Ballygunner edge out brave Cratloe.
A.I.B Munster Club SHC Semi Final
Ballygunner (Waterford) 1-14 v 0-15 Cratloe (Clare)
Cratloe will have won the friendship of the newspaper headlines at Walsh Park yesterday. “Brave Cratloe”, said The Examiner, “The Stylish Claremen” wrote the Star, “Determined’ went The Independent, but when we all sit down and sober from the hurling fairytale that was 2009, we’ll admit that we could well have eeked another fortnight out of it.
As capricious as running championship fixtures in Clare can be, we never thought we would be hurling into the middle of November and the thought of Cratloe sharing the centrefold of a programme with Ballygunner last June was either in the realm of dreams or madness but in the first ten minutes of this tie it was the visitors who carried the contest to the home side with little regard for Ballygunners’ familiarity with Munster fare. A Sean Collins point after 9 minutes surged a much livlier Cratloe into a 4-1 lead to add to two Damien Browne frees and a wondrous strike from Cathal McInerney.
Many will differ as to the turning point of yesterday’s tie – maybe Barry Mullane’s second half goal, possibly Paul Flynn’s retaken free but perhaps the costliest of Cratloe’s concessions was not to keep the scoreboard ticking as we got dizzy with our first half supremacy. Eight first half wides certainly let the side on home turf off the hook.
Ballygunner all the while clung to the freetaking of Paul Flynn to stay in contact and managed to level the contest at 5 points apiece after 23 minutes. Two replies from Oige Murphy and Collins, with his second, see-sawed the lead again before Stephen Power struck a point from a narrow angle to tie the game 0-7 all at the break.
Cratloe started the second half as they did the first, midfielders Oige Murphy and Sean Chaplin foraging like minks in a henhouse while the superb Sean Collins finished their supply with white flags. Midway through the half with a 10 pt to 8 advantage, Cratloe momentarily lost their puff and astute changes from the Waterford champions brought them back into the contest. Two points from the introduced J.J Hutchinson levelled the game before Ballygunner broke from the underdog’s shackles and went three clear with unanswered points from Brian O Sullivan, Wayne Hutchinson from distance and Andy Moloney from an excellent sideline cut. Another Oige Murphy point kept Cratloe within a score but when substitute Brian Mullane broke through the cover of the visiting full back line and rattled the net on 50 minutes a ‘shock’ downgraded into brave challenge. A fifth point for Collins and frees from Damien Browne and Liam Markham kept Ballygunner nervous in the closing moments but their two point lead at the finish was enough to see them face Cork’s Newtownshandrum in the Munster Club final in a fortnights time.
Cratloe’s performances all over the pitch were exceptional on the day and it’s a sign of how far the group have come that we can bemoan a two point loss to storied Ballygunner in a provincial semi final. The flags will stay flying for another week at least as the club’s footballers attempt to go one step further when they take on Valley Rovers of Cork on Sunday next.
Cratloe; S Hawes, P Gleeson, B Duggan, D Ryan, L Markham (0-1), M Hawes, J O Gorman, S Chaplin, M Óg Murphy (0-2), S Collins (0-5), J Enright, D Browne (0-6), C McGrath, G Ryan, C McInerney (0-1). P Collins (52 mins)
A.I.B Munster Club SHC Semi Final
Ballygunner (Waterford) 1-14 v 0-15 Cratloe (Clare)
Cratloe will have won the friendship of the newspaper headlines at Walsh Park yesterday. “Brave Cratloe”, said The Examiner, “The Stylish Claremen” wrote the Star, “Determined’ went The Independent, but when we all sit down and sober from the hurling fairytale that was 2009, we’ll admit that we could well have eeked another fortnight out of it.
As capricious as running championship fixtures in Clare can be, we never thought we would be hurling into the middle of November and the thought of Cratloe sharing the centrefold of a programme with Ballygunner last June was either in the realm of dreams or madness but in the first ten minutes of this tie it was the visitors who carried the contest to the home side with little regard for Ballygunners’ familiarity with Munster fare. A Sean Collins point after 9 minutes surged a much livlier Cratloe into a 4-1 lead to add to two Damien Browne frees and a wondrous strike from Cathal McInerney.
Many will differ as to the turning point of yesterday’s tie – maybe Barry Mullane’s second half goal, possibly Paul Flynn’s retaken free but perhaps the costliest of Cratloe’s concessions was not to keep the scoreboard ticking as we got dizzy with our first half supremacy. Eight first half wides certainly let the side on home turf off the hook.
Ballygunner all the while clung to the freetaking of Paul Flynn to stay in contact and managed to level the contest at 5 points apiece after 23 minutes. Two replies from Oige Murphy and Collins, with his second, see-sawed the lead again before Stephen Power struck a point from a narrow angle to tie the game 0-7 all at the break.
Cratloe started the second half as they did the first, midfielders Oige Murphy and Sean Chaplin foraging like minks in a henhouse while the superb Sean Collins finished their supply with white flags. Midway through the half with a 10 pt to 8 advantage, Cratloe momentarily lost their puff and astute changes from the Waterford champions brought them back into the contest. Two points from the introduced J.J Hutchinson levelled the game before Ballygunner broke from the underdog’s shackles and went three clear with unanswered points from Brian O Sullivan, Wayne Hutchinson from distance and Andy Moloney from an excellent sideline cut. Another Oige Murphy point kept Cratloe within a score but when substitute Brian Mullane broke through the cover of the visiting full back line and rattled the net on 50 minutes a ‘shock’ downgraded into brave challenge. A fifth point for Collins and frees from Damien Browne and Liam Markham kept Ballygunner nervous in the closing moments but their two point lead at the finish was enough to see them face Cork’s Newtownshandrum in the Munster Club final in a fortnights time.
Cratloe’s performances all over the pitch were exceptional on the day and it’s a sign of how far the group have come that we can bemoan a two point loss to storied Ballygunner in a provincial semi final. The flags will stay flying for another week at least as the club’s footballers attempt to go one step further when they take on Valley Rovers of Cork on Sunday next.
Cratloe; S Hawes, P Gleeson, B Duggan, D Ryan, L Markham (0-1), M Hawes, J O Gorman, S Chaplin, M Óg Murphy (0-2), S Collins (0-5), J Enright, D Browne (0-6), C McGrath, G Ryan, C McInerney (0-1). P Collins (52 mins)
