Clane 1-11     Ardclough 0-11

In what turned out to be a thrilling final, Clane beat one of the county’s traditional hurling sides, Ardclough, by a single goal on Sunday 19^th July to win the league.

In an intense final some tempers were a little frayed as both sides sought to bring glory to their respective clubs.  Ardclough missed the first chance of the game before having to do some frantic defending down their own end as Clane tried to put one into the back of their net.  Lorcan Harney was on target for Clane, scoring the first four points.  Both sides missed many chances.  When Ardcough’s Richie Hoban scored this was answered by a point from Niall Doolan from a distance.  Ardclough hit two wides but Martin Fitzgerald managed to score a point only to have it cancelled by Lorcan Harney and Chris Bonus put another one over for Clane to see them in front.  Clane stayed on top for the remainder of the first half.

In the second half Ardclough could only get back to level terms once.  Chris Bonus came up trumps when he scored one to the back of the net.

Best for Clane was Lorcan Harney who worked hard all day.

Clane Team: Mark Maloney, Ciaran Murphy, Mike Walsh, Ciaran Brady, Dano Horan, David Harney, Alan Coary, Lorcan Harney 0-5, Niall Doolan 0-1, Dessie Walsh 0-1, Kevin Fogarty, Stephen Lyons, Chris Bonus 1-1.  Subs:  Aidan Dunne 0-1 for Fogarty, (injured), Killian Ryan for Murphy.

Football Matches v Celbridge 18^th June 2009

Clane went to Celbridge on Thursday  18^th June to play two under 8 matches. The Group 1 team lost narrowly while the Group 3 team won in a very tight match.

Group 1. Clane were missing a few players on the night but played very well and lost on a score of 12-9.

There was a very strong wind blowing down the pitch and Clane had it behind them for the first two quarters. However Clane wasted chances and were only 2 points clear at the start of quarter 3. Clane battled valiantly against the breeze but eventually lost 12- 9.

Clane Squad : Conor Comiskey, Kyle Grehan, Jake Hamilton, Daniel Vaughan, Cormac Vizzard, Liam Wright, John Ball, Colm Brien, Arron Connolly, Jack Malone, Sam Reilly,

Best for Clane : Arron Connolly, Daniel Vaughan and Liam Wright.

Group 3. This team were on a high after winning their last match against Kilcock. Celbridge had a very big panel so it was decided to play 12 a side. This led to a bit of a scrum at times but all the players were on the field for the full match.. Adam o’ Hagan played in goals in the first quarter and it was his first match for Clane. Celbridge had the wind for the first 2 quarters and were leading 4-1 at half time.

The Clane point came from Donal O’ Donovan again playing his first match for Clane.

However with the wind at our backs Clane scored at ease in the third and fourth quarter. Dean O’ Shea was running all over the field and succeeded in scoring 2 great points.Conor Lynch (younger brother of Sean) also made his debut and scored 2 points. The remainder of the scoring was done by Evan Kelly, Jamie McIntyre, Cian Burke and Eamon Little.Eamon Fitzgerald had a great game in the backs for Clane and made some great tackles.

Final score ; Clane   8      Celbridge   4.

Clane Squad: Adam O Hagan, Cormac Larkin, Conor Lynch, Evan Kelly, Luke Kelly, Dean Comiskey, Donal O’ Donovan, Eamon Little, Eamon Fitzgerald, Sean Woods, Jamie McIntyre, Jack Cahalane, John Lynch,  Oisin Ward , Dean o’ Shea and Cian Burke.

Best for Clane ean O’ Shea, Conor Lynch , Donal O’ Donovan and Eamon Little.

Football Blitz in Johnstownbridge on Saturday 27th June 2009

Clane took part in a blitz last Saturday in Johnstownbridge. Clane had over 20 players available and the biggest problem was directing all the parents to the venue. Suffice to say that they will be able to make their way to Knockanally Golf Club in the future.

Clane were missing some of our speedier players as the semi finals of the Community Games athletics was on in Newbridge that morning. This deprived the team of Sean Connolly, Liam Wright, Sam Reilly and Eoin Twohig. Some more were gone away for the weekend but available players were excellent.

