Impressive Tullamore put struggling Clara the sword

WITH the result a foregone conclusion once they found top gear at the quarter way mark, Tullamore were way too strong as they recorded an anticipated easy win over Clara in the second round of the Senior Football Championship in O'Connor Park on Friday evening.

Tullamore Court Hotel Senior Football Championship Group 1 Round 2

Tullamore 4-15

Clara 1-4

The win seals Tullamore's place in the quarter-finals with a round to spare and if they beat Durrow in their final game, they will top the group and go into the semi-finals.

Playing somewhat within themselves, Tullamore are definite contenders for the Dowling Cup and their win here had an air of formality almost from the start.

Clara tried reasonably hard for a while but were swimming against the tide from the second quarter on. With Cormac Delaney injured and Ed Cullen stretchered off after 11 minutes, Clara were also down the suspended Conor Doyle and Barry Egan. While John Furlong and Cormac Egan didn't start for Tullamore, they were much more equipped to cope with any absentees than the underdogs.

Tullamore led by 2-7 to 1-2 at half time with an injury time goal from sub, Bobby Mitchell giving Clara a small glimmer of hope.

It was a very long shot chance, however, and Tullamore were so superior when they did click into gear that it was difficult to envisage any way back for Clara.

Egan and Furlong both came on at half time along with Luke Plunkett and that showed the enormity of the challenge facing Clara. It was a similar story when Niall Furlong came on five minutes later and the fact that two of the replaced players, a very fit looking and fast moving Diarmuid Egan, and Harry Plunkett had been playing really well was of absolutely zero consolation to Clara.

None of these replacements were going to weaken Tullamore in the slightest - in fact John Furlong, Cormac Egan and Luke Plunkett will all be starters if fit later in the campaign and Niall Furlong may not be far away once he beds in at this level, though his role this year is likely to be as a sub. The introduction of multi-talented young players, hungry to get match practice under their belt, meant that the second half was a formality and Tullamore were able to win with complete ease.

While they will have to fry much bigger fish later on, it was a decent win by Tullamore and a very solid display. Observers have noted that they don't have a real class scoring forward, capable of hitting the 8-10 point mark in a game and while that could haunt them yet, this game also showed their strength. All of their starting midfielders and forwards scored and they had thirteen scorers in all. That is a serious spread of scorers and not many sides can do that – their miserly tally of five wides shows how efficient their shooting and shot selection was.

It was fairly close to a flawless display by Tullamore and they controlled every facet of play – a smal negative was a tendency to send in a few high balls in the first half on top of players unlikely to win them but it is easier to see that from the stands than in the white heat of a game.

The win does come with one very big note of caution - the resistance by Clara was a country mile below what they will face later in the year. Having lost to Durrow in the first round, this was a disspiriting result and performance by Clara. They never expected to beat Tullamore but this was a very bad beating and it suggests that they are serious relegation contenders – though they will have a chance of staying up.

Clara had got the first point from a Ross Brady free but by the time Marcas Dalton got their next one in the 26th minute, Tullamore had 2-5 on the board. For a while, Tullamore floated through the motions, playing with very little urgency. They were 0-2 to 0-1 ahead after fifteen minutes but two excellent goals in the space of two minutes put them in the driving seat.

They were very similar in their approach and execution. The first in the 16th minute came when Jay Sheeran floated in a lovely long ball over the top, and Harry Plunkett finished superbly. Mike Fox was the supplier for the second one and Nigel Bracken the executioner. With Tullamore winning almost every break at midfield, Clara struggled to break out of their half. And when they did, Ross Brady went for goal from a softly awarded 14 metre free – Declan Hogan saw it late and just kept it out while you couldn't fault the veteran Brady for having a go.

Mitchell's goal lifted some of the loom from Clara but they were really up against it for the second half.

When they saw John Furlong and Cormac Egan coming on at half time, it had to have some sort of impact on Clara's already fragile morale and both showed their quality. They provided the highlight of the second half when they were instrumental in Tullamore's fourth goal in the 56th minute. Egan lofted in a wonderful 40 metre pass to Michael Brazil who opted against taking the mark. The ball eventually found its way to Furlong, who delightfully jinked to make space and tap into the net.

