Favourites Clonoe too strong for Aghyaran

Clonoe 1-14  Aghyaran 1-6

CLONOE took some time to get to grips with proceedings but overall will be pleased with the manner with which they dispensed with Aghyaran on Saturday at Loughmacrory in the quarter-final of the Intermediate Championship

The inclement weather was undoubtedly a contributing factor in an opening half that was strewn with ball-handling errors and wides from scoreable opportunities.

If anything it was Aghyaran who had the better of the opening exchanges, particularly in the first 20 minutes, but they failed to make their dominance count on the scoreboard and once Clonoe got going, they proved nigh on impossible to stop.

While the underfoot conditions were slippy and the ball didn’t always stick, the O’Rahilly’s had some excellent performances on the day as they booked their place in the semi-finals of the Intermediate Championship against either Clogher or the Moy (that particular game will be played on Wednesday evening).

Danny McNulty is revelling in a new role further out the pitch than in times gone by. Previously your stereotypical big full-forward, he’s now being assigned a midfielder-cum-half-forward berth and he’s arguably all the better for it. He scored three fine points from play but it was his overall contribution that stood out.

Then there’s young Ryan McCabe, whose movement and elusiveness makes him a hard man to pin down. He scored a super point from play and had his hand in more. At the other end of the age spectrum, stalwart Fintan McClure came on in the second-half and was an absolute menace up front. Whatever you make of the oft-maligned advanced mark, McClure made good use of it and scored three of them.

Throw into that the likes of Connor McAliskey, Patrick Doris and James Taggart, who was perhaps unfortunate to miss two goal chances, and you have a team that have the armoury to win a league and championship double.

The game took a while to settle down and Clonoe were hit by an early setback when energetic half-back Shea Coney limped off with injury. Aghyaran were seeing plenty of possession with centre-half back Ciaran McGlinchey particularly prominent, and while scores were at a premium, they led by 0-2 to 0-1 with 20 minutes on the clock (the weather was dreadful, as a caveat).

Clonoe finally found their groove with McAliskey foraging around the middle for possession and playing some neat passes, and they belied the conditions with a supreme show of point-taking in a scoring burst from McCabe, McNulty, Paul Coney and Daryl Magee.

They should also have got a goal on the cusp of half-time but McAliskey’s pass across the face of goal had a little too much zip and James Taggart couldn’t avail of the gilt-edged opportunity.

The O’Rahilly’s led 0-6 to 0-2 at the break with Aghyaran leaving themselves with work to do after racking up seven wides in the opening period.

They had a little purple patch early in the second-half with Ethan McHugh and Eoghan McHugh landing a couple of points, Ronan McNamee showing his influence at both ends of the pitch and Benny Gallen putting his body on the line in the middle sector.

However, any hopes of a comeback were dashed when Clonoe went on the rampage in a 13-minute spell where they scored 1-5 without reply. Second-half sub Fintan McClure was proving his worth as an effective targetman and he was involved in a scrappy goal which was finished to the net by Ronan Corey. Another veteran player, Patrick Doris, was also making a positive impact, as was Declan McClure with his driving runs at the Aghyaran defence.

Clonoe led 1-13 to 0-4 with eight minutes of regulation time remaining so it’s fair to say the game was effectively over as a contest. Aghyaran kept on fighting the good fight, refusing to throw in the towel, and they got their just reward with a goal of their own, Eoghan McHugh finishing smartly after good build-up play from Ciaran McGlinchey.

They could’ve had a second goal only Benny Gallen’s palmed effort to bobbled wide, but it probably would’ve been immaterial in the overall scheme of things as Clonoe had built up such a healthy lead.

The game petered out in injury time and Clonoe will be content enough with a nine-point victory over a team that finished third in Division Two. On Saturday’s showing, it’ll take a strong team indeed to shunt them off the tracks.

THE SCORERS
Clonoe
Fintan McClure (0-4, 0-3m), Danny McNulty (0-3), Ronan Corey (1-0), Connor McAliskey (0-2), Ronan McCabe, Daryl Magee, Darragh McGrath, Patrick Doris, Paul Coney (0-1 each)
Aghyaran
Eoghan McHugh (1-1), Ronan McHugh (0-2), Ethan McHugh (0-2, 1f), Diarmaid McHugh (0-1 each)

THE TEAMS
Clonoe
Michael O’Neill, Paul O’Neill, Conall Coyle, James Taggart, Shea Coney, Patrick Doris, Dwayne Quinn, Paul Coney, Declan McClure, Ronan Corey, Daryl Magee, Ryan McCabe, Conor McLoughlin, Connor McAliskey, Daniel McNulty. Subs: Fintan McClure for McLoughlin, Ryan Morrow for Magee, Darragh McGrath for Doris, Shane Hughes for Taggart
Aghyaran
Niall Hilley, Cahir Moss, Caolan McGinty, Cormac McHugh, Barry McMenamin, Ciaran McGlinchey, Thomas Dolan, Ronan McNamee, Diarmaid McHugh, Tiarnan McSorely, Ronan McHugh, Roger Leonard, Ethan McHugh, Benny allen, Eoghan McHugh. Subs: Patrick McNulty for Ethan McHugh