EVERY point counts in dog-eat-dog Division Two and Clare return to action after next weekend’s break against Kildare in a home fixture that could have a massive bearing on their season.
Victory and the Bannermen will move up to four points, stay in the hunt from promotion and leave the Lilywhites anchored to the bottom of the table. Defeat and Clare – who then face the prospect of a trip to Croke Park to play Dublin - could find themselves dragged into a relegation fight.
Sixteen points in Navan should have been enough to get something out of last weekend’s clash with Meath but conceding four goals, three of them preventable, undermined some excellent attacking returns.
Clare took the field against Meath without regular goalkeeper Stephen Ryan, full-forward Keelan Sexton, Darren O’Neill (midfield), Eoin Cleary (centre half-forward) and Kieran Russell (centre half-back).
The four-point loss, which came after a thrilling fightback win against Louth in their opener, makes Clare’s next game all the more important, says former Down player Mark Doran, assistant-manager to long-term Banner county football doyen Colm Collins.
“Division Two is going to be a dogfight,” said Longstone native Doran who will manage the Slaughtneil footballers when this inter-county season ends.
“Kildare in Ennis is a massive game for us and we’re hoping to get a few of the injured boys back for it. We kicked a lot of wides against Louth and against Meath as well so we’re creating a lot of chances but we’re not taking them.
“If somebody had offered me 16 points before the Meath game, I’d have taken it. The aim was to keep the goals out and we felt if we could get to 15-16 points we would win, but goals win games.
“We have to put it behind us now and look forward to the next one. The boys who have come in have done well but if we can clear up a few injuries it would be a big help and UL (University of Limerick) is playing in the Sigerson Cup semi-final this week and there’s six Clare boys involved so hopefully they all come through it.”
In their Division Two opener, Clare posted four points in the last five minutes to win by a point and Doran is convinced that Mickey Harte’s men will begin their recovery from back-to-back defeats against Limerick in Ardee on Sunday-week.
“Louth are a good side, they were very well set-up against us,” he said.
“They will take points off teams.”
Doran was part of Paddy Tally’s backroom team in Down for three seasons and made the move to Clare to sample something completely different after capturing the Monaghan championship title with Ballybay last year. So far he’s enjoying working alongside the experienced Collins.
“Colm Collins has been a dream to work with,” he said.
“He’s a coach’s dream because he lets you get on with things and he has good men around him. He has Brian Carson, Decky Dowds, Eoin Cadogan and Joe Dynes, they’re brilliant people, so honest and I couldn’t say a bad word about any of the Clare players.
“They’ve been very welcoming and they’re so hard-working. See out on the training field, they’d do anything you asked and they’re good lads. The players have made it very enjoyable but, as you know in football, it’s only enjoyable if you’re winning.
“After the Louth game we were buzzing, the Meath game ruined the weekend but hopefully we’ll get the win against Kildare and get back in good form. It’s a massive game but they’re all big games in Division Two because, if you go down, you’re heading for the Tailteann Cup.”
