Clare Senior Hurling Championship Quarter-Final: Feakle 1-18 – Kilmaley 2-13
Feakle have become the first side to qualify for the last four of this year’s TUS Clare Senior Hurling Championship.
Following a titanic tussle in Cusack Park, the East Clare faithful overcame Kilmaley, largely thanks to a gritty second half display.
However it was the men from the middle of the county who started the brightest at headquarters with Mikey O’Neill getting on the end of a Daire Keane delivery after fifteen minutes to send Kilmaley into a 1-02 to 0-04 advantage.
Not to deterred in any case, Feakle responded and with just four minutes to go until the interval, a tri-party move involving Shane McGrath and Martin Daly, finished at the stick of stalwart Raymond Bane who finished to the net to leave a point between the sides.
Tom O’Rourke and Mikey O’Malley would split the posts before the break though to ensure Kilmaley held the interval whip hand at 1-08 to 1-06.
The rip roaring encounter picked up precisely where it left off in the second half with Feakle’s old reliables of Martin Conway, Shane McGrath and Oisín O’Connor all firing over to take the lead at 1-09 to 1-08.
However on thirty-six minutes Tom O’Rourke had something to say about his opponents new found momentum as the Kilmaley man beat two defenders and ultimately Eibhear Quilligan in the Feakle goal to reduce the gap.
Notably however Feakle’s defence led by Clare FM man of the match, Adam Hogan showed utter defiance in the closing stages to limit Kilmaley’s scoring threat, although Gary Guilfoyle would be the hero of the day and after taking over free taking responsibilities in the latter stages, he would fire over four points in a row to ensure victory on a full time score of Feakle’s 1-18 to Kilmaley’s 2-13 at Cusack Park.
The result sees the East Clare side into a first Clare Senior Hurling Semi-Final since 2016.
