Nenagh finish strongly to book County final spot
Nenagh Éire Óg 1-8
Clonakenny 0-5
Nenagh Éire Óg booked their place in the Junior B County football final after a strong second half showing pushed them on to get past a battling Clonakenny effort in the semi-final at the Ragg this afternoon.
After a slow start from the town team - which seen them trail at the break 0-3 to 0-2 - the use of a strong bench and a clear difference in fitness told as they finished the game strongly.
Éire Óg started the game with a number of current and former intercounty hurling talent with the likes of Jake Morris, Barry Heffernan, Daire Quinn, Paddy Murphy, along with substitutes Tommy and Mikey Heffernan and the difference those subs made was the main difference, with Tommy Heffernan in particular pivotal in their second half scores.
Clonakenny tried hard early on and were lucky that the Nenagh shooting boots were left behind as they hit a big total of 13 wides during the game, but they were more economical in the first half with points from Cian O'Dwyer, Diarmuid Ryan, and John O'Meara giving them the edge at half-time.
The big moment in the game came during the second half in the 34th minute when Adam Healy's powerful shot was well saved by Clonakenny goalkeeper Harry Fleming, only or the rebound to fall into the path of Philip Hickey who batted home to put Nenagh in the lead.
And Nenagh never looked back from here with Hickey, Mikey Heffernan, Adam Healy, Josh Keller, and Jake Morris all scoring during the half to clinch a novel appearance in the Junior B football decider.