Clonakilty have extra gear in enthralling encounter against Cill na Martra

Cill na Martra 1-12 (1-1-10) Clonakilty 1-15 (1-0-15)
While Cill na Martra made a valiant comeback in the second half, Clonakilty always seemed to have that extra gear in this enthralling Division 1 encounter at the Gaeltacht venue and emerged on the right side of a three-point winning margin.

It was Cill na Martra who got off to the better start, however, with points from Shane Ó Duinnín, Ciarán Ó Duinnín and Danny Ó Conaill putting them in front with only a point coming from Clonakilty’s Tom Clancy in response in that opening spell.

However, that dominance, such as it was, ended when an incisive attack led by Clonakilty’s centreback powerhouse, Tom Clancy, saw the ball make its way to Luke Griffin on the edge of the square and he made no mistake from close range.

Once they got their noses in front, Clonakilty never yielded that lead and they piled on the scores in that first half with points coming from David Lowney, Sean White, Sean McEvoy and three frees from Conor Daly.

Midfielder Mícheál Ó Deasúna added a two-pointer moments later to put Cill na Martra back within striking distance but that was to be their last score of the half. Minutes later the Gaeltacht side suffered a further setback when full-back Tadhg Ó Corcora received a black card for a rash challenge on a Clonakilty forward and it was 1-7 to 0-6 to the visitors at the break.

It was Clonakilty who got off to the better start in the second half with early scores from Brian White and Seán McEvoy before Jason Mac Carthaigh re-opened the Cill na Martra account with a free.

Conor Daly struck again with two further frees and it looked like the die was cast. Cill na Martra centre-back Seán Ó Foirréidh had other ideas, however, and set off on a run which opened up Clonakilty. The ball made its way to Shane Ó Duinnín in front of goal and he had the easiest of tasks to convert the opportunity to a goal.

Clonakilty kept the scoreboard ticking over all through that final period and Cill na Martra kept in touch – but couldn’t bridge the gap. Clon departed with full points from five games and Cill na Martra mid-table after two wins from their five outings.

Scorers for Cill na Martra: S Ó Duinnín 1-3, M Ó Deasúna 0-3 (1 2pt), J Mac Carthaigh 0-2 f, C Ó Duinnín 0-2, D Ó Conaill, G Ó Goilléidh 0-1 each 

Clonakilty: C Daly 0-5 (0-3 f, 0-1 45), L Griffin 1-1, S McEvoy, B White 0-2 each, S White, T Clancy, D Lowney, R Mannix, L O’Donovan 0-1 each.

CILL NA MARTRA: D Mac Carthaigh; D Ó Conaill, T Ó Corcora, F Ó Faoláin; C Ó Foirréidh, S Ó Foirréidh, A Ó Duinnín; M Ó Deasúna, G Ó Goilléidh; E Ó Conaill, J Mac Carthaigh, A Ó Loinsigh; C Ó Duinnín, M Ó Duinnín, S Ó Duinnín 

Subs: J Ó Loinsigh for A Ó Loingsigh, A Ó hUidhir for C Ó Foirréidh, D Ó Buachalla for A Ó Duinnín.

CLONAKILTY: M White; D O’Sullivan, D Darragh, C Kenneally; L O’Donovan, T Clancy,  J O’Mahony; M Scally S White; D Lowney, S McEvoy, B White; C Daly, R Mannix,  L Griffin

Subs: C Ryan for D Lowney, D Kenneally for L Griffin, D Peet for J O'Mahony.

Referee: David Murnane (Macroom).