Liberty Insurance Premier Junior Championship

Clare 0-11 Offaly 1-9

A point deep in injury time secured a victory by the minimum for hosts Offaly on Saturday afternoon in Drumcullen/Rath. With that score coming in the 34thminute, the hosts heaved a huge sigh of relief, having remained scoreless since the 11th minute and denied Clare a share of the spoils.

The hosts were on the attack from the throw in but Louise Mannion saw her shot drift wide of the post. From the puckout Clare moved forward and with Grace Russell moving into danger area, Offaly fouled the young Clarecastle player with Sinead Power duly converting the resulting free. Offaly dominated proceedings over the next ten minutes, Aoife Walsh opening their account in the eight minute when she converted from placed ball. A Walsh free set up Mary Teehan for the Faithfuls next score and Teehan pounced for the only goal of the game just three minutes later when she handpassed to the net to give the homeside a four point advantage. Offalys next attack again saw Walsh to the fore and Edel McNamara in the Clare goals denied Walsh a green flag as she went high and batted the ball out, with Orlaith Cotter clearing down the wing. Clare accounted for the next three scores with Power converting twice from placed ball and Aisling Cahill firing over while on the run to bring this encounter back to a one point game. Clare piled on the pressure with good work from Louise Browne and Russell but failed to convert their chances. Walsh extended Offalys lead back to two points when she converted a free in the twenty first minute, however this spurred Clare on. Power converted a brace of frees to level the sides, before Offaly moved play back to the danger area in front of the Clare goals. Both Jane Fitzgerald and full back Rebecca Cahill showed great presence as they held off the Offaly attack without conceding a free and sending play back to the middle of the field, where Sinead O’Keeffe did well to gather and send forward to Laura Hayes. The St Josephs player drove forward and fired over to put Clare ahead with two minutes remaining. Offaly had the final say however as referee Kevin O’Brien penalised Clare for overcarrying and Walsh converted the free to see the sides go in level at the break, Clare 0-7 Offaly 1-4.

Offaly dominated proceedings in the opening ten minutes of the second half, Orla Gorman pointing from play before Offaly drove forward in search of a second green flag only to be denied, however Walsh converted the resulting ’45.  Walsh who was the Faithfuls chief scorer on the day, dropped her next free into the danger area and again the ball was sent out for a ’45 with Walsh converting. Kaitlyn Kennedy added for the home side in the forty first minute to extend their lead to four points. From here on however Clare drew second wind and upped the ante, adding to their tally whilst defending to the point of keeping the hosts scoreless for the next twenty three minutes. A brace of frees from Power narrowed the deficit to two points. The introduction of Aoife Corey at half time saw Hayes move out to midfield, a move which paid dividends. O’Keeffe won the next battle at midfield and with Russell in support, O’Keeffe laid off an inch perfect pass which saw the Clarecastle youngster go on a run through the field before passing to Power who split the posts to leave a point between the sides. Offaly sent play forward with the next passage of play but Orlaith Cotter dealt well with the onrushing Kennedy and her shot was wide of the mark. Both sides missed their next scoring opportunities, however with a minute of normal time remaining Louise Browne won possession, ran through at speed and finished over the bar to level the sides. Offaly had two more chances in injury time, the first free was wide and their second effort from play was also wide of the mark. However with four minutes of injury time played, referee O’Brien awarded a free to Offaly out on the wing which Walsh kept her nerve to send between the posts and give the home side victory by the minimum.

Clare still remain in contention for the knockout stages, their next outing is a home game with Limerick the opposition, while Offaly host Kerry, who defeated Limerick 1-15 to 0-8 at the weekend.

Scorers: 

Clare Sinead Power 0-8 7F, Aisling Cahill 0-1, Louise Browne 0-1, Laura Hayes 0-1

Offaly Orla Gorman 0-1, Aoife Walsh 0-6 4F 2'45, Kaitlyn Kennedy 0-1, Mary Teehan 1-1

Clare: Edel McNamara Kilkishen; Jane Fitzgerald Inagh Kilnamona, Rebecca Cahill Kilmaley, Orla Cotter Inagh Kilnamona; Orla Moloney St Josephs, Corina McMahon Corofin, Niamh Mulqueen Broadford; Ciara Halpin Clooney Quin, Sinead O’Keffee Kilmaley; Louise browne Corofin, Aisling Cahill Kilmaley, Siobhan Lane Corofin; Sinead Power Inagh Kilnamona, Laura Hayes St Josephs, Grace Russell Clarecastle

Subs: Aoife Corey Clarecastle for Lane H/T, Kate McCarthy Clooney Quin for Halpin,

Offaly: Shannon Touhey Tullamore; Sarah Guinan Kilcormac/Killoughey, Brooke Whelan Birr, Eileen Bracken Kilcormac/Killoughey; Laura Walsh Tullamore, Una Kilmartin Kilcormac/Killoughey, Eadoin Kilmartin Kilcormac/Killoughey; Louise Mannion St Rynaghs, Orla Gorman Tullamore 0-1; Rachel Guinan Kilcormac/Killoughey, Aoife Walsh Naomh Brid 0-6 4F 2’45, Aoife McLoughlin St Rynaghs; Sasha Connolly Drumcullen, Kaitlyn Kennedy Drumcullen 0-1, Mary Teehan Naomh Brid 1-1

Subs: Sarah Temple Lusmagh for Teehan, Doireann Errity Birr for McLaughlin

Referee: Kevin O’Brien Limerick