on and back themselves to shoot.
Mikie Tubridy chipped in with two points, Cathal Killeen with one and a mark from David Tubridy to see them exert their authority over the opening half.
Brendy Rouine who was appearing in his first senior championship tie for his club was Ennistymon’s first scorer on the twentieth minute, converting a free. Prior to this they had six wides as they really struggled to bring the qualities required for championship.
A clear indicator of this occurred on the seventeenth minute when debutant Gearoid Barry realised that he was playing senior football. David McNamara who was among the few Ennistymon men to show for possession on several occasion, he did on this instance, won possession and found Brendy Rouine who played a quick hand pass to Barry who fell to ground to try win a free after receiving contact and allowing Doonbeg to clear the ball, rather than catching it and working a score.
Matters improved some bit for Ennistymon on the restart, on both the scoring front and in terms of players taking ownership. They had their first chance inside forty seconds but Diarmuid Fahy’s effort tailed, the Clare panellist would later show his ability between the posts as the half progressed.
Brendy Rouine kicked his second score and their third on thirty two minutes and five minutes later he was the provider with an excellent delivery into Diarmuid Fahy after he received possession from Joshua Vaughan who won a mark in the middle of the field, Fahy when found executed an excellent finish to make it 0-8 1-3.
Tiernan Hogan brought them to within a point on forty three minutes and when the game entered the final quarter they were level thanks to Fahy, he first went for a major but Eamon Tubridy made an excellent block to stop the umpires reaching for a green flag.
Captain Cillian Rouine put the North Clare side ahead on the fiftieth minute, momentum behind them was growing and Doonbeg’s route to getting a score seemed few and far between.
Fahy converted a free on fifty seven minutes to make the margin two points and it would remain unchanged until the final whistle.
An inability to score in the second half plus a lack of fresh legs proved detrimental to Doonbeg as they lost out in a game that they were on top in for large spells. Once Ennistymon switched Darragh Conneely onto Daragh Burns and the supply of ball dried up, so too did their challenge and this is an area that must be rectified if they are to secure one of the three knockout spots on offer in the group. Burns was excellent in stages and was by far their best player.
To win despite playing poorly is a good omen for Ennistymon who will receive a bounce for clawing their way back into the game. They will improve as the campaign progresses and they must if they are to be one of the contenders, to help their cause they will need to bring more steel and guile to their approach on the field.
Their biggest plus is seeing Brendy Rouine, Diarmuid Fahy and Seán Rouine back in championship action after long spells injured. Ger Quinlan’s side had strong showings from Darragh Conneely, Diarmuid Fahy, Brendy Rouine, David McNamara, Keith White and Cillian Rouine in the closing stages.
Scorers Ennistymon: D Fahy (1-2 1f), B Rouine (0-2 1f), K White (0-1), T Hogan (0-1), C Rouine (0-1).
Scorers Doonbeg: D Burns (0-4), M Tubridy (0-2), C Killeen (0-1), D Tubridy (0-1 1M)
Ennistymon:
1: Noel Sexton
3: Conor Rynne
4: Darragh Conneely
10: Ciaran McMahon
19: David McNamara
2: Joey Rouine
12: Tiernan Hogan
6: Cillian Rouine
9: Keith White
18: Joshua Vaughan
8: Brendy Rouine
14: Éanna Rouine
11: Diarmuid Fahy
13: Sean Rynne
15: Gearoid Barry
Subs:
17: Eoin Rouine for J Rouine (9) (inj)
7: Joshua Guyler for Éanna Rouine (HT)
5: Liam Cotter for McNamara (39)
20: Seán Rouine for Hogan (53)
Doonbeg:
1: Eamon Tubridy
2: Tadhg Lillis
3: James Killeen
4: Jason Linnane
7: Cian O’Mahoney
6: Kevin Pender
6: Kevin Pender
9: Sean Conway
8: Kevin McInerney
11: Mikie Tubridy
10: Eoin Killeen
12: Cathal Killeen
15: David Tubridy
14: Paul Dillon
13: Darragh Burns
Subs:
17: Eoin Conway for Dillon (47)
18: Gavin O’Shea for E Killeen (54)
20: Cian Clancy for Conor O’Mahoney (61)
Referee: John O’Connell (Cooraclare)
