Late goals seal hard earned win for Ferbane

FERBANE 2-12

CLARA 0-10

FERBANE got the win they were after to seal their place in the quarter finals of the Offaly Senior Football Championship but they were made to work very hard for a victory by a dogged and determined Clara side in their final group game in Doon on Saturday evening.

Two late goals sealed the win for Ferbane but they had plenty of nervy moments in this game before they overcame the Clara challenge and it was only after the second of their goals two minutes into injury time before they could finally relax, content in the knowledge that they had secured the win.

Clara needed to win and hope Durrow could shock Tullamore (neither of which happened) to avoid being dragged into the relegation play off and they stayed with their opponents for long periods of this game. Ultimately they came up short and will now face Shamrocks in a bid to avoid dropping back down to Senior B again next season.

Ferbane were hotly favoured coming into this game but it took them a long time to impose themselves on the contest. They won the toss and opted to play with the strong breeze in the first half but it took until the 11th minute for them to come up with their first point, by which point Clara already had two on the board. The sides were still level three minutes before the break but Ferbane managed to tack on three late points to go in leading by 0-6 to 0-3 at half time.

Clara had reduced that gap to a single point seven minutes into the second half and Ferbane were under a bit of pressure. However they got the next three points to go four clear midway through the half and were able to maintain their advantage until their first goal three minutes from the end of normal time and they put the icing on the cake with a second goal in injury time.

In the end Ferbane got the job done and they will now go on to face Bracknagh in the quarter finals. They will probably feel they will have to step up another level if they hope to regain the Dowling up but the ultimate aim up to now was to make the knock out stages and the serious business begins from there.

There was a lot to admire about their display, none more than their terrific work rate. They constantly put pressure on the Clara man in possession, frequently forcing them back out the field from attacking positions, and also overturning the ball successfully on a number of occasions. They never let Clara settle on the ball and their efforts were rewarded.

They were slow to settle into the game and hit a number of wides in the first half but their play was more cohesive in the second half and they actually scored more against the wind than they did with it. They had a couple of goal chances before they eventually did find the net and all bar a single point of their scores came from play.

Clara came into the game on the back on two defeats and the knowledge that barring an unlikely series of results they would be heading for the relegation play off. Despite that they showed a lot of endeavour and took the game to Ferbane early on. They had a lot of possession but were too often forced to go backwards to retain the ball.

They did start brightly with the first two points of the game against the wind inside the first five minutes but only managed a single point from a free for the remainder of the half. After getting themselves back into the game when cutting the gap to a point early in the second half with the wind behind them, they were unable to push on and 14 minutes elapsed before they scored again.

However the level of their performance might give them some encouragement before they face Shamrocks in that relegation play off. Cathal O'Meara, Marcas Dalton, John Ledwith, Ross Brady, Alex Egan, Josh Fleming and Cormac Delaney were all prominent for them.

Ferbane will now focus on the knock out stages and making further progress in the championship. Ciaran Cahill, Leon Fox, Shane Nally, Kevin Nugent, Jack Clancy, Joe Maher, Ronan McGuire and Cian Johnson were best for them.

Clara were first off the mark a minute in when Josh Fleming pointed and four minutes later Marcas Dalton doubled their lead. Josh Fleming almost added a third point but Adam Nugent pushed the ball onto the crossbar and in the follow up he was injured in a collision. He continued on but had to be replaced later in the half.

Ferbane eventually got off the mark when Darragh Flynn pointed in the 11th minute and Joe Maher levelled before putting Ferbane ahead for the fist time after 18 minutes. Clara were level again when Ross Brady pointed a free after 23 minutes but Ronan McGuire, Joe Maher (free) and Darragh Flynn added points late in the half to give Ferbane a 0-6 to 0-3 half time lead.

Joe Maher extended the lead two minutes into the second half but Clara responded well and Ross Brady pointed a free, followed by points from Josh Fleming and Marcas Dalton to leave the minimum between them.

Ferbane then strung a great move together with Ronan McGuire, Shane Nally, Cian Johnson and Darragh Flynn setting up Joe Maher but his low shot lacked enough force and Joey Deehan saved well with his feet. Ronan McGuire did get the next score for Ferbane and Cian Johnson and Jack Clancy added further points to push the lead out to four.

