Éire Óg 1-16 St Joseph's Doora/Barefield 2-06
Éire Óg finished their historic senior double in style as their footballers produced an 11-point final-quarter turnaround to hold off stubborn neighbours St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield and retain the title, their fourth triumph in five years.
While it’s 11 years since Cratloe dominated the domestic hurling and football championships, one would have to delve back 96 years to find Éire Óg’s last double, thanks to their predecessors Ennis Dalcassians.
Having led from the ninth minute to the finish in the hurling version only seven days earlier to overcome Clooney-Quin for a first Canon Hamilton Cup in 35 years, the football equivalent definitely didn’t go according to Éire Óg plan for the majority.
A brace of Odhran O’Connell first-half goals catapulted the Parish into the ascendancy before another third-quarter surge actually put a wind-assisted Doora/Barefield four clear.
Most teams would have reached for the panic button but Éire Óg aren’t most teams as they utilised all of their vast experience to eventually turn the tide.
Emptying their bench, Shane Daniels’ side kicked 1-8 without reply in the final quarter, including 1-03 from replacements Gavin Cooney (1-0), Jack Joyce (0-2) and Aidan McGrath to prevail by seven.
That final scoreline flattered the winners as Doora/Barefield unquestionably provided the Ennis men with their best evaluation of the campaign. Considering this was Éire Óg’s 26th straight championship victory, that in itself was an admirable feat.
St. Joseph’s, appearing in their first senior football decider in 12 years, never showed any nerves as while Luke Pyne and Ikem Ugwueru passed up glorious early chances for the champions, Odhran O’Connell made the most of his openings.
In only the seventh minute, a Cian McDonough shot for a point came back off the upright, with O’Connell quickest to react to finish the rebound to the net at 1-1 to 0-1.
Mark McInerney’s immediate two-pointer led the charge to inch the holders back in front, only to be felled by a second O’Connell sucker-punch in the 20th minute for 2-1 to 0-5.
It took a second McInerney two-pointer, this time from a 45-metre free to regain full parity by the break at 0-07 to 2-01, with Doora/Barefield thankful to goalkeeper Tom O’Brien for tipping away an Ugwueru injury-time shot.
Having had time to regroup, Éire Óg inched back in front for the first time in 20 minutes on the restart when David McNamara opened his account. However, that lead would be short-lived as in the next passage of play, a foul on Eoghan Thynne allowed Paddy Bugler to convert his tenth two-point free of the championship, quickly followed by a two-pointer from Michael Nash on the Parish’s way to a four-point edge by the two-thirds mark, at 2-6 to 0-8.
However, with talisman Tom McDonald finally succumbing to injury, a war-weary Doora/Barefield failed to score for the final 22 minutes of the final as Éire Óg incrementally turned the tide back in their favour as Joyce (2), Ugwueru and McInerney levelled up the tie for only the fourth time by the 50th minute.
Defender Ronan Lanigan inched the champions in front but it was former winning captain Gavin Cooney’s 59th-minute goal that put Éire Óg firmly back on track for double, which also sends the club top of the football roll of honour with a 22nd Clare crown.
Éire Óg: Cian Howard; Dean Ryan, Aaron Fitzgerald, Manus Doherty; Ciaran Russell (0-01), Gavin D’Auria, Ronan Lanigan (0-1); David McNamara (0-01), Gavin Murray; Oran Cahill (0-01), Ikem Ugwueru (0-02), Darren O’Brien, Mark McInerney (0-07, 2tpf, tp, 1f), Luke Pyne, Darren Moroney
Subs: Jack Joyce (0-02, tp) for Pyne (40), Jarlath Collins for O’Brien (40), Aidan McGrath (0-01) for Moroney (47), Gavin Cooney (1-00) for Murray (50), Nially McMahon for McNamara (61).
St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield: Tom O’Brien; Eoghan Thynne, Darragh O’Shea, Fionn Kelleher; Eoghan Boyle, Connor O’Brien, Cian McDonough; James Curran, Tom McDonald (0-1); Odhran O’Connell (2-0), Michael Nash (0-02, tp), Liam Clune, Joe Rafferty (0-1f), Tom Curran, Paddy Bugler (0-2, tpf)
Subs: Nicki Hardiman for McDonald (45, inj), Diarmuid Boyle for O’Connell (50), Charlie Hannan for Clune (55), Samuel Costelloe for T. Curran (59).
Referee: Niall Quinn (St Joseph’s Miltown)
