Two goals either side of half-time proved crucial as Kilmihil overcame Clondegad in the sides’ First Round clash of the Clare Senior Football Championship.
Clondegad were arguably the better team for most of the game, and started off strongest as they raced into a 0-4 to 0-1 lead within ten minutes.
But shortly before half-time, Kilmihil’s Martin O’Leary made a strong run after winning the ball near the 45, and shooting the ball into the Clondegad net.
Moments later, that was backed up by a fantastic save by Timmy Ryan from Eoin Donnellan, and Kilmihil went into the break 1-3 to 0-5 in front.
Straight after the the restart, there was another Kilmihil goal. Within fifteen seconds of the resumption of play, David Ryan scored their second goal of the game.
Clondegad had the vast majority of possession in the second half, even before Kilmihil were reduced to 14 men when Jack Keating was sent off for a second yellow card.
In spite of their dominance, it took until the 60th minute for Clondegad to draw level when Eoin Donnellan scored a point that looked to put extra time on the cards.
However, Sean Crowley made no mistake with a late score and Kilmihil went back into the lead with only a minute to go.
They held on to win 2-5 to 0-10 and book their place in the winners pot of Round 2.
