Shamrocks get away for pleasing win as Clara left with soul searching to do
K Buggy Coaches Division 3 Hurling League final
PLAYING opposition from a higher grade, Shamrocks will be delighted with the way they performed as they got away from Clara for a deserved win in an engrossing Offaly Division 3 Hurling League final that was full of talking points at Ballinamere on Saturday afternoon.
K Buggy Coaches Division 3 Hurling League final
Shamrocks 1-26
Clara 4-12
The win and performance means that Shamrocks will be favourites for the intermediate title and they are certainly moving well, and playing well. This was a very good team performance and a convincing win against a team with designs on the senior “B” championship.
Clara were missing their county star Conor Doyle while Offaly senior footballer Marcas Dalton only came on during the second half and other players were also absent but this was a thought provoking defeat and afternoon for them.
The winning margin for Shamrocks was just five points but a more accurate reflection of their superiority was that they scored 27 times compared to 16 for the winners. Shamrocks were much nearer to being ten points the better team than five and their manager, former Kilcormac-Killoughey hurler, Ciaran Slevin will be delighted with their display and their work ethic.
He will be less than enthused at some of their shooting and the wides they had. They missed a lot of easy chances and left the door open for Clara. The winners were fortunate that Clara got caught up in too much ancillary stuff and hurling almost seemed to be a secondary concern at times but they missed too many chances and against a more tuned in opposition, there would be a big price to pay for this.
As it was Shamrocks could not be sure of victory until the final whistle went nearly five minutes into injury time, even though they won with an element of comfort. It was a good afternoon's work for Shamrocks and 1-26 was a big tally considering the chances they missed. They were very solid collectively and they had several players playing well – men such as Stephen Malone, Jack Molloy, David O'Rourke, David O'Toole-Greene and Eoghan Neville were prominent the whole way through while others came good when needed.
Clara had very few at the level of Shamrocks' best players and they will be very disappointed at the way this went. And their disappointment will be much deeper than the hurling they played as it was a calamitous afternoon for them in other aspects. A couple of mentors were way too vocal on the sideline and protests at half time led to Shamrocks getting a tap over 21 metre free at the start of the second half – even if a Clara player did get a knock on the head, he recovered immediately, the complaints were way over the top and referee Sean Michael Maher was not before his time in penalising them.
As a club, this is something that Clara have to address as it is going to cost them crucial scores in the championship. Both their hurlers and footballers have seen frees given to the opposition for comments from the sideline this year, Clara are earning a reputation for this and they will be marked men in both codes from here on. They have hugely passionate mentors, people who wear their hearts on their sleeves and most of them don't engage in this but it has happened in both senior and junior football and with this hurling team this year. The incidents may be rare but it is happening and Clara GAA club just have to sort it out.
It is never good when you have a player on the field admonishing a man on the sideline for comments he is making – that happened in a Division 1 Football League game, also against Shamrocks, a few weeks ago and it repeated here with a player telling them to tone it down. There were other areas of concern here and two players, Cormac Delaney and Alan Gavin had a very public exchange of opinions late on. It all got very messy for Clara as their free taking proved problematic in the second half. Cormac Delaney had been radar like in the first half but was eventually taken off them in the second half as he dropped some short and was wide with a couple more – if dropping them short was deliberate, they were trying to chase goals way too early. Barry Egan, an All-Ireland U20 hurling medal winner in 2024, went onto them, converting some but missing a couple – the exchange between Delaney and Gavin came just after Egan was wide from one.
Taken in its entirety, it did not look good for Clara but if there is any ideal time for all of this to come to the surface, it was here and at least it gives them a chance to address their issues before the championship.
Shamrocks got sucked into it a bit on the field late on as indiscipline emerged in their defence. Clara's third goal in the 57th minute came from a Barry Egan free that was brought into range after Sean Mooney pucked the ball away in frustration after a foul was given against them. Wing back Mark Malone got sent off for a second yellow a minute into injury time when he started a harmless enough melee after Shamrocks had won a free and if Clara had been more focused on hurling, the winners could very easily have blown this one.
It was a pity that the second half will be remembered somewhat for the wrong reasons as the first half provided great entertainment with both sides hurling well.
Clara started very well with Barry Cushen's fifth minute goal helping them to a 1-2 to no score lead Barry Egan got their second goal in the 14th minute to make it 2-2 to 0-2 but Shamrocks finally got going after this, hitting a rich vein of form. They scored 1-6 without reply in a terrific spell from the 11th to 20th minutes with Conor Egan getting an excellent goal and David O'Toole Greene's point should have been a goal as he took a couple of steps too much and arrowed it over the bar from close to “can't miss” territory.
Clara found another purple patch and got three in a row to level it up at 2-5 to 1-8 after 23 minutes. They were unlucky to have a 27th minute goal ruled out for a square ball when Barry Cushen's shot from out right fell into the net and Shamrocks finished the half stronger for a 1-11 to 2-6 half time lead.
That 21 metre free by Eoghan Neville for Clara's sideline indiscretion was followed by a David O'Toole-Greene point when he turned down the opportunity to go for goal. Suddenly the gap was four and Shamrocks went for it, playing some of their best hurling in the next few minutes.
The scores flowed over and they were 1-15 to 2-6 ahead when Cormac Delaney got Clara's first second half point from a 36th minute free. Both sides missed great goal chances. Johnny O'Toole-Greene flashed one across the face of the goal for Shamrocks while their goalkeeper John Kinahan made a great save from a Cormac Delaney penalty, a softly awarded one, in the 39th minute. Delaney's '65' was short and Marcas Dalton's snap shot hit the side netting.
