Podge Collins back to his best and O’Malley coming for Clare team

Niall McIntyre

Tell you what, it was a sight for the sorest of eyes.

There are many great sights in the game of hurling but there are few better than Cratloe wizard Podge Collins at his scheming best.

And he was dodging, ducking and dummying his way through the Clare senior hurling quarter final on Saturday afternoon. Underdogs Cratloe defeated reigning county champions Sixmilebridge in Cusack Park and Podge Collins was on song.

Buff Egan was down in Ennis for the double header of last eight clashes and his camera was down in Podge’s corner for the most of the day’s second game, such was the corner forward’s impact.

Collins had three points to his name by the time the clock had hit 20, leaving Bridge defenders in his wake for sport. That man’s first half tour de force powered the 2014 county champions into a one point half-time lead, and with Conor McGrath, Rian Considine and young Diarmuid Ryan coming into it in the second half, they would go onto win comfortably with six to spare, 1-19 to 0-16 the final score.

Podge showed signs of returning to his 2013 form in the Saffron and blue this year, and he looks back to his very best now.

They’ll be big players as this Clare SHC reaches its closing stages.

Saturday was a day for the underdogs with O’Callaghan Mills also taking down favourites and last year’s finalists Clooney-Quin in the other last eight clash of the day.

Sunday and Cusack Park was the place to be again and TG4 were in Ennis. Not to break any trends, last year’s county intermediate champions Kilmaley hurled 4/5 favourites Éire Óg Ennis off the field from the word go and they never once looked being even challenged by the town team.

The star of the show was their centre forward Michael O’Malley, who had impressed for Clare in the League earlier this year. After earning a man-of-the-match early on in the league and hurling well in other games, he looked like a man that was heading for Clare’s starting 15 for the championship.

He turned out to be the forgotten man as men like Jason McCarthy, Cathal Malone and Darragh Corry got in ahead of him but he hurled like a man who was out to prove a point here, with Clare joint-manager Donal Moloney watching on from the stands.

It’ll be impossible to ignore him if he keeps putting in man-of-the-match performances like his display on Sunday, and points like this one, the third of his five from play.

That ball was never going anywhere else bar over the black spot.

Super point for Kilmaley from Michael O'Malley. pic.twitter.com/CoCy4FpRXc

— The GAA (@officialgaa) September 23, 2018

Agallamh le Laoch na hImeartha Michael O'Malley ó @KilmaleyGAA

Cluiche den scoth aige!@GAA_BEO @TG4TV @MunsterGAA @officialgaa pic.twitter.com/ugcEVuGKXG

— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) September 23, 2018

It was a different story for his Clare teammate David Reidy. Reidy was Ennis’ best performer but it was a disappointing day for his club.

He won a free in injury-time of the game after he was bundled onto the ground by a Kilmaley tackler. Rather than dawdling on the ground feeling sorry for himself, Reidy got up almost instantly to hit the free.

The Kilmaley number 14 who’d fouled him walked across Reidy’s path while he was taking his free, and earned a wallop across his back for his troubles.

He knew what he was doing, tactically slowing Reidy down so as to allow his teammates to get back into position, but he earned a harsh lesson for his indiscretion because on top of a reddener on the back, the free was brought forward ten metres.