That was the final score of the game and Clara had long thrown in the towel by that stage. Tullamore had went about their business very professionally in the second half, getting quick points and knocking any remaining fight out of Clara. They had 2-14 on the board when Luke Plunkett got their third goal in the 49th minute and Clara made almost no impact in the second half – they managed only two points and in general, were kept to kick and hope shots from out the field.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Aaron Leavy (Tullamore): Tullamore had a lot of players who played at a very solid level and did everything that could be expected of them. Aaron Leavy is the choice. Tullamore completely dominated midfield and Leavy did the simple thing so well with a lot of ball moving through his hands. With Aaron Hensey working very hard beside him and half backs and half forwards quickly in to mop up any breaks that did emerge, it is a while since a team has dominated midfield to this extent in a Senior Football Championship game. Harry Plunkett was in contention for man of the match until going off in the 35th minute as he got a goal and point from play and sprayed the ball around very effectively.

THE SCORERS

Tullamore: Harry Plunkett 1-2 (1f), Luke Plunkett 1-1 (1f), John Furlong and Nigel Bracken 1-0 each, Michael Brazil 0-3 (2f), Diarmuid Egan 0-2, Corey White (“45”), Declan Hogan, Aaron Leavy, Aaron Hensey, Luke Egan, Dan Fox, Mike Fox 0-1 each.

Clara: Bobby Mitchell 1-0, John Ledwith, Marcas Dalton, Alex Egan (f) and Ross Brady (f) 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

TULLAMORE: Corey White; Declan Hogan, Dylan Hensey, Paul McConway; Nigel Bracken, Oisin Keenan Martin, Jay Sheeran; Aaron Leavy, Aaron Hensey; Mike Fox, Diarmuid Egan, Harry Plunkett; Dan Fox, Luke Egan, Michael Brazil. Subs – Cormac Egan for Diarmuid Egan (HT), John Furlong for Keenan Martin (HT), Luke Plunkett for Dan Fox (HT), Niall Furlong for Harry Plunkett (35m).

CLARA: Joey Deehan; Cathal O'Meara, John Ledwith, Conor Egan; Darragh McKeon, Marcas Dalton, Lorcan Hiney; Ed Cullen, David Falsey; David Fleming, Adam Kelly, Alex Egan; Josh Fleming, Ross Brady, Luke Dignam. Subs – Bobby Mitchell for Cullen, inj. (11m), Colm Doyle for Falsey (HT), Pa Smith for Fleming (41m).

Referee – Ger Keyes (Shamrocks).

REFEREE WATCH

Ger Keyes had his customary efficient game. He was always in control and there were no issues here.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Tullamore's first goal from Harry Plunkett in the 16th minute was an excellent score but apart from that, it clicked them into gear and they soon put Clara to the sword.

VENUE WATCH

O'Connor Park was the correct venue for this game, even if the small crowd was lost here. The pitch was in great condition and the game was well hosted.

TALKING POINT

The injuries to some talented young players. Tullamore's Oisin Keenan-Martin is now back and it was great to see him starting after a long lay off but he replaced John Furlong who was named to start while Cormac Egan was only a sub – Egan looked to tweak his hamstring again in Tullamore's senior hurling defeat by St Rynagh's and trying to play both codes is going to test his injury but he certainly looked good when he came on here, as did John Furlong. Clara were missing one of their best young players, the injured Cormac Delaney – who was also an All-Ireland U-20 football medal winner in 2021 while another one, Ed Cullen was stretchered off nere after 11 minutes with what could be a dislocated knee cap – though it may not be as bad as it looked initially.

WHAT'S NEXT

Clara play Ferbane and Tullamore meet Durrow in the final round of group fixtures.

STATISTICS

Wides: Tullamore – 5 (4 in first half); Clara – 7 (3 in first half).

Yellow cards: Tullamore – 0; Clara – 1 (Adam Kelly).

Black cards: 0.

Red cards: 0.