Beirne barnstormer seals Claremorris victory
Former Mayo minor Darragh Beirne made a big impact off the bench for Claremorris. Picture: INPHO/Evan Logan
Claremorris maintained their strong league form on Saturday evening when they made the short trip down the N17 to play Aghamore, coming away with the victory in a cagey and closely fought battle.
The visitors looked threatening from the off and found themselves a point to the good inside the first minute, as Cathal Joyce opened their account from distance. It was clear from the start that scores would not be easy to come by but some patient build up play from Aghamore, saw the ball worked to Liam Lavin to restore parity. A quickfire brace of wides from Adam Beirne was soon punished at the other end, as first Jack Concannon sent over from distance, with the outside of the boot, before Aghamore doubled their advantage thanks to a single from James Lyons.
Their lead was short lived however, as the South Mayo side responded with three points on the bounce. Beirne eventually found his range and fired over from distance. This was soon added to by another monster score from Stephen McGreal, before Padraic Cummins edged Claremorris back in front by cutting in off the wing and splitting the posts. It looked as if they would take the slenderest of leads into the dressing room at the break but their hosts had other ideas. A slick move down the right involving Lyons and Concannon, saw the latter square the ball to David Kenny, who despite the close attention of a couple of Claremorris defenders, managed to rifle to the back of the net, taking a heavy knock in the process. This left Aghamore with a 1-3 to 0-4 advantage at the break.
Both sides squandered good scoring opportunities at the start of the new half before James Shaughnessy cut the gap to the bare minimum with a free. The East Mayo men responded however, through a lovely effort from Sean Óg Tigue. But the team in Blue and White, buoyed by a raft of second half substitutes, were starting to motor and were level once more when Matthew McCormack and Shaughnessy accounted for singles. Aghamore stemmed the tide through a Robert O’Flaherty point but Claremorris were about to bag the game’s defining score. Darragh Beirne was at his brilliant best, as he gathered position in the right corner forward position, cut inside and rifled a thunderbolt into the back of the Aghamore net.
To their credit Aghamore raised it once more and driven on by the excellent Brendan Harrison, found themselves level with less than five to play. The aforementioned former All-Star got forward to fist a point, to cut the gap to one, before a foul on James Lyons allowed Lavin to equalise. The game was there for the taking but it was the visitors who crucially were just much more clinical in the closing stages. A fine individual effort by Joyce, from an acute angle, edged the South Mayo men back in front. Aghamore did subsequently have chances to level but their accuracy deserted them. Niall Hurley rounded out the scoring late on, to make certain of the Claremorris victory.
