Newmarket-on-Fergus got off to a winning start in the Junior B Hurling Championship recording a ten point win over Scariff on Saturday evening.
Newmarket-on-Fergus 1-18
Scariff 1-08
Venue: Dr Daly Park, Tulla
At a wet Dr Daly Park, it was Newmarket that deservedly collected two points in this Group 3 meeting.
A Rory Murphy goal capped off the win for last year’s beaten finalists who saw their lead of eight points cut in half as the game progressed but his fifty fourth minute strike put them back in control.
Impressively Newmarket hit ten points within the first sixteen minutes of the contest. As was expected Scariff grew into the came and kept them scoreless for the remainder of the first half leaving a gap of five points between the teams at half-time.
It took seven minutes for the scoreboard to be used in the second half with Blues marksman Brian Clancy hitting the target, he would finish with a nice tally of 0-11 at the end of the tie. While Clancy kept Newmarket’s account ticking over, Scariff raised white flags via Shane Corry, Sean Minouge and Fergus Madden.
Scariff found a new lease of life when Shane Corry goaled after his strike from distance caught the Newmarket defence by surprise as it ended up in the back of the net. To quell their momentum, vice captain Alan O’Flanagan took the game by the scruff of the neck as he made an inspiration field from the sky and found Oisin Pender who duly pointed.
James Power then setup Eoin Frawley who split the posts and subsequent to this came Rory Murphy’s goal as he burst through the Scariff defence and solidified his reputation as the impact sub. The game then petered out with Clancy hitting two frees as Newmarket claimed the all important victory.
Niall Minouge and Patrick Moroney did well for the East Clare men, but for their next outing they will need a better start as the concession of early points left Newmarket in the driving seat from the get-go.
They may have reached last year’s championship final but there is no guarantee that Newmarket will be in that position in 2017. Having lost several key players that task is more difficult, however displays like this suggest John Hannon’s side will be in the knockout stages. Eoin Frawley, Oisin Pender and Brian Clancy impressed for the Blues.
NOF: Brian Tierney; Ronan McCarthy, Eoin McInerney, PJ Enright; Ger Hannon, Pakie McCormack, Alan O’Flanagan; Eoin Frawley (0-01), Davy McCormack (0-01); Liam Harkin, Paul McInerney, Oisin Pender (0-02); Gearoid McMahon (0-02), Brian Clancy (0-11 4f 1’65), Niall Garry (0-01). Subs: James Power for D McCormack (37) (Inj), Rory Murphy (1-00) for Harkin (45), Connor Clancy for McMahon (52), Fergal McInerney for McInerney (58).
Scariff: Kieran Jones; Sean O’Grady, Patrick Moroney, Niall Dear; Niall Minouge, Shane Corry, Rory Kelly; Josh Moloney, Tomas McNamara; Shane Corry, Sean Minouge, Fergus Madden; Eoin O’Brien, Darragh Treacy, Ricky Bolton.
Referee: Gus Callaghan (Feakle)