Had Clara converted their frees, they may have been right in it, though Shamrocks had some very poor wides in open play with Johnny O'Toole-Greene and Eoghan Neville contributing to their mounting wides tally. Crucially, however, Shamrocks also kept the scoreboard ticking over as Eoghan Neville, David O'Toole-Greene and Johnny O'Toole-Greene pushed their lead out to 1-19 to 2-7 by the 45th minute. Nine points was a big lead but Clara hung on grimly with three in a row, two of them Barry Egan frees. Shamrocks' next two from Conor Moran and Conor Egan put them 1-21 to 2-10 ahead as it entered the final ten minutes.
It now required Shamrocks to throw it away but the gap was just big enough to avoid true anxiety, even when Barry Egan got that goal from his 57th minute free. Again Shamrocks were able to respond and Johnny O'Toole-Greene, who had a sensational closing quarter, got two great points and Eoghan Neville got a free to give them a 1-25 to 3-12 lead in injury time. That meant that Ed Cullen's 63rd minute goal didn't matter and Shamrocks were able to get a very welcome win.
MATCH ANALYSIS
MAN OF THE MATCH
Jack Molloy (Shamrocks): It is a sign of their superiority that all the contenders were on the Shamrocks' team. Stephen Malone, Jack Molloy and David O'Toole-Greene were three standout players. Malone, playing some of the best hurling of his life after getting very physically fit, was immense at centre half back while O'Toole-Greene caused huge problems for the Clara full back line, scoring four points, threatening goals and oozing menace every time the ball went near him.
Jack Molloy gets the nod on this occasion. A percentage of his work was in the “unseen” category as he blocked runs and closed down players, turning over his share of ball. His return from Australia is a great help to Shamrocks and he also did a huge amount of very productive hurling, scoring two points, spraying the ball around and giving simple but effective passes. With David O'Rourke working very hard beside him and also putting in the hard yards, Shamrocks were able to claim the midfield honours.
Eoghan Neville also made an important contribution while Shamrocks' were helped by the influence of others at different stages. Just into adult ranks out of minor, Conor Egan will be a great addition to Shamrocks' hurlers and footballers this year and he had a great first half when his lightening pace and eye for goal caused consternation in the Clara defence.
Former county player Padraig Cantwell and Johnny O'Toole-Greene really came to the fore in the second half with Cantwell attacking well from wing back and O'Toole-Greene outstanding at centre forward, getting better as the game wore on , after being quiet enough until then.
It was a difficult afternoon for Clara with Cormac Delaney their best player in the first half and Barry Egan effective inside while Barry Cushen, Scott Griffith and Conor Egan had their moments but overall, Clara won't need anyone to tell them what they have to work on.
THE SCORERS
Shamrocks: Eoghan Neville 0-11 (8f and 1 '65'), Conor Egan 1-3, David O'Toole-Greene 0-4, Johnny O'Toole-Greene 0-3, Jack Molloy and Darragh Neville 0-2 each, Conor Moran 0-1.
Clara: Barry Egan 2-3 (1-3, f), Barry Cushen 1-1, Cormac Delaney 0-5 (4f), Ed Cullen 1-0, Ross Brady 0-2, Liam Flynn 0-1.
THE TEAMS
SHAMROCKS: John Kinahan; Sean Cantwell, Conor Condron, Sean Mooney; Mark Malone, Stephen Malone, Padraig Cantwell; Jack Molloy, David O'Rourke; Eoghan Neville, Johnny O'Toole-Greene, Conor Moran; David O'Toole-Greene, Darragh Neville, Conor Egan. Subs – Shane Heffernan for Darragh Neville (56m), Cathal Healion for Moran (62m).
CLARA; Willie Fleming; Myles Handy, Lorcan Hiney, Conor Taylor; Scott Griffith, John Ledwith, Alan Gavin; Conor Egan, Callum Bracken; Liam Flynn, Cormac Delaney, Ross Brady; Greg Byrne, Barry Egan, Barry Cushen. Subs – Marcas Dalton for Bracken (36m), Ed Cullen for Flynn (43m), Eoin Gavin for Cushen (49m).
Referee – Sean Michael Maher, Seir Kieran.
REFEREE WATCH
Sean Michael Maher ended up with way more to do than he should have in a tough but fairly clean game. Clara were the chief culprits but there was an element of indiscipline to the game and Shamrocks did make a contribution to this. Clara's sideline got them in trouble and Sean Michael Maher was 100% right to penalise them with a 21 metre free at the start of the second half for comments from them just on half time when they protested about play not being stopped for an injury. That quietened the Clara mentors a fair bit and while Shamrocks were meticulous on the line, apart from the odd roar from a mentor, a couple of their players lost discipline late on with Sean Mooney pucking the ball away after concession of a free and Mark Malone losing it briefly and getting two yellow cards in a short flare up. It meant Maher had a lot to do and apart from all that, he actually refereed it well - he may have been guilty of letting a little bit much go at times.
MOMENT OF THE MATCH
Johnny O'Toole really helped Shamrocks get over the line and the two points he got immediately after Barry Egan's goal from a 57th free took the heat out of the challenge and ensured it didn't get really tricky for Shamrocks.
VENUE WATCH
Ballinamere are another of the many clubs who have carried out a fantastic upgrade of their facilities and their ground looked really well. They had plenty of stewards and managed the fixture very efficiently.
WHAT'S NEXT
Both sides now turn their attention to the championship.
STATISTICS
Wides: Shamrocks – 15 (6 in first half); Clara –13 (8 in first half).
Yellow cards: Shamrocks – 2 (Mark Malone 2); Clara – 2 (Conor Egan, Barry Egan)
Black cards: 0
Red cards: Shamrocks – 1 (Mark Malone, 2 yellows); Clara – 0.