Robert Aherne withstands this challenge from Clashmores Aiden Trihy during their County Senior Football Championship tie in Fraher Field.

Robert Aherne withstands this challenge from Clashmores Aiden Trihy during their County Senior Football Championship tie in Fraher Field.

Stradbally 1-14 Clashmore 0-9

When Stradbally and Clashmore played out a very disappointing game at Fraher Field last Saturday and from this evidence it’s hard to see the name of either club added to the Conway Cup come the end of October.

Over the course of the hour it was difficult to pick out any player’s performance and some reliable were virtually anonymous. Even the 25 scores painted a false picture: many of them coming from placed balls.

Niall Curran opened the scoring when he pointed a 45 on two minutes which Stephen Cunningham followed up with a point from play. Clashmore’s first score of the game came on seven minutes when a lengthy delivery from Karl O’Keeffe hopped in front of Eoin Cunningham in the Stradbally goal and bounced over the crossbar.

Brian O’Halloran pointed twice from frees inside two minutes and when Cillian O’Keeffe fisted over a point midway through the first half, it looked as if a young Clashmore side were going to pull off an opening round win.

However, this was not to be as the five-in-a-row winners from earlier in the decade assumed control and went in at the break 1-6 to 0-5 in front. The all-important goal came on 17 minutes when Robert Ahearne fisted a well-placed Tony Grey pass to the Clashmore net.

Shane Ahearne and Brian O’Halloran exchanged points from frees before John Prendergast pointed shortly after being introduced to cut the Stradbally lead to just three points. Niall Curran with a brace and Tommy Connors further stretched the mid-county club’s lead.

Sean Fleming and Stephen Cunningham exchanged points with 11 minutes remaining before John Hearne and Brian O’Halloran swapped scores on 53 minutes.

The goal which Clashmore needed to come back into the game did not arrive and Stradbally wrapped things up with late points from Stephen Cunningham and Andy Doyle.

Next up for Clashmore is a game Tramore at Fraher Field, while Stradbally head east to play Gaultier in Walsh Park.

Stradbally: E Cunningham; E Cummins, K Coffey, A Doyle; T Grey, E Rockett, P Doyle; M Walsh, R Ahearne; J Coffey, T Connors, J Hearne; N Curran, S Ahearne, S Cunningham.

Scorers: N Curran 0-7 (0-3 frees, 0-1 45s), S Cunningham 0-3, R Ahearne 1-0, S Ahearne, T Connors, J Hearne, A Doyle 0-1 each.

Clashmore: B O’Neill; C Bourke, J Seaward, E Beresford; P Dee, P Connery, A Trihy; M Power, K O’Keeffe; D Allen, S Landers, F Breathnach; S Fleming, C O’Keeffe, B O’Halloran. Subs: J Prendergast for D Allen, D O’Brien for S Landers.

Scorers: B O’Halloran 0-5 (0-5 frees), K O’Keeffe, C O’Keeffe, J Prendergast, S Fleming 0-1 each.

Referee: T O’Sullivan (Affane).