*Daryn Callinan and Keelan Sexton celebrate. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
KILMURRY IBRICKANE are back in the TUS Clare SFC final for the first time since 2021 after ending Cratloe’s reign as county champions.
Kilmurry Ibrickane 3-8
Cratloe 1-11
Venue: Cusack Park, Ennis
Having led from start to finish, Kilmurry Ibrickane find themselves back in the county final and they are certainly there on merit. They have bounced back well from their first round loss to Eire Og and will either be facing the Townies or Ennistymon in the decider.
With ten minutes on the clock, they had 2-2 on the board and had kept Cratloe scoreless, producing a blistering start. Both goals were sloppy from Cratloe’s perspective, Daniel Walsh and Daryn Callinan punishing mistakes, like all clinical sides do.
It was also fiery at the finish but for a different reason, Podge Collins who didn’t start due to injury was dismissed after striking Keelan Sexton in one of the last acts of the game. Tensions had been boiling prior to this with Aidan McCarthy also picking up a black card in the closing stages.
Collins’ introduction along with older brother Sean who missed their defeat to Feakle in the Clare SHC semi-final last week brought a renewed lift to Cratloe at the start of the second half and they began to make inroads, cutting the gap to two points but they were dealt a sucker punch when Shane Hickey was on alert to tap home a third goal for Kilmurry Ibrickane on forty four minutes.
Two frees from Sexton coupled with the majors from Walsh and Callinan had The Bricks leading 2-2 0-0. Cratloe opened their account with a fisted Jamie Moylan point and it was followed by a Conal O’Hanlon free.
Callinan and David Collins swapped scores before David Sexton did well to deny Cathal McInerney a potential goal on twenty five minutes, the resulting 45m from Enda Boyce was not executed well allowing Kilmurry Ibrickane to work the ball up field and split the posts via Diarmuid King.
McInerney found himself in a scoring position and about to unleash a shot when play was stopped by referee Niall Quinn due to a head injury for Mark Killeen, a move which the attacker was unhappy with, his protests led to Quinn issuing a black card meaning Cratloe went from potentially scoring a point to make it a six point game to losing one of their more dangerous players and not getting the score.
Daniel Walsh added Kilmurry Ibrickane’s fifth point with David Collins closing out the scoring in the opening half, the corner back finishing as Cratloe’s top scorer in this period which in itself is an indictment of some of their forwards during this spell.
With the introduction of the Collins brothers already giving Cratloe a lift, they had further momentum when Rian Considine had the ball in the back of the net within thirty five seconds of the restart. Conal O’Hanlon converted his first free of the evening before their scoring spree was interrupted by Shane Hickey on thirty four minutes.
O’Hanlon slotted another free with Diarmuid Ryan tapping over a nice score to make it a two point game on forty two minutes. Then an excellent block on Daryn Callinan at the other allowed the ball to spill to Shane Hickey who in a move resembling a spilled corner kick reacted quickest to tap the ball to the net and see Cratloe concede a third goal.
Two frees on the bounce from McInerney who was now back on the field saw Cratloe respond to the latest green flag but Walsh stood up with an excellently timed block to deny Mike Brennan a shot on goal.
After losing Aidan McCarthy to a black card, Kilmurry Ibrickane responded with the two next points, both frees Sexton to regain a five point advantage. O’Hanlon and McInerney reduced this again but Sexton was on hand to make a save from Diarmuid Ryan who got his hand onto a dropping ball in the square to deny them a late goal.
Such a slow start was costly for Cratloe who didn’t need to be chasing the game by such a margin when not at full strength. To their credit, they fought back admirably but the high mistake count really hindered them and they will rue the concession of soft goals when reflecting back on this contest. Ironically, Kilmurry Ibrickane were the last team to put three goals past them in championship, that being their October 2022 quarter-final meeting when the West Clare side again came out on top. Up front, their key figures were nullified from play which also hurt their cause. Colm Collins’ side had strong performances from David Collins and Eoin Carey.
Shane Hickey was Kilmurry Ibrickane’s only scorer in the third quarter, his goal was a turning point in the game but prior to it was a shaky start to the second half. Mark Killeen did an excellent job on curbing Cathal McInerney as did David Collins on Keelan Sexton at the other end, crucially The Bricks had an array of scorers to step up and keep the Cratloe back line on their toes, this is made more impressive when it is factored in that they were minus the services of captain Dermot Coughlan due to a fractured foot. They dug in when they had to, two clear examples being Hickey’s goal after they were outscored 1-3 0-1 at the beginning of the second half and their response following McCarthy’s black card when they hit the next two points, this type of mental strength is invaluable when it comes to knockout football. Standout players for David Egan’s winners were Daniel Walsh, Diarmuid King, Mark Killeen, Shane Hickey and Darragh Sexton.
Scorers Kilmurry Ibrickane: K Sexton (0-4 4f), D Walsh (1-1), S Hickey (1-1), D Callinan (1-1 1’M), D King (0-1).
Scorers Cratloe: C O’Hanlon (0-4 2f), C McInerney (0-3 2f), R Considine (1-0), D Collins (0-2), J Moylan (0-1), D Ryan (0-1)
Kilmurry Ibrickane:
1: David Sexton
2: Conor Kearney
3: Mark Killeen
4: Andrew Shannon
7: Martin McMahon
6: Darren Hickey
5: Darragh Sexton
9: Diarmuid King
8: Evan Cahill
15: Daniel Walsh
10: Shane Hickey
11: Caoilfhionn O’Dea
12: Joshua Moloney
13: Keelan Sexton
14: Daryn Callinan
Subs:
21: Ciaran Morrissey for Kearney (41)
17: Aidan McCarthy for Moloney (43)
19: Cathal Talty for O’Dea (52)
26: Joe Campbell for Callinan (57)
28: Michael O’Dwyer for S Hickey (58)
Cratloe:
1: Padraigh Chaplin
2: David Collins
4: Riain McNamara
3: Kevin Harnett
18: Eoin Carey
6: Mike Brennan
5: Enda Boyce
8: Diarmuid Ryan
9: Conor Ryan
10: Conall O’Hanlon
19: Shane Neville
12: Tommy Rooney
13: Jamie Moylan
14: Cathal McInerney
15: Rian Considine
Subs:
7: Sean Collins for Rooney (HT)
11: Podge Collins for Neville (HT)
26: Liam Markham for C Ryan (44)
Referee: Niall Quinn (St Joseph’s Miltown)