Nine minutes from the end Cathal O'Meara pulled one back for Clara but Cian Johnson and Jack Clancy replied for Ferbane. Cormac Delaney kept Clara in touch from a free but Ferbane got breathing space after 57 minutes with their first goal. After good pressure Cathal Flynn gathered possession near the endline and crossed for Cian Johnson to punch the ball to the net.

Cormac Delaney replied with two Clara points (one free) but Ferbane weren't done and when Cathal Flynn gained the ball inside his own hand, he exchanged passes with Joe Maher before making ground and passing to Cian Johnson with an overlap and he put the ball back in the path of Cathal Flynn and he finished from close range to put the seal on their win.

MATCH ANALYSIS

THE TEAMS

FERBANE: Adam Nugent; Stephen Wren, Ciaran Cahill, Patrick Taaffe; James Nally, Leon Fox, Shane Nally; Kevin Nugent, Jack Clancy; Patrick Clancy, Joe Maher, Ronan Flynn; Cian Johnson, Ronan McGuire, Darragh Flynn. Subs. David Dunican (for Adam Nugent, 24 mins), Conor Butler (for Stephen Wren, 38 mins), Cathal Flynn (for Ronan Flynn, 41 mins), Conor Grennan (for James Nally, 49 mins), Kieran McManus (for Jack Clancy, 61 mins).

CLARA: Joey Deehan; Conor Egan, Cathal O'Meara, Lorcan Hiney; Darragh McKeon, John Ledwith, Marcas Dalton; David Falsey, Ross Brady; Adam Kelly, Luke Dignam, Alex Egan; David Fleming, Cormac Delaney, Josh Fleming. Subs. Barry Egan (for David Fleming, 38 mins), Bobby Mitchell (for Marcas Dalton, 46 mins), Graham Guilfoyle (for Adam Kelly, 58 mins).

REFEREE: Fergal Smyth

MAN OF THE MATCH

Ferbane's Ronan McGuire was a real livewire throughout the game. He got through an immense amount of work and was involved in many of their best moves. After Clara had cut the gap to a point early in the second half, he was the one to get the next point for Ferbane to steady the ship and they moved on from there.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Ferbane's second goal was a brilliantly executed move. Cathal Flynn made a big impression when he came on as a second half sub and he won the ball in his own half, linked with Joe Maher and took a return pass before heading goalwards with a player free on either side of him. He passed to Cian Johnson and then took the return pass when he had the simple task of knocking the ball into the empty net.

REFEREE WATCH

Some of the Ferbane supporters were getting a bit frustrated with Fergal Smyth towards the end of the first half. The free count was 17-3 against Ferbane in that first half but to be honest the referee was correct in the vast majority of cases and Ferbane were guilty of giving away some careless frees. The free count levelled out in the second half, 12-12, and overall the referee handled the game well, punishing fouls off the ball on a number of occasions.

WHAT’S NEXT

Ferbane advance to the quarter finals where they will face Bracknagh, while Clara face a relegation battle with Shamrocks in a bid to retain their top tier status.

VENUE WATCH

The Doon pitch looked very well. Some heavy showers made the surface slippy and some players had difficulty holding their footing. The club had plenty of stewards available to look after parking and the covered stand was very welcome when the rain arrived. Reading the electric scoreboard was a bit difficult at times, particularly when the sun came out.

STATISTICS

Wides; Ferbane 8 (5 in first half) Clara 5 (2 in first half)

Yellow Cards: Ferbane 1 (Jack Clancy) Clara 1 (Lorcan Hiney)

Black Cards: None

Red Cards: None

THE SCORERS

Ferbane; Cian Johnson (1-2), Joe Maher (0-4, 0-1 free), Cathal Flynn (1-0), Darragh Flynn, Ronan McGuire, Jack Clancy (0-2 each).

Clara; Cormac Delaney (0-3, 0-2 frees), Josh Fleming, Marcas Dalton (0-2 each), Ross Brady (0-2, frees), Cathal O'Meara (0-1).