Anthony Daly: Are goal-shy Clare and Galway just working on a system for Limerick?

If this was a game that Clare had targeted, when a league semi-final was still up for grabs, they went about it a funny way.
Anthony Daly: Are goal-shy Clare and Galway just working on a system for Limerick?

Clare's Paul Flanagan and Tom Monaghan of Galway

At one stage in the second half in Cusack Park on Sunday, a couple of Clare supporters got into a heated argument in front of me in the North Stand. Robyn Mounsey had a poor wide. One fella was giving out about it. Another lad was defending the Ruan man. I turned around to the fellas beside me and said, ‘That’s nearly the first time the Clare supporters have got animated all afternoon’.

It was nearly that kind of a day for Clare, where the muted and lifeless action on the field transferred into the stands. Even when Clare raced into an 0-8 to 0-2 lead early on, there was no great life in the crowd.

When Clare finally shook themselves from their torpor and reduced the margin to three points near the end of the match, there were a few bangs on the back of galvanise from ‘The Shed’ (as the North Stand is known) which is normally a signal to get the place hopping. But it didn’t. Galway just drove down the field and pushed the margin out to four before keeping Clare at arm’s length for the remainder of the match.

Coming out the road afterwards in the car, I was nearly shaking my head and asking myself – from a Clare perspective – ‘What was that all about?’ If this was a game that Clare had targeted, when a league semi-final was still up for grabs, they went about it a funny way. On the other hand, how badly did Clare want to win it? The players – and the crowd – didn’t seem to be that bothered.

None of that assessment is being disrespectful to Galway who came to town and got their business done effectively and efficiently without ever setting the place on fire. Henry Shefflin will be glad of what he got out of the match – Galway recovered well after a horror start and a five-point winning margin could easily have been ten if they had converted some more of their chances.

I don’t want to speak for all Clare supporters but I think much of the frustration on Sunday extended far beyond the result and the poverty of the performance – are Clare, and Galway as well, trying to put a system in place designed to try and beat Limerick down the line?

The way in which Galway played against Limerick in last year’s All-Ireland semi-final effectively mirrored how both teams played – mass bunching in the middle third, two in the full-forward line, no sweepers on either team, wholesale long-range shooting. And effectively zero goal threat.

Conor Whelan nailed the one chance Galway created while Eanna Murphy made a brilliant save from the only goal chance Clare manufactured from David Reidy.

Galway nearly pulled it off last July until 19 wides contaminated their chances. I don’t know what the conversion rate or wide counts were yesterday but they were broadly similar from both teams. Some of the shooting from distance was crazy stuff.

The entertainment value was poor. The atmosphere was nearly non-existent. The Galway fans went away happy but they won’t be getting carried away either because they’ll accept how far off the pace Clare were.

The fare in Páirc Ui Chaoimh on Sunday wasn’t a whole lot better from a quality perspective but at least Cork-Wexford wasn’t as flat or as passive as what we saw in Ennis. I fancied Wexford to cause a shock and they would have if Lee Chin had nailed a late ’65 that would have put Wexford three up.

Chin is a brilliant player but his dead-ball striking is an issue that just won’t go away for both him and Wexford. It is solid but solid won’t be enough when Wexford go up against teams in Leinster with TJ Reid, Evan Niland and Donal Burke, freetakers who just don’t miss.

Darragh Egan will still have been a lot happier driving home than he was after the Clare debacle two weeks ago. Wexford needed a performance and they got it. Cork needed a result to guarantee a semi-final, which they also got. Pat Ryan will be happy with the way in which Cork won the game even if he’ll be unhappy with so much of the display.

Across the border, Liam Cahill will be thrilled with what he saw from his players in Thurles on Saturday evening because it’s been a while since I saw so much aggression and intent from a Tipp team.

Their lust for goals was typical Cahill-Mikey Bevans stuff too; Tipp’s four goals could have been six green flags. For Tipp’s first goal, Dan McCormack could have easily tapped the ball over the bar but he took it in as far as he could before popping the sliotar into Jake Morris for the first of his hat-trick.

Tipp are really exciting to watch but the final score was still a little false because Tipp took their goal chances while Waterford didn’t take any of theirs, especially their three chances just after half-time. The sending-off of Jamie Barron also had an effect on how the game went in the last quarter because Jamie looked back to the Jamie we had become accustomed to seeing, but which we hadn’t for the last two seasons.

Waterford contributed to such a good game but they’ll be concerned too by more than just the result. Apart from the huge volume of goal chances Tipp created, Austin Gleeson and Conor Prunty reportedly picked up hamstring injuries, which is never good six weeks out from championship.

Waterford can still make a semi-final if they beat Kilkenny next weekend but it’s hard to know how much Waterford will be chasing that result now, especially when Kilkenny definitely will be. A draw will be enough for Derek Lyng’s side, who were impressive yesterday when dispatching Dublin fairly comprehensively.

The reality for Dublin now is that their league performances have shown exactly where they are – marginally outside the top three but under pressure to stay in that position with the heat coming from Antrim, who secured their Division 1 status with a good win over Laois in Belfast. Laois will have to face off now against Westmeath to stay in this Division but you’d have to say that Antrim look ahead of that pair at that moment.

Laois are in the Joe McDonagh Cup but I think Antrim have their sights set on more than just beating Westmeath to retain their status in the Liam MacCarthy Cup for 2024.

They have their sights fixed on Dublin and Wexford and squeezing into that third spot in Leinster. That’s a long way away for now but it is definitely in the back of their minds. But it’s the same for every team. No matter how hard they try to focus on the league, all they see is the championship.

More in this section

Sport

Newsletter

Latest news from the world of sport, along with the best in opinion from our outstanding team of sports writers. and reporters

Cookie Policy Privacy Policy Brand Safety FAQ Help Contact Us Terms and Conditions

© Examiner Echo Group Limited