Allianz HL Division 1A

Shane O’Donnell is expected to be out of action for a month after sustaining a foot injury. It is believed he picked up the setback in last Sunday’s Division 1B win over Limerick in Ennis.

Tony Kelly has resigned himself to the likelihood of not playing a competitive game for Clare until the Munster championship showdown with Waterford.

Cork hurlers will be without defender Colm Spillane for the rest of 2016, after it was yesterday confirmed he suffered a cruciate tear in Saturday’s Division 1A game against Waterford.

Clare fear Pat Donnellan may have suffered a season-ending cruciate tear following a challenge game last weekend.

Not a spectacular Sunday, in keeping with the hurling championship to date, but an interesting one. 

THERE are times when you go into a big game as manager knowing the gun is to your head, when you can almost feel the cold steel pressed against your temple.

An “off the cuff” approach can steer Clare past Cork in Saturday’s sink-or-swim qualifier clash, according to two-time All-Ireland medal-winner Frank Lohan.

Clare 3-26 Offaly 0-15

When Davy Fitzgerald and his backroom team sit down this week to analyse where things went wrong for Clare on Sunday in Thurles, they should identify three key areas which need major improvement: Use of possession, discipline, and the need to be more competitive in the vital midfield battleground.

Hurling coaches are choking the game to death. What materialised inside the whitewash at Thurles on Sunday reaffirmed my concerns for the game. 

I was in the RTÉ radio booth in the cockpit of the Kinnane Stand yesterday, when the fourth official signalled there would be just one minute of injury-time.

The two live TV games yesterday were boosted by impressive performances by both referees who applied the rules consistently.

The first half at Semple Stadium didn’t provide a great deal of entertainment, although the second was a distinct improvement.

Clare 2-15 Limerick 1-19: The margins were fine in Thurles even if the hurling wasn’t.

When the guns fell silent yesterday in Thurles, TJ Ryan hit the fourth estate with the perfect exit line: “I’d say ye’ll be writing deep into the night, lads.”

Adare's John Fitzgibbon was the hero for Limerick but Clare were left counting the cost of their indiscipline in a niggly and sometimes ugly Munster quarter-final.

Tonight in Páirc Uí Rinn could be a tinderbox, with both Cork and Clare under serious pressure for the simple reason that whoever loses is staring a relegation final in the face. 

Wexford 2-25 Clare 2-22 (after extra-time)

In the lead-up to the game, I believed the first 20 minutes would prove crucial and that if one team got a grip it would be hard to seize the initiative back from them.

At half-time, nobody had expected this contest to be so one-sided.

What event is as admired in principle yet as forgettable in reality as a league semi-final?

“You knew what he was going to do. You just couldn’t stop him doing it.”

When Brian Murphy, who retired from intercounty hurling during the week, was at his peak with the Cork senior hurling team, his brief was pretty specific.

Clare captain Pat Donnellan believes Davy Fitzgerald’s men will be hard-pressed to maintain their impressive start to the NHL.

The Clare hurlers’ bachelor mission to the Mexican resort of Cancun is a man down yesterday after captain Pat Donnellan confirmed he popped the question to Limerick girl Edel Leahy.

Eight members of Clare's 2013 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship title-winning team have won places on the 2013 GAA/GPA All-Stars Hurling team, it has been confirmed.

There was no sports psychologist present, no wisdom imparted from management, instead the Clare hurling panel played a game of cards to settle the pre-match nerves on Saturday morning.

Clare manager Davy Fitzgerald has revealed how a three-hour meeting with the players in his sitting room, during which they had MiWadi orange and biscuits, got the Banner's Championship campaign back on track.

TACTICAL TALKING POINTS

Just suspend disbelief for a moment and try visualising the following scenario, implausible though it may sound. Clare won this year’s All-Ireland all right, but they won it the first day.

The Banner roared last night as 30,000 supporters turned out in Ennis to give a tumultuous welcome to the victorious All-Ireland senior hurlers with the Liam MacCarthy Cup.

Upwards of 30,000 people descended on Ennis tonight for the homecoming of the Clare Senior and Under 21 All-Ireland-winning teams.

Clare Senior Hurlers visited Crumlin Children's Hospital this morning with the Liam MacCarthy Cup ahead of their Homecoming celebrations in Ennis tonight.

Clare 5-16 Cork 3-16

Once more with mixed feelings, then. It shouldn’t have come to this, and not because Brian Gavin was as liberal with his interpretation of the laws of added time three weeks ago as he usually is with his interpretation of the laws of the game.

It would generally be accepted Clare captain Pat Donnellan is more diplomatic than his manager but don’t try and tell him Brian Gavin evened up the score with the amount of additional time he played on Sunday.

Darach Honan’s assessment of Domhnall O’Donovan’s €3 million point was to the point: “Fair fucks to him, in fairness.”