Luke Griffin and Conor Daly hit the goals that fired Clon to derby win
Clonakilty 3-9
Newcestown 2-9
TOM LYONS REPORTS
CLONAKILTY were forced to dig deep to maintain their 100 percent record in Division 1 of the county football league.
This local derby clash in Ahamilla turned into the battle of the goals with Clonakilty shading the duel to retain their unbeaten run and joint position at the summit alongside St Finbarr’s.
This was the game of two halves, the first a dour struggle for supremacy which ended at 0-5 each, and the second containing five goals in a thriller. Four of the goals came in a chaotic ten-minute period after the break, each side grabbing a pair, as the lead swapped hands several times.
The fifth and decisive goal arrived in the 45th minute from the dangerous Clon corner-forward Luke Griffin, and the home side were not to be caught subsequently as sanity returned to the proceedings.
Newcestown's Micheál McSweeney tries to stop a shot from Clonakilty's Conor Daly.
‘You get nothing soft from Newcestown and, in fairness, they really put it up to us,’ said a delighted Clonakilty mentor Eoin Ryan.
‘We were delighted with the way our lads responded in the second half. Every time Newcestown got a goal we went down and matched it. We fought hard and got the win. We were missing a few but the lads on the field did the job and the character we showed out there today was fantastic.
‘We were struggling with certain parts of the game, but we worked very hard and won turnovers. We got the scores when we needed them. The defence is very solid. So far, so good in the league but we won’t get carried away. We can’t do anymore, four wins from four, and I was really delighted with that win.’
Newcestown's Colm O'Donovan is pursued by Clonakilty's Ben Ridgeway.
It was easy to keep track of the scoring in the pedestrian first half, although ten different players hitting the ten points was worth noting. Conor Daly and centre back Thomas Clancy swapped points with Niall Kelly and David Bukley (free), and that was it for the first quarter, 0-2 each.
Clon, fielding without half a dozen of their regular side, grabbed control starting the second quarter with all six defenders excelling, along with hard-working midfielder Ben Ridgeway. Points from Ridgeway and the impressive Seán White had them two in front. Newcestown are nothing if not resilient and with centre back Mícheál McSweeney and centre forward Tadhg Twomey showing the way, they began to dominate the kickouts from both ends, winning the breaking ball battle hands down in the middle third. The result was a trio of points from Eddie Kenneally, Mícheál McSweeney and Jack Meade, with a single reply from Clon wing back Liam O’Donovan. It was all square at the break, 0-5 each.
The second half was as different from the first as chalk is from cheese. Newcestown struck first when Niall Kelly found the net in the 35th minute but the lead lasted only a minute as Conor Daly had the green flag waving at the other end. Play then swung to the Clonakilty half and Jack Meade was on hand to rattle the net. Chris Kenneally broke the goal sequence with a Clon point and the green and red were back in front in the 40th minute when a marvellous move from midfield saw Seán White setting up Luke Griffin for a classic goal.
Newcestown's Michael McSweeney runs into the challenge of Chris Kenneally of Clonakilty during the McCarthy Insurance FL Division 1 at Clonakilty on Saturday evening.
Tall, effective midfielder Seán O’Donovan tied the scores with a Newcestown point but then came the decisive score of the game in the 45th minute – Griffin was on hand to tap the rebound to the net for his second goal after goalkeeper Chris White had saved brilliantly from Chris Kenneally.
Clon stretched the lead with a Ridgeway point, Eddie Kenneally responded with a point, but scores from David Lowney and another from Chris Kenneally opened the gap to five by the 55th minute. As usual, Newcestown refused to buckle and finished the game on the offensive, David Buckley kicking a superb two-pointer from a free, but it was too little, too late as Clon hung on for their fourth successive win in the league.
Our Star: Hard-working Clonakilty midfielder Ben Ridgeway was involved in everything good for his side, as well as kicking two points.
Scorers
Clonakilty: Luke Griffin 2-0; Conor Daly 1-1; Chris Kenneally, Ben Ridgeway 0-2 each; Liam O’Donovan, Tom Clancy, David Lowney and Seán White 0-1 each.
Newcestown: Niall Kelly, Jack Meade 1-1 each; David Buckley 0-3 (1f, 2pf); Eddie Kenneally 0-2; Mícheál McSweeney and Seán O’Donovan 0-1 each.
Clonakilty: Conor O’Callaghan; David O’Sullivan, Dan Darragh, Dan Peet; Liam O’Donovan, Thomas Clancy, Brian White; Martin Scally, Ben Ridgeway; David Lowney, Seán White, Chris Kenneally; Luke Griffin, Conor Ustianowski, Conor Daly.
Newcestown: Chris White; Niall Murray, James Kelleher, Paul Kelly; Colm O’Donovan, Mícheál McSweeney, Cormac O’Sullivan; Seán O’Donovan, Eoghan Collins; Darragh McAree, Tadhg Twomey, Jack Meade; Niall Kelly, David Buckley, Eddie Kenneally.
Subs: Colm Dinneen for J Meade (48), Joe Kenneally for N Kelly (48), James Burrows for S O’Donovan (55), Cárthach Keane for T Twomey (59).
Referee: Niall Hayes (Carbery Rangers).
