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Tag Archives: Down

Clare always up for Down challenge

Clare won’t be lacking in confidence going to Páirc Esler on Sunday as they shoot for Division 2 football for 2025, because history tells them the man from the Mournes are always beatable, writes Joe Ó Muircheartaigh. Hard to believe it’s 31 years ago now, but it’s worth reeling in the years to a memorable afternoon in February 1993 because when this Sunday comes it’s a reminder of what can be achieved when a group of footballers believe. More than that, when they are fully convinced. The last Sunday of the month it was, and to say there was a fever over football because of the Clare team of the day is putting it very mildly. The Banner Ballers were the only show in town, and one of the biggest draws in the country. Just a scan of some of the other big games that were on that same League Sunday proves this true. Mayo played Kerry in Crossmolina in …

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O’Dea inspires Clare ladies to a winning start

Clare 2-17 Down 1-9 Inspired by an outstanding performance from full forward Niamh O’Dea who finished with 2-8 to her name, Clare got their All-Ireland intermediate ladies football championship campaign off to a winning start at Kinnegad this afternoon. Forced into two late changes to their starting line up with the loss of midfielder Roisin Looney and forward Catriona Callinan to injury, Clare took a while to settle. Looney was ruled out with a hamstring injury while Callinan sustained a broken hand in a challenge match last week which will keep her out of action for the duration of the group stage at least The game was just half a minute old when Eimear Keane pointed the Clare side into a lead they would hold throughout and this was quickly doubled when Niamh O’Dea had her opening score. It was 0-6 to 0-3 after fifteen minutes and five minutes later Kilfenora native O’Dea, who plays her club football with the …

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Collins looking for Newry-like energy

ON February 25, 230 miles away from their home county, the Clare footballers had a choice. Either they folded, as they did against Meath in Navan three weeks beforehand, or they delved a bit deeper and forcibly quizzed Down on what they were made of. Minus the suspended Jamie Malone and Gordon Kelly, Clare wrought superb displays from a team that featured five starting players still in the first season of their senior inter-county careers. On Sunday at 2pm in Cusack Park, Clare will aim to replicate the attitude and decision-making evident in Newry. That day, they shot at goal 15 times, kicking 13 scores and managed not to miss Ciaran Russell, who was sent off on a yellow and black card. Since he was deployed as sweeper in the Tipperary game, Russell has solidified Clare and made them somewhat harder to break down. In their defeat to Meath in Navan, Clare were cut open regularly, as the home county …

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Magnificent away win for footballers

Clare 1-12 Down 1-10 THE Clare footballers showed magnificent heart and spirit to emerge from Newry with a superb two point win in their NFL division 2 tie against the home county. They had to play the final 22 minutes, including injury time, with just 14 men after Ciaran Russell was black carded. He was already on a yellow card. Although they scored just a single point after Eoghan Collins had put Clare 1-11 to 1-9 ahead, 15 minutes into the second half, they fought manfully for the win, which lifts them onto four points in the table. Clare led by four points, 1-9 to 1-5, half-time. Cooraclare’s Seán O’Donoghue scored a superb goal after just 32 seconds when he cut through the Down defence and hammered a shot high into the roof of Marc Reid’s net. They added a range of top class points with Keelan Sexton, Cian O’Dea, David Tubridy and Kieran Malone all kicking scores from play. …

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First half goals key to footballers defeat of Down

Clare 2-11 Down 0-11 THE key to Clare’s six point defeat of Down in Cusack Park on Sunday, was David Tubridy’s injury time goal just before half-time. The Doonbeg man put away Clare’s second goal, seconds after he had pointed a clear goal scoring chance. Keelan Sexton scored Clare’s first goal in the second minute after Tubridy had cut in along the end line, easing beyond Down defenders Gerard McGovern and Niall Donnelly. [data-ps-embed-type=slideshow] > iframe {position: absolute;top: 0;left: 0;} http://photos.clarechampion.ie/js/psEmbed.js _psEmbed(“http://photos.clarechampion.ie”); Come half time Clare led 2-7 to 0-3 and while that 10 point lead was emphatic, they could have led by much more. Clare kicked eight wides in the first half, along with missing at least two clear goal opportunities. The game was played in bitterly cold conditions in Ennis in front of an attendance of 1,749. Clare’s opening 20 minutes was their most impressive spell with their tackling and tracking exceptional, even if their shooting did not …

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