Photo: Clonard's Pauric O'Donavan
Junior D Championship Group B – Round 4
Clonard 3-15 Drumbaragh 1-11
The always well-presented Kildalkey pitch played host to Clonard and Drumbaragh’s second string teams in close to perfect conditions on Thursday evening in this round 4 Junior ‘D’ championship encounter. Drumbaragh were sitting pretty joint-top of the group courtesy of an unbeaten campaign so far, while Clonard required a win to get back in contention for a quarter final spot.
Bainisteoir Eamonn Campbell had all his players available who had lined out for their previous defeat at the hands of St. Peter’s Dunboyne, along with some fresh and not so fresh faces who had missed that clash due to babysitting duties and socialising commitments. The subs bench was heavily weighed down as a result.
The referee got proceedings under way shortly after 7.30 and Clonard showed their intent from the start. As the old Irish saying goes “Is tús maith leath na hoibre”, and this was certainly the case as Clonard raced in to an early lead that Drumbaragh would never close. Goals from Shane Patton and John McNevin laid the perfect foundation for victory, which was in contrast to their previous two defeats in the group that saw the early concession of goals prove too much of an obstacle and drained confidence before half time. Maybe it just took a few appearances on the football field to boost performance levels, as most of the Clonard lads hadn’t been at a training session all year.
The first half saw Clonard score from several positions around the field as defenders Cyril Treacy and Cormac Fitzsimons got in on the scoring act, as did midfielder and fitness fanatic Shane Dunne with a nice point. The most striking statistic of all saw five of the six forwards get on the scoresheet as Padraic ‘Hardy’ O’Donovan was the only man not to score, as it left him reconsidering his recent hermit lifestyle and possible return to old ways. So, after 30 minutes of prancing and the odd burst of pace, both teams hobbled off the pitch at half-time with Clonard well in the driving seat, leading 2-7 to 0-7.
The second half was a slower affair, with both teams stopping for plenty of rests and time-outs which thankfully weren’t added on to the referee’s watch, otherwise daylight would have been lost as the sun set over Kildalkey. Adrian Boland added two more points to his name and Drumbaragh replied with a score of their own. Alan O’Donoghue also registered a point and then displayed all his rugby experience by hauling down the impressive Drumbaragh centre back as his bore down on goal. A black card was duly issued to O’Donoghue and his days work was done.
Clonard still had plenty in reserve and sprung almost 90 years of experience in to the game when Alan ‘TV3’ Campbell and Ray ‘Razor’ Brennan drove in the Kildalkey gate with 35 minutes on the clock. While there were no TV3 cameras for Campbell, Brennan did live up to his nickname straight away as he ‘cut’ through the Drumbaragh defence with ease and found the net for Clonard’s third goal of the game.
The ‘Drums’ knew their unbeaten record lay in tatters owing to a fine Clonard performance, and more points from substitutes David Doyle and Razor Brennan left Clonard convincing ten point winners at the final whistle on a scoreline of Clonard 3-15 Drumbaragh 1-11. There were some fine individual displays all round for Clonard, led by captain fantastic Johnny Campbell, ably assisted by strong performances by Padraic O’Donovan, Dylan Dixon, Adrian Boland and Niall Walsh. A nice blend of youth and experience.
Clonard players and management left the Kildalkey dressing room and made their ways to their cars with smiling faces, and why wouldn’t they smile, after such an exhibition of football and a mouth-watering last round tie against Bective to look forward to. They will be an ‘inspiration’ to their Junior ‘A’ colleagues this weekend as all roads lead to Bohermeen for a crucial encounter. Who knows which team Damien Griffin will decide to line-out…..
TEAM: 1.Robbie Quirke 2.Johnny Campbell 3.Ciaran Darby 4.Aaron Duignan 5.Cyril Treacy (0-1) 6.Alan O’Donoghue (0-1) 7.Cormac Fitzsimons (0-1) 8.Shane Dunne (0-1) 9.John McNevin (1-0) 10.Padraic O’Donovan 11.Adrian Boland (0-4) 12.Dylan Dixon (0-2) 13.Niall Walsh (0-2 0-1f) 14.Shane Patton (1-0) 15.Barry Connolly (0-1)
SUBS: Alan Campbell for A.O’Donoghue, David Doyle (0-1) for J.McNevin, Ray Brennan (1-1) for S.Patton
