The 2013 Iniscealtra Community Shield was again played on a beautiful spring day. There were nine teams involved, playing a total of 19 matches, at the end of which last year’s champions, Clare Corinthians, claimed the trophy they’d held since last year.
This was a charity event, and a much-needed €1015 was raised for Ennis and Clare Samaritans.
Group 1
There were four teams in the morning group:
|
Group 1 Scores |
|||
| Aerowind United |
0 |
2 |
LIT All Stars |
| East Clare Explorers |
0 |
0 |
Mixed Bag Dynamos |
| LIT All Stars |
1 |
0 |
East Clare Explorers |
| Aerowind United |
2 |
3 |
Mixed Bag Dynamos |
| LIT All Stars |
0 |
4 |
Mixed Bag Dynamos |
| Aerowind United |
1 |
4 |
East Clare Explorers |
|
Group 1 League Table |
|||||||||
| Pos | Teams | Pl | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pnts |
|
1 |
Mixed Bag Dynamos |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
7 |
2 |
5 |
7 |
|
2 |
LIT All Stars |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
-1 |
6 |
|
3 |
East Clare Explorers |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
|
4 |
Aerowind United |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
9 |
-6 |
0 |
This was a fairly even group, with not much between the teams as they headed into the final round of games. Regulars at the tournament LIT All Stars had already qualified for the semis when they met Mixed Bag Dynamos, but victory for the Dynamos meant they finished top of the group, ahead of LIT, and this also meant that newcomers East Clare Dynamos couldn’t qualify when they met Aerowind in their final game. Aerowind’s best performance had been in their second game, when a thrilling encounter saw Aerowind to come from behind twice before a late Mixed Bag winner. East Clare Explorers were unlucky not to go through after performing well. They could be ones to watch next year…
Group 2
Five teams contested the afternoon group:
|
Group 2 Scores |
|||
| Slippery Chickens |
1 |
0 |
Sean Bean |
| Sanford United |
0 |
4 |
East Clare Patriots |
| Clare Corinthians |
2 |
1 |
Slippery Chickens |
| Sean Bean |
6 |
0 |
Sanford United |
| East Clare Patriots |
0 |
0 |
Clare Corinthians |
| Slippery Chickens |
4 |
0 |
Sanford United |
| Sean Bean |
0 |
0 |
East Clare Patriots |
| Clare Corinthians |
9 |
0 |
Sanford United |
| Slippery Chickens |
3 |
1 |
East Clare Patriots |
| Sean Bean |
0 |
3 |
Clare Corinthians |
|
Group 2 League Table |
|||||||||
| Pos | Teams | Pl | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pnts |
|
1 |
Clare Corinthians |
4 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
14 |
1 |
13 |
10 |
|
2 |
Slippery Chickens |
4 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
9 |
3 |
6 |
9 |
|
3 |
East Clare Patriots |
4 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
|
4 |
Sean Bean |
4 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
6 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
|
5 |
Sanford United |
4 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
23 |
-23 |
0 |
There were many great games in this group, with several strong contenders to make it through to the knockout stages. Aside from newcomers Sanford United, who will surely learn from the day and come back stronger next year, all the teams looked like they had a chance of progressing beyond the group. In the last round of games both the Patriots and Sean Bean had a chance of going through, but couldn’t quite make it – Slippery Chickens and Clare Corinthians went through. Before this final round there hadn’t been more than a goal’s difference in any of the games between these four teams.
Knockout Stages
The first semi final saw Mixed Bag Dynamos play Slippery Chickens. These two teams know each other well, and they played out a thrilling and close encounter which produced just the one goal. There wasn’t much difference between the two teams, and the Dynamos, who were trailing, nearly snatched an equaliser right at the end. It wasn’t to be, however, and Slippery Chickens progressed to the final.
The second semi final saw Clare Corinthians play LIT All Stars. Somewhat ominously for the All Stars, the Corinthians had been improving steadily through the day, and were beginning to show the form we saw last year when they won the shield. These omens came to pass as the Corinthians won convincingly. 3-0 was the final score.
The final, then, saw two teams who had met in the group stage play each other again. That game had been a close encounter, but on this occasion the Corinthians were much too strong for their opponents and they won the game 5-0.
|
Knockout Stages |
|||
| Semi Finals | |||
| Mixed Bag Dynamos |
0 |
1 |
Slippery Chickens |
| Clare Corinthians |
3 |
0 |
LIT All Stars |
| Final | |||
| Slippery Chickens |
0 |
5 |
Clare Corinthians |
Acknowledgements
This year’s tournament was a big success – thanks go to those who made it possible:
Scarriff GAA Club, who provided the venue free of charge.
Denise, who handled the admin on the day.
Gill, who ran craft and games for the under 12s (ably assisted on the day by Marianne).
The Red Cross, who provided medical care.
Mike, Phil O, Eamonn, Andrew, Virginia and Denise – setting/tidying up.
All the teams, who brought enthusiasm and a great sporting ethos to the event.
Last, but certainly not least, our referees on the day, Owen and Clive. They gave a lot of time and expertise, for which we are all indebted.