Clane were divided into two teams, Clane 1 and Clane 2.

Clane 1 played Celbridge 1, Carbury, Balyna1 and Balyna 2. Clane won all the games bar a narrow defeat to a very strong Celbridge team.

Clane 1 Squad : Colm Brien, Cormac Vizzard, Dean O’ Shea, Cian Burke, Conor Comiskey, John Ball, Daniel Vaughan, Kyle Grehan.

Best for Clane 1 : Kyle Grehan, John Ball, Colm Brien and Cian Burke.

Clane 2 played Celbridge 2 , St Kevins (twice)  and Balyna 3.

The Celbridge match was very close and Clane lost 4-2. However they followed up with a draw with St. Kevins, a win against Balyna 3 and then an exciting rematch against St. Kevins. Kevins took an early lead and

despite all the play, Clane were hitting a lot of wides.However after a few missed frees,  Dean Comiskey put

over the equaliser before Evan Kelly scored the winning point.. In the win over Balyna Eamon Fitzgerald score

2 goals and a point.

Clane 2 Squad : Conor Lynch, Evan Kelly , Luke Kelly, Jake Burke, Dean Comiskey, John Lynch, Josh    Mooney,  Eamon Fitzgerald, Eamon Little, Stephen Brereton, Jack Cahalane and Oisin Ward.

Best for Clane2 : John Lynch, Evan Kelly, Luke Kelly , Dean Comiskey  and Eamon Fitzgerald.

Clane GAA want to thank Dan O Shea for sponsoring a set of jersies for the teams .

Also thanks is due to Johnstownbridge GAA who supplied all the teams , mentors and parents with drinks, sandwiches , cakes etc.

CLANE v SARSFIELDS  SATURDAY 13TH JUNE 2009

Clane entertained Sarsfields in two under 9 matches in Group 1 and Group 4.
Both matches were played in fabulous weather and in good sporting behaviour.

In Group 1 Clane had a very strong team on the day and won on a score of 13-4 but the game was a good deal closer than the score shows.Clane played well in all four quarters and Shane O’ Sullivan scored some lovely points. Iain Cribbin played very well in goals and Arron Connolly and Kyle Harrington were outstanding in the backs.
Final Score : Clane 13 Sarsfields  4.

Clane Squad: Mark Conville, Iain Cribbin, Sam Donovan, Niamh Fennessy, Kyle Harrington, Sam McCormack, Luke O’ Callaghan, Shane O’ Sullivan, Conor Ward, Adam Warner, Arron Connolly.

Best for Clane : Kyle Harrington, Shane O’ Sullivan, Mark Conville and Adam Warner.

The Group 4 game was much closer, Clane were captained by the Limerick man  ,Kevin Robinson and he lead by example .Sarsfields had been unbeaten all year as had Clane so the winners would be top of the table.Clane started well and were 2 points up in the first quarter. Hugh Lonergan scored one of the points and was playing well in the forwards. However Sarsfields equalised by the end of the second quarter to leave the score tied at 2-2 at half time.
In the first two quarters, Clane had a slight hill so had to play against it for the last 2 quarters. The match was very close but in the final quarter Anthony Nsimba scored 2 great points from far out. Sarsfields got one back from a free so Clane were a point ahead entering the last minute.A ‘45’ was taken quickly by Sean Connolly to Liam Wright and he slotted it over the bar to complete the scoring.
Final Score: Clane 5 Sarsfields 3.

Clane Squad: Cian Burke, Conor Comiskey, Kyle Grehan, Jake Hamilton, Dean O’Shea, Daniel Vaughan, Cormac Vizzard, Liam Wright, Ryan Burke, Hugh Lonergan, Anthony Nsimba, Nathan Hackett , Sean Connolly, Kevin Robinson (captain)

Best for Clane: Hugh Lonergan, Anthony Nsimba, Nathan Hackett , Sean Connolly , Liam Wright and Conor Comiskey.