U21B Football Championship Final 2010 
St Breckan's / Ballyvaughan 1:06 v  Clondegad 0:07 
Sunday 26th September 2010 @ 13:00 in Cusack Park Ennis.

Match Official:- Barry Kelly ( St Joseph's Miltown Malbay)

( Report from printed edition Clare Champion)

St Breckan’s, Lisdoonvarna are this week celebrating a two-point win in the U-21B Football Championship but Clondegad wasted numerous scoring opportunities in the second half of Sunday’s final at Cusack Park.

Twelve second-half wides, some from excellent scoring positions, confirms the Ballynacally-based side had enough chances to capture the John Joe Hehir Memorial Cup, a trophy they would have been proud to win given the Hehir family’s association with their club.

Impressive performances from the Cormican twins, Sean, the team captain and Conor, helped the North Clare side to the title on a day when the game’s only goal proved crucial. It came five minutes before the break when Adrian Nilan found the net having won possession from Conor Cormican. The goal helped them to lead by two points at half-time, 1-3 to 0-4.

Points from the Cormicans had the winners 0-2 to 0-0 in front at the end of a first quarter that saw play swing from end to end. Robert Pender opened Clondegad’s account when he landed a free and Eoghan Donnellan quickly added one from play to tie up the game before Jermiah Brady gave Clondegad the lead for the only time in the game with six minutes remaining in the half.

Nilan’s goal was followed by a Conor Cormican point before Shane Brennan landed a 35m free for Clondegad. The third quarter produced just one point, a Cormac Hehir effort for the winners shortly after the resumption of play. Clondegad enjoyed the majority of possession in this half but they could not find the target and were guilty of some very bad misses. That they missed the services of star forward Pádraig (Paudge) McMahon was obvious. He was ruled out after sustaining injuries in last week’s intermediate semi-final game with Corofin, injuries that required surgery and a stay in hospital.

Inside the final 10 minutes, Cormac Hehir and Conor Cormican pointed for the winners as they stretched their lead to six points with just over five minutes remaining.

Eventually, Clondegad found the target and Eoin Donnellan landed two close-in frees in quick succession while Shane Brennan converted another. They created a couple of goal chances but the winners’ defence held firm, with their goalkeeper Craig Flanagan making an excellent save in the second minute of injury time. Flanagan, Sean Howley, Michael Reddan, Stephen Tierney, in the first half, Daniel Collins, Sean and Conor Cormican were always prominent for the winners.

Clondegad’s best were Brian Murphy, Cormac Ryan, Tony Kelly, Eoghan Donlon, Shane Brennan and Gearóid O’Connell

St Breckan’s: Craig Flanagan; Jason Hillery, Sean Howley, Stephen Nagle; John Linnane, Michael Reddan, John Paul Keating; Sean Cormican, Stephen Tierney; Michael Hogan, Conor Cormican, Cormac Hehir; Adrian Nilan, Daniel Collins, John Stack. Scorers: Conor Cormican (0-3, 2f); Adrian Nilan (1-0); Cormac Hehir (0-2); Sean Cormican (0-1). Subs: Sean Neville for Keating (half-time); Tomas Francis for Hogan (45 minutes).

Clondegad: Declan O’Loughlin; Conor Gavin, Brian Murphy, Martin Lynch; Gearóid O’Connell, Cormac Ryan, Declan Keane; James Murphy, Shane Brennan; Kevin White, Tony Kelly, Robert Pender; Pádraig Glynn, Eoghan Donnllan, Jeremiah Brady. Scorers: Eoghan Donnellan (0-3, 2f); Shane Brennan (0-2f); Robert Pender (1f); Jeremiah Brady (0-1). Subs: Paul Flanagan for Glynn (half-time); Liam Meaney for Brady (42 minutes).