| Footballers Blow Off Cobwebs | ||||
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 Clare Football League Division 6 Round 1 Éire Óg 1-4 Clarecastle 0-2 at Éire Óg League football has been absent in the village over the last number of years and while football instincts never disappear, inevitably rustiness was always going to be a major factor as Clarecastle played their opening Division 6 tie on Sunday. In an evenly matched derby, both sides shared an equal amount of possession but the essential difference on the day was in front of the posts, as Éire Óg, despite squandering a bucketful of chances themselves, were simply better able to pick off scores. Indeed, had Clarecastle taken either of their two glorious goal opportunities in the opening half, things might have been different but instead, the home side playing with a slight breeze managed to grab two points through Kevin Brennan and Marc O'Donnell to lead by 0-2 to 0-0 at the break. It was ten minutes into the second half before Clarecastle finally got on the scoreboard, with centre-back Kevin Clohessy cancelling out Tommy Corbett's earlier point. With chances aplenty, the Magpies should have closed the gap further but that wastefulness soon came back to haunt them as they were rocked at the turn of the final quarter when Éire Óg scrambled in a goal. Clarecastle didn't drop their heads however and after a good move Clohessy was again on hand to point from the right but as the game became more fragmented and injuries hurt the threadbare Clarecastle squad, they were unable to find a way back into the game and Éire Óg held on for victory. As the old saying goes, "Some done, a lot more to do" is perhaps the most fitting tribute to Clarecastle's opening encounter but with only one training session behind them, it was difficult to expect anything more than an encouraging honesty of effort. And undoubtedly, a bit of shooting practice wouldn't go astray before the next game in a few weeks time either. So its onwards and upwards from here as Clarecastle look to use the league campaign to build up their Junior A and B squads for their respective championship assaults. Clarecastle: Barry Lynch, Michael John Reynolds, Eoin Brennan, Bernard Scanlon, Fergie O'Loughlin, Kevin Clohessy (0-2), Kieran Lynch, Danny Scanlon, Frank Barry, Fergal Griffin, Stephen Malone, Conor McInerney, Brendan Murphy, Eric Flynn, Alan Considine |
