There was an audible gasp when the Fossa team was called out over the tannoy with Paudie Clifford not in the lineup but the large crowd’s disappointment was short lived as his brother David lit up the gathering gloom with a five star display, kicking 1-7 in the opening half, with only one point from a free.
One had to have sympathy for his marker Jack Myers who was powerless to stop the magical moves and superlative kicking of Clifford.
John Mitchels decided early on that the best tactic of curbing Clifford was by holding possession and they managed to hold the ball for the opening three minutes but Alan O’Donoghue could not find the target.
But once Fossa got possession Ted O’Gorman and Clifford fired over a point each. The Clifford fire was lit and John Mitchels had no chance as the footballer of the year elect was unmarkable. Myers and Stephen Bowler were chasing shadows at times.
Fossa raced 0-8 to 0-2 in front by the end of the opening quarter thanks to four from Clifford, one each from O’Gorman and Killian Buckley.
Michael Kelliher and John Carmody responded with points for Mitchels and then the Tralee side scored a bizarre goal in the 18th minute when a Cian Holden shot deflected off keeper Shane O’Sullivan’s foot and ended up in the net.
O’Gorman kicked another point but then Clifford responded a minute later when he carved his way through a phalanx of Mitchels defenders and side-footed the ball to the net. Two more O’Gorman points pushed Fossa 1-11 to 1-2 clear and it was game over, but the crowd was going nowhere as they wanted to see Clifford’s genius at work.
Darragh Cunnane and John Carmody added points but Clifford finished the half in style with a brace of points, one an outrageous effort falling on his backside in the process.
Fossa retired 1-13 to 1-4 in front with Clifford scoring 1-7, and only one free without appearing to get out of first gear.
Clifford hardly got out of neutral in the second half, adding just a point to his personal tally, but he was involved in plenty of scores, including the killer pass that set up Mattie Rennie for the second goal.
David Clifford doing David Clifford things😮💨
Just the 1-5 from Clifford in the opening 18 minutes…
📺https://t.co/dktWu4d2br pic.twitter.com/vzTA4QcuBa
— Clubber (@clubber) August 9, 2025
Emmet O’Shea added three points while Mitchels top scorer was their keeper Sean Broderick with 0-3, including a two-point free.
But overall it was the Clifford show and he certainly didn’t disappoint in the opening half even without brother Paudie.
Also in the intermediate championship, Laune Rangers defeated Killarney Legion 2-15 to 1-13, Glenflesk beat St Mary’s Cahersiveen 0-16 to 0-15, and Castleisland and An Ghaeltacht drew 0-13 each.
D Clifford (1-8, 1f), T O’Gorman (0-5), M Rennie (1-0), E O’Shea (0-3), C O’Shea, K Buckley and F Coffey (0-1 each)
C Holden (1-0), S Broderick (0-3, 1×45, 2ptf), C Hurley (2pt), J Carmody (1f), M Kelliher (1f) (0-2 each), D Cunnane and P White (0-1 each).
S O’Sullivan; D O’Connell, T Gorman, S Buckley; K O’Sullivan, E Talbot, P Sheehan; C O’Shea, M Rennie; K Buckley, D Ryan, R Colleran; D Clifford, E O’Shea, H Buckley.
B Myers for R Colleran (42), F Coffey for H Buckley (45), A O’Keeffe for K O’Sullivan (53), D O’Keeffe for T O’Gorman (55), M O’Dwyer for K Buckley (60)
S Broderick; C White, B O’Donnell, N Rogers; J Myers, S O’Connor, C Hurley, S Bowler, J Carmody; S Moloney, C Holden, P Kearney; A O’Donoghue, D Cunnane, M Kelliher
P White for A O’Donoghue (h/t), J O’Halloran for B O’Donnell (42), D Rusk for S Bowler (52), S Corkery for C Hurley (57), T Flaherty for D Cunnane (60)
P Curtin (Brosna)
