*Ross Phelan celebrates scoring a goal for Kilrush Shamrocks. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
KILRUSH SHAMROKS struck for five goals to overcome Cooraclare in a keenly contested clash to advance to the final four of the TUS Clare IFC.
Kilrush Shamrocks 5-6
Cooraclare 1-13
Venue: St Michael’s Park, Kilmihil
Last year’s beaten finalists find themselves sixty minutes away from a successive county final appearance as the Shams’ quest to return to the top tier remains on track. Their cause will only be strengthened by surviving a stern test from Cooraclare on Saturday evening.
Indeed had it not been for their five green flags, it would have been the Milesians that marched on but the old cliché of ‘goals win matches’ was among the most used sentences by supporters leaving Kilmihil and rightly so given that Cooraclare’s total of fourteen scores was greater than Kilrush’s eleven but crucially they could not match them when it came to scoring majors.
On two occasions, Cooraclare responded to the concession of a goal by scoring the next four points but each time this happened, Kilrush found a way of answering back with a green flag to quench the momentum of the 2022 finalists.
A strong attacking force which includes Don O’Driscoll, Gearoid O’Brien, Conor Fennell and Ross Phelan is going to test any defence as all four require minding and are capable of popping up with scores when given the opportunity. The key for Kilrush is ensuring all four manage to fire on the big days as few defences possess an array of man markers capable of stopping the quartet.
Brian McNamara gave his best display of the club championship in the middle of the mark and he lorded a ball from an Oisin Morrissey kickout before feeding the ball to the lively Jack Carey for the opening score of the game. Conor Fennell equalised with a free after Gearoid O’Brien was fouled on four minutes.
McNamara produced a moment of magic on the fifth minute when flicking the ball with the back of his heel to the net, an ode to his club manager Martin Daly who managed to execute a similar skill when wearing the county colours.
Their joy was short-lived as Kilrush went up the field and put the ball in the back of the net through Don O’Driscoll.
Conor Fennell added two frees, Sean Browne responded with a point before Gearoid O’Brien kicked a nice effort to make it a two point game on twenty minutes. That gap was reduced to the minimum by McNamara.
From the kickout, Kilrush again managed to finish their move by putting the ball in the back of the net. Ross Phelan won possession, popped to O’Brien who offloaded to O’Driscoll to palm to the net. There was certainly cause for Cooraclare to be aggrieved over this green flag with one of their defenders pushed by a Kilrush attacker from the break of the kickout which allowed Phelan to run onto the ball and manufacture the goal-scoring move.
Four points in a row saw Cooraclare respond to the green flag but they were dealt a blow when their work was undone with Ross Phelan getting in for a third goal right on the cusp of half time leaving the Shams 3-4 1-7 in front.
Kilrush started well on the resumption, kicking 1-2 without reply and keeping Cooraclare for the first thirteen minutes of the second half. Gearoid O’Brien was on hand to deliver their fourth goal which saw Cooraclare reply with the next four points.
Having managed to cut the lead back to four points, Cooraclare were dealt another blow, this time when centre back Ross Cullinan finished to the net, Oisin Morrissey had saved Sean Canny’s initial shot but Cullinan reacted quickest to send the umpires reaching for the green flag on fifty six minutes. Cooraclare kicked the final two points via Garry and Carey but goals were what they needed to overturn the damage caused by Kilrush.
Daniel Ryan’s Kilrush expertly managed to isolate Cooraclare’s last line of defence which gave them a constant goal threat once they got the ball pumped into the danger area. This game will stand to them if they can produce the right levels of hunger and discipline to ensure that they are lining out in a county final in a month’s time. Best for the winners included Don O’Driscoll, Gearoid O’Brien, Ross Cullinan, Dylan O’Brien, Ben McKiernan, Jimmy Browne and Ross Phelan.
Inconsistent displays had been produced by Cooraclare in the championship but this was an outing that can solidify any belief that they are good enough to match the top teams in this tier. As of yet, they are not ready for a return to the top flight but they appear to be moving in the right direction. With Brian McNamara’s star continuing to rise, promotion to the senior in the coming seasons remains a strong possibility, that would become a certain reality if they were at full-strength given the talented players not lining out for a multitude of reasons. McNamara was the standout player for Cooraclare who had decent showings from Jack Carey, Kevin Marrinan and Micheal Garry.
Scorers Kilrush Shamrocks: D O’Driscoll (2-0), C Fennell (0-4 4f), G O’Brien (1-1), R Phelan (1-0), R Cullinan (1-0), D O’Brien (0-1).
Scorers Cooraclare: M Garry (0-7 7f), B McNamara (1-2), J Carey (0-3), S Browne (0-1).
Kilrush Shamrocks:
1: David Jones
2: Jimmy Browne
4: Padraig Browne
3: Evan Power
5: Sean Canny
6: Ross Cullinan
7: Dylan O’Brien
8: Sean Madigan
9: Ciaran Bermingham
10: Tadhg Lysaght
11: Gearoid O’Brien
12: Ben McKiernan
13: Don O’Driscoll
14: Ross Phelan
15: Conor Fennell
Subs:
17: Darragh Bolton for Lysaght (HT)
18: Joe Miniter for Madigan (46)
20: Ewan Kelly for Cullinan (58)
23: Tommy Dullaghan for Power (60)
21: Keith Crowley for Fennell (60)
Cooraclare:
1: Oisin Morrissey
2: Gearoid Lillis
3: Jake Garry
4: Aaron Townsend
5: Micheal Garry
6: James Burke
7: Tomas Downes
8: Robert Ryan
9: Brian McNamara
12: Sean Browne
11: Kevin Marrinan
10: Fergal Donnellan
17: Cathal O’Gorman
14: Jack Carey
13: Colin McNamara
Subs:
15: Rory Lillis for C McNamara (36)
18: James Chambers for Browne (40)
19: John Lillis for O’Gorman (46)
21: Padraic O’Donoghue for Ryan (48)
20: Ciaran Chambers for Downes (54)
Referee: Barry Kelly (St Joseph’s Miltown)
