Éire Óg go the extra mile to halt Loughmore run

GAA: AIB Munster Club Senior Football Championship Quarter-Final

Éire Óg, Inis 2-11

Loughmore-Castleiney 0-12 (after extra time)

Report: Eoin Brennan at Cusack Park, Ennis

MATCH DIGEST

Player of the Match: Willie Eviston (Loughmore-Castleiney)

SCORERS - Éire Óg Inis: Mark McInerney 1-2 (0-1 free); Gavin Cooney 0-4 (2 frees); Aaron Fitzgerald 1-0; Philip Talty, Darren O’Neill, Einne O’Connor, Eimhin Courtney, Ikem Ugwueru 0-1 each.

Loughmore-Castleiney: John McGrath (1 free), Evan Sweeney (1 free) 0-3 each; Liam Treacy 0-2 frees; Eamon Connolly (1 mark), Noel McGrath, Liam McGrath, Aidan McGrath 0-1 each.

Bruised but not broken, Loughmore-Castleiney’s almost incredulous powers of resilience simply couldn’t withstand an extra-time blitz of goals as Clare hosts Éire Óg finally cemented their place in the provincial semi-finals on Sunday afternoon.

In what was their eighteenth successive weekend of championship action, Frankie McGrath’s dual dynamos appeared to be on the brink of another remarkable turnaround when forcing extra-time on the hour mark, having trailed for the majority. Nothing new there nor the source of the dramatic equaliser either as John McGrath bore down on goal before gladly regaining parity for only the second time in a compelling contest at 0-9 to 0-9.

The double Tipperary champions even managed to edge in front for the first time in an hour when McGrath doubled the dose two minutes into the additional periods from a 40-metre free.

However, the narrative of this winners-takes-all encounter would alter irrevocably when Éire Óg emphatically responded with a sucker-punch goal only three minutes later as overlapping full-back Aaron Fitzgerald was picked out by Ciaran Russell to fire low past goalkeeper Shane Hennessy into the far left corner of the net.

Two Loughmore-Castleiney wides were magnified even further when a scintillating home counter-attack from the kick-out moved through David Reidy, Dara Walsh and finally Mark McInerney to clinically finish at 2-9 to 0-10.

Even then, Loughmore-Castleiney refused to lower their heads with substitute Evan Sweeney embracing the new half with back-to-back points to lower the arrears to just three by the 72nd minute. The home side’s bench was equally as impactful however as Eimhin Courtney and the lively Ikem Ugwueru restored a five-point cushion that would somehow be preserved through goalkeeper Nathan Murray when a last gasp interception teed up John McGrath for what seemed a certain goal.

The Ennis side had not conceded a goal throughout their seven-match campaign to date, with their miserly defence key to halting Loughmore-Castleiney’s brave challenge. Unbeaten since losing to Kiladangan in the opening round of the county hurling championship in August, their sheer momentum and unflinching self-belief kept them hot on the heels of their hosts all afternoon.

In hindsight however, with Éire Óg in the ascendancy on the scoreboard for all but four of the 80 minutes, Loughmore-Castleiney’s best chance of defying the odds once more came at the end of normal time. Despite two opportunities in those five additional minutes however, they simply couldn’t work the oracle again in front of a crowd of 1,589 in Clare headquarters.

With Aidan McGrath operating as a sweeper, the visitors did take an early lead through John McGrath and an Eamon Connolly mark at 0-2 to 0-1. Five unanswered home points, three from captain Gavin Cooney, handed the newly crowned Clare champions the initiative at 0-6 to 0-2, especially when compounded by a black card for midfielder Connolly just before the water break.

The greater the adversity, the more Loughmore appear to relish the challenge though as belying their numerical disadvantage, they would actually chip away at the deficit as cousins Noel and Liam McGrath arrowed over consecutive points to lessen the damage to two by the 23rd minute. Back to a full complement, Aidan McGrath ensured a rousing finish to the half with only a point between the sides at 0-6 to 0-5, with their relentlessness epitomised most by tireless captain Willie Eviston.

That buoyancy was deflated on the resumption through five early wides as instead following the swapping of points between Gavin Cooney and substitute Evan Sweeney, Éire Óg upped the ante with countering points either side of the final water break through Mark McInerney and Einne O’Connor to move 0-9 to 0-6 clear entering the final ten minutes.

Liam Treacy’s brace of frees sandwiched a red card for home midfielder Darren O’Neill so when Éire Óg passed up a glorious opportunity to make the game safe on the hour mark, it made John McGrath’s equaliser from the restart all the sweeter at 0-9 to 0-9.

Yet another late show wasn’t to be richly rewarded this time around however as those blitzkrieg of extra-time goals put paid to any realistic hopes of a full reprieve.

However, with Ballygunner looming inexorably on the horizon this Sunday in Dungarvan, there is an ideal opportunity to redress the balance if Loughmore-Castleiney can rally their understandably war-weary troops one more time.

TEAMS - Éire Óg Ennis: Nathan Murray (7); Ronan Lanigan (7), Aaron Fitzgerald (8), Manus Doherty (8); Ciaran Russell (8), Conall Ó hAiniféin (7), Einne O’Connor (7); Darren O’Neill (7), David McNamara (7); Niall McMahon (7), David Reidy (7), Aidan McGrath (7); Mark McInerney (7), Gavin Cooney (7), Philip Talty (7).

Subs: Ikem Ugwueru (8) for McMahon (40), Dara Walsh (7) for Talty (47), Tadhg Connellan (6) for McGrath (54), Eimhin Courtney (7) for Cooney (61), Jarlath Collins (NR) for Cooney (15 ET), Gavin D’Auria (NR) for Reidy (17 ET inj), Talty for Ó hAiniféin (21 ET)

Loughmore-Castleiney: Shane Hennessy (7); Lorcan Egan (7), Joey Hennessy (7), Willie Eviston (8); John Ryan (7), Ed Meagher (7), Brian McGrath (7); Eamon Connolly (7), John McGrath (8); Conor McGrath (6), Liam Treacy (7), Aidan McGrath (7); Conor Ryan (6), Noel McGrath (7), Liam McGrath (7).

Subs: Evan Sweeney (8) for Conor McGrath (39), Ciaran McGrath (7) for Connolly (44), John Meagher (6) for E Meagher (47), Tomás McGrath (6) for C Ryan (47), Ed Connolly (6) for A McGrath (5 ET), Ed Meagher for Egan (HT ET), Eamon Connolly for Treacy (HT ET)

Referee: David Murnane (Cork)