Brian Russell’s Magpies will face the dreaded relegation scrap for the third time in four years after an inspired second half showing from their East Clare opponents in Cusack Park, Ennis.
Determined to banish the ghosts of three previous defeats in the championship of 2022 and secure Senior status, Jimmy Browne’s Broadford side went for the jugular immediately only for Stiofáin McMahon to be foiled by a superb Cian Broderick save in the Clarecastle goal.
In a low scoring first half that was more than compensated by its fierce intensity and full blooded challenges, the sides went into the interval deadlocked at 0-5 apiece.
Diarmuid O’Brien and Niall O’Farrell were on target for Broadford, whilst two placed balls from Bobby Duggan in addition to a Stephen O’Halloran score from distance and a brace of points from James Doherty made up the Magpies strike force.
On the restart Niall O’Farrell and Stiofáin McMahon wasted little time restoring Broadford’s lead while Bobby Duggan and Darragh Healy would reply from placed balls for Clarecastle.
Crucially however in this low scoring affair, Broadford showed strong dominance in the half back line to continuously overturn the Clarecastle puck out and eek out scoring opportunities and when the East Clare men hit three in a row in as many minutes heading in the final quarter, danger loomed for the Magpies.
James Doherty and Killian McDermott would eventually break the barren spell for Clarecastle with points of their own, however trailing by four with ten minutes remaining, a green flag was crucial.
On fifty-nine minutes substitute Oisín Casey would setup James Doherty to finish to the back of Cian O’Brien’s net for the elusive goal the Magpies so desperately needed, however referee Joe Mullins judged Casey had thrown rather than hand passed the sliotar and a free out was awarded.
Broadford would hang in the three minutes of allotted additional time that followed for a crucial victory that secures their Senior status whilst Clarecastle will head for the relegation playoffs alongside Scariff, Smith 0’Briens and Whitegate as it finished in Cusack Park on a score line of Broadford 0-13 to Clarecastle 0-09