Battling Banner could soon be a match for the best
Even the boys on the sideline got into it!
What it told me was just how much this game meant to both Clare’s players and their management.
There was massive intensity from the word go, and for people like myself, this is only a good thing.
There was great crowd too, just short of 10,000, and they got full value for money.
One thing that was very evident was the character of the Clare team. They were eight points behind at one stage in the second-half and were getting a bit of a hammering. Had Limerick taken full advantage of their earlier dominance and taken two clear-cut goal chances, Clare would have been even further behind.
And yet they never panicked, on the field or on the line. The players kept their heads and kept their focus while Conor McGrath kept the scoreboard ticking over. The man who caught my eye though was Domhnall O’Donovan who was outstanding throughout at corner-back for Clare.
In the last 30 minutes the visiting midfield kicked in. Patrick Donnellan showed true captain’s qualities and was well supported by Nicky O’Connell. James McInerney was invited into the game by Limerick’s naivety with their puckouts and clearances and gradually Clare worked their way back into this tie.
On the sideline, Davy Fitzgerald and his management team also kept their focus, talking and motivating the team, and it worked. They made only one substitution — and what an impact young Aaron Cunningham had. He scored the equaliser, a fantastic point off his left from wide right and made life very difficult for a tiring Limerick defence.
Which brings me to an observation — Limerick have fitness issues. Clare were the fitter team, by far, and several of the Limerick players who were starring earlier were struggling to stay with the pace of the game.
But that isn’t the only question raised by Saturday night’s defeat. What were they doing bringing their fastest player, Graeme Mulcahy, out into heavy traffic around the middle of the field when he was the guy most suited closer to goal if Limerick went with a two or one man full-forward line.
Why did they wait so long to introduce Seanie O’Brien and Sean Tobin when it was obvious from early on that the two inside forwards they chose to start with — Tommy Quaid and Niall Moran — were having an off-day?
On the positive side, they had many outstanding performances, with centre-back Donal O’Grady along with his wing men Wayne McNamara and Gavin O’Mahony impressing. They were getting massive help from midfielders Paul Browne and James Ryan, who was outstanding all through.
This night was about Clare though. It’s fantastic to see a really good team developing, backboned by ten players from the U21 side that won the All-Ireland. They have gone through this division — a tough division — unbeaten and now have a chance to test themselves against Kilkenny.
They’re a work-in-progress and I hope the Clare public give them a chance to grow. They’ll know of course that they can’t afford to give similar latitude to Kilkenny. Some teams you can afford to start slow against and then rely on your fitness to get you back into the game — not Kilkenny, Tipperary or Cork. It’s upwards and onwards for Clare hurling and long may the stay on this curve.
For Limerick, the challenge is to increase the fitness levels to get ready for Tipperary. Also, find their best 15, as they didn’t start on Saturday night. Then, they’ll be a match for anyone.
