Gary Brennan: Clare are cutting down on mistakes but the air is thin from here on

Roscommon's Ultan Harney is tackled by Cillian Rouine and Manus Doherty of Clare. Both defenders were also comfortable carrying the ball out. 

NA CÉADTA sa chath agus na deireannacha as, is the motto attached to the Clare crest — first into battle and last out.

Our boys certainly lived up to that on Saturday. By pure coincidence, I happened to be just a few seats away from my former team-mate, Gordon Kelly. With the second half seeming to peter out, we were both fairly muted but by the time the final whistle went, it was demanding all of our self-restraint not to jump down from the middle tier of the Hogan Stand to join the celebrations.

This was a significant win for this Clare team, and not just for the obvious benefit of getting to the last eight. For starters, it is the first time in my memory that we have won two championship games in a row against teams who finished above us in the league. And more importantly, we had to come from behind to do so — another thing we haven’t excelled at in the championship. However, it wasn’t the complete shock that some might have you believe. After all, the teams couldn’t be separated in the league earlier this year in Dr. Hyde Park when, by the way, Clare scored the last three points to earn the draw.

Clare had gotten themselves into a strong position by half-time, being willing to concede shorter kickouts, which had hurt them against Limerick, was more effective this time around. There was better pressure on the ball coming out and Roscommon’s build-up was being slowed and forced laterally, which allowed Clare time to get their structure in place.

That structure was accompanied by good intensity in the tackle, which forced Roscommon into some wilder shooting than we would usually expect of them — five wides and three shots dropped short by half-time, compared to two of each for Clare.

The aspect of this first half which I felt improved for Clare from last week was the pace at which they broke forward. Manus Doherty and Cillian Rouine both looked comfortable in carrying the ball out (Cillian even getting up for a score), but the running of Ciarán Russell is especially impressive. Clare usually try to free him up as the controller of the defence but he is an expert at knowing the time to break. It got him in a position to find Keelan Sexton with a sublime pass for the first-half goal.

Eoin Cleary worked very hard to keep presenting himself as an outlet in the half-forward line also and Cathal O’Connor was storming around the field like a man possessed. The major areas for concern at half-time for Colm Collins would have been the space Ciarán Murtagh was finding and exploiting (he had 0-3 from play) and the nature of the goal Clare had conceded — allowing Diarmuid Murtagh get to the high ball first.

However, the second half saw Clare return to the issues that almost cost them against Meath last week. After Keelan Sexton’s free just after half-time, Clare didn’t score again until the 59th minute. Of the 13 times they had the ball in that period, there were five turnovers, five wides, and three kickouts lost.

ROSCOMMON deserve credit for upping the pressure on Clare from front to back. Even when Tristan O’Callaghan got kickouts away, Clare were having to work harder to bring the ball out.

Of the three kickouts they picked off, Roscommon scored points directly from two of them. Most damagingly for Clare, where they had been meeting Roscommon runners outside and around the 45m line in the first half, that defensive line looked as though it moved deeper in the second half and Roscommon were punishing Clare’s inefficiency with scores, getting 0-6 themselves. Conor and Ronan Daly (twice) broke the line at pace to score and Donie Smith had a big influence after his introduction. Things certainly looked to be going the way of the Rossies.

Clare were looking tired but games can turn on small moments — and two stood out for me. After Podge Collins kicked Clare’s fifth wide of that period, heads could have dropped, but Clare won the next Roscommon kickout — Ciarán Russell getting a break on it, which Emmet McMahon did well to collect. This phase of possession eventually led to a close-in free for Sexton, ending the barren spell.

Even though Roscommon actually stretched their lead to five after that, getting any score was critical for Clare at that stage. Roscommon were forcing Clare long with more of their kickouts now but Clare were doing excellently on breaks.

The second pivotal moment was when Eoin Cleary and Gavin Cooney combined to force David Murray into overcarrying the ball in the corner by the Hill. That free, which would have been a tricky one was moved in and suddenly Clare had a foothold.

From here, this Clare rally showed how they have progressed. We have sometimes resorted to desperate long balls when behind in games in the past, but Jamie Malone sent in a ball with an excellent angle and trajectory which resulted in the penalty. Malone and Sexton then combined to force a Roscommon turnover outside the 45m line. Keelan showed his cool from the penalty spot but showed his class here to stroke over.

And in the final moments, getting a kickout away and keeping possession after Roscommon had missed a tricky chance to go ahead, making their way upfield and then getting the ball into the hands of the right men. Malone to Tubridy and back again for a score that will live long in the memory of all Clare supporters.

And so, the challenge of the Ulster champions Derry now awaits. Clare brought their wide count down from ten to seven on Saturday and turnovers from 19 down to 12, so there is definite progression, but the next fortnight will be spent seeking the same level of improvement again. The battles will get tougher but this is exactly where these Clare men want to be.

On another note, the set-play executed by Armagh from the throw-in on Sunday was rightly lauded for the brilliant kick by Rian O’Neill and catch and finish by Rory Grugan. Now, it may be seen as a whinge, but I have a pet hate at throw-ins — deliberate blocking. It happens at almost every throw-in and there is a danger of a player jumping for the ball being badly injured when this happens, especially if they have gotten into the air and the blocker takes their legs.

For Armagh’s play to work, Rian O’Neill needed to win the ball. So how did it happen? Ben Crealy and Michael Murphy shouldered one another — no issue there, but Crealy then just runs into Jason McGee as McGee tries to jump. Excellently done by Crealy as it’s never picked up on, but if someone ran into a player jumping for the ball at any other stage of the game, would it be allowed?

It’s near impossible for the referee to see who is blocking whom a lot of the time and Michael Murphy’s probable intention was to block O’Neill also. My proposal would be to have just one player from each team contest the throw-in with the other two players outside the 65m line.