2nd November 2018
Culture
AAG 0-25 Zimmer 0-11
Congratulations to our Senior hurlers who are through to another Clare county final after seeing off our great rivals over the past few years Zimmer, last night in Sixmilebridge.
The opening exchanges were very tight as both teams battled for supremacy but eventually our scoring power proved too good for an under-strength Zimmer side. Frees by Darragh Carey and Alan Mulready coupled with a number of soft wides saw the teams all square after 13 minutes on 2 points apiece.
A Thomas Cleary score on 16 minutes pushed us ahead again before finally, last years All Ireland Junior Champions AAG slipped into gear on 20 minutes. Points by Darragh Carey (2), Alan Mulready, Sean Glynn, Sean Meaney, Andy Shanagher, Justin Cahill and a peach from the side line by Christy Carey pushed us 11 points to 3 ahead at the short whistle.
At the turn over, AAG continued to pile on the pressure to push the game out of sight early. 11 points in the first 11 minutes of the second half pushed us 22 points to 3 ahead giving team manager Cathal Kilmartin the opportunity to empty the bench. To Zimmer’s credit, they outscored us 8 points to 3 in the last quarter as the game petered out as a contest.
Good team performance
There were some fine performances all over the field especially from our midfield pairing of Justin Cahill and Darragh Carey, a pairing who would not look out of place at inter-county level. Alan Mulready, Sean Glynn, Sean Meaney and Thomas Cleary all looked very dangerous when on the ball while Evan McInerney and Tadhg Keogh at centre back and full back respectively were unbeatable on the night. A special word for our Goalkeeper Darragh McGrath who made a number of point-blank saves and who’s distribution was top class on the night.
Work Ons
Plenty to work on as we head to the final against East Clare Construction in the coming weeks. Only 4 points were scored outside of our purple patch from the 20th to the 45th minute and the lack of goals or indeed goal chances was very evident. We have some important players to come back in so it will be interesting to see what team will line out in the final.
AAG team:
Darragh McGrath, Brian Carey, Tadhg Keogh, Paudie Conway, Christy Carey (0-01), Evan McInerney, Sean Chaplin, Justin Cahill (0-02), Darragh Carey(0-5f), Alan Mulready (0-05,2f), Sean Glynn (0-04), Andy Shanagher (0-01), Jerry Forest, Thomas Cleary (0-04), Sean Meaney (0-03). Subs: Paudie Allen, Eoin McDonagh, Tommy Howard, Tom O’Gorman and Shane Fitzgerald