Clonakilty 2-18
St Michael’s 1-6
JOHNNY CAROLAN REPORTS
CLONAKILTY are unlikely to have such a straightforward victory in the remainder of their McCarthy Insurance Group Premier SFC but they certainly performed when they needed to last Sunday.
Going into their clash against St Michael’s at Charlie Hurley Park in Bandon, a win was essential for Clon – and that would not even fully guarantee progression as, if Carbery Rangers had beaten Castlehaven, scoring difference would have been called into play.
Such an eventuality was not required but, if it had, Clon would surely have been well-placed thanks to a 15-point triumph.
Having lost to the Haven and drawn with Ross, the upward curve continued as they moved on to a quarter-final clash with Nemo Rangers, much to the delight of selector Eoin Ryan.
‘The big thing was that we wanted a performance,’ he said, ‘and, to be fair to them, they gave us that today.
‘We hadn’t performed all along but, since the Ross game, we had really worked hard. Training has gone very well and we played a challenge game which went well.
‘In the last game, we got on top but we came off it a bit – we insisted that they stay at it today, stay at it and stay at it and keep driving on.’
Clonakilty's Maurice Shanley sidesteps this tackle from St Michael's Alan O’Callaghan.
Clon scored early and often, with Ross Mannix’s strong running for Darragh Gough’s fourth-minute goal to make it 1-1 to 0-1. Gough and Conor Daly were the scoring threats in the inside line, combining for 1-12, with the presence of Griffin Wharton helping them.
A tally of 2-18 certainly gave the lie to the notion that Clon are laden with backs and lacking players to trouble the umpires.
‘There’s a lot of talk about us,’ Ryan said, ‘we’re this and we’re that and we’re everything.
‘Unless you’re down every night at the pitch, watching and seeing what these fellas can do, I don’t think you can really decide that they are.
‘Everyone that came in, the whole of them – we’re delighted. They all did what we asked of them.’
With Ben Ridgeway and Maurice Shanley dominating at midfield, Con eased clear of their city opponents, who had beaten Ross in their opener before shipping a heavy loss against the Haven.
The second goal arrived in the 24th minute as Lowney won a Michael’s kickout and fed Wharton, who in turn linked with Ridgeway and he played in Shanley for a well-taken finish.
By half-time, it was 2-7 to 0-4 and Gough and Shanley were on target early in the second half. The lead was 2-13 to 0-6 after Gough and Daly each kicked their fifth points and a third goal might have accrued when Wharton turned over another Michael’s kickout and they had an overload but the move broke down.
While Michael’s sub Eoghan Buckley did sully the Clon clean sheet, their superiority was never in doubt, evidenced by the fact that just three minutes remained when they had their first wide of the second half.
Now, they gear up for a repeat of last year’s quarter-final, which Nemo won by 0-5 to 0-4.
‘We’ll have to up it again for that game,’ Ryan said, ‘obviously Nemo are Nemo.
‘We’re just happy to be there. The graph is going up now and we’ll try to keep it there.
‘We’ll look forward to the quarter-final now.’
Scorers - Clonakilty: Darragh Gough 1-5 (3f); Conor Daly 0-7 (3f); Maurice Shanley 1-2; Ben Ridgeway, Seán McEvoy, Griffin Wharton, Niall Barrett (1m) 0-1 each. St Michael’s: Eoghan Buckley 1-0; Luke O’Herlihy 0-2f; Andrew Murphy, Adam Hennessy, Rory O’Shaughnessy, Eric Hegarty 0-1 each.
Clonakilty: Mark White; Martin Scally, Dan Peet, Chris Kenneally; Simon Murphy, Thomas Clancy, David Lowney; Maurice Shanley, Ben Ridgeway; Seán McEvoy, Seán White, Ross Mannix; Darragh Gough, Conor Daly, Griffin Wharton. Subs: Brian White for Mannix (49, injured), Niall Barrett for Seán White (53, injured), Fergal Murphy for Lowney (59).
St Michael’s: Mikey O’Connell; Fionnán Leahy, Alan O’Callaghan, Joe Golden; Emmet Sheehan, Daniel Meaney, Rory Kavanagh; Andrew Murphy, Eoin de Búrca; Keith Hegarty, Rory O’Shaughnessy, Adam Hennessy; Luke O’Herlihy, Tadgh Deasy, Eric Hegarty. Subs: Eoghan Buckley for Eric Hegarty, Billy Cain for de Búrca (both half-time), Sam Murphy for Hennessy (40), Tom Grainger for Keith Hegarty (49).
Referee: Pat O’Leary (Kilmurry).
