Clare now have wind in their sails

Clare 1-20 Wexford 0-12

“I wouldn’t be hugely impressed with the way we played, things went our way,” he claimed, “but we’ll have to hugely improve, a good few per cent to win a semi-final. That performance won’t beat Cork, Kilkenny, Galway, that’s a different pace. But we’re plugging away.”

Well, Clare won’t have to beat either Kilkenny or Galway, but they will face Cork in three weeks, and Daly is absolutely right. They will have to improve.

Fact is, Clare won this pulling up, as Wexford, living up to their billing as possibly the most inconsistent team in hurling, failed to even raise a gallop.

The open, exciting, pacy, full-pitch hurling that almost saw them beat Kilkenny in the Leinster final was markedly absent for most of this game; in its place, a slow, predictable, one-paced debacle, marked by the crowding of midfield by Wexford themselves, pulling out Michael Jacob from full-forward, dropping Paul Carley back as sweeper, playing directly into the hands of the bigger, stronger, and far more physical Clare players in that half-back/midfield/half-forward area.

Biggest factor of all, however, in this Clare win was the truly baffling decision by Wexford to play against the wind, having won the toss. Again, played right into the hands of Clare, who had spent the last couple of weeks planning on how they might negate the kind of lightening start Wexford enjoyed against Kilkenny, in that Leinster final. “Couldn’t believe that,” said Daly, and with reason.

Wexford needed that fast start, sow the seeds of doubt in a Clare side that has still, for some inexplicable reason, not captured the imagination of even its own supporters. With that considerable wind at their backs, they might have got that start. Instead, they handed the high ground to Clare, who proceeded to take full advantage. With all their big guns firing, the Lohan brothers in complete control at the back, Seanie McMahon in vintage form at centre-back, Colin Lynch covering ground like a young colt, Davy Fitz directing operations from the goals, Clare took a stranglehold on the game early on, and never let go.

Wexford did open the scoring, a Des Mythen point (the Oulart-the-Ballagh flyer went on to give David Hoey a bit of a roasting, the one bright light in an otherwise dark afternoon for Wexford), and Wexford did manage to stay reasonably close for nearly half an hour, at which point they trailed by just four points, 0-10 to 0-6.

In truth, however, they were merely hanging on, and the loss of centre-back Declan Ruth with a hamstring pull in the 25th minute, coupled with the first (and only) goal of the game five minutes later, Alan Markham running clear, onto a perfect pass from Barry Nugent, was the beginning of the end. McMahon grabbed the resultant puckout from Damien Fitzhenry, sent it straight back over the bar from inside his own 65, and Clare were on a roll. 1-13 to 0-7 it was at the break, Wexford with it all to do, wind or no wind.

Third quarter, the Leinster runners-up really did their utmost, tried to open it up, tried to run at Clare, tried all they knew. All to no avail, no inroads made into the Clare lead. Nine points that lead was at the break, nine points it remained through five, ten, fifteen minutes of the second half, as Clare’s size and power continued to prove decisive. Several wasted shots by Wexford in that period, five of those dropping directly into the safe and grateful bosom of Davy Fitz, uncontested; eventually, life sucked out of their victims, the Clare boa constrictor tightened its grip and long before Brian Gavin blew the final whistle, the game was up.

Not for the first time, the epitaph-writers are a little premature for Clare, for the veterans of the team particularly. McMahon was man-of-the-match, the Lohans, Lynch, immense. Also of note however, the return from the forwards, from the ‘other’ midfielder. Despite nearly every early break going against him, Brian O’Connell was an able deputy for the non-stop Lynch, while up front, only Barry Nugent of the six starting forwards failed to score from play, and he did set up the goal.

There’s still a hell of a kick left in this old dog, and Cork would do well to take note. They have size, they have strength, they have skill, and they have the hunger, an undying appetite for the big day. Afterwards, Daly was already firing missiles in the psychological war, claiming that Clare would undoubtedly be the worst of the four semi-finalists. Right, Anthony.

Scorers: Clare: N. Gilligan 0-5 (0-4 frees); A. Markham 1-1; D. McMahon 0-4; T. Carmody 0-3; T. Griffin 0-3; S. McMahon 0-2 (0-1 65); B. O’Connell, C. Lynch, 0-1 each.

Wexford: D. Mythen 0-3; R. Jacob 0-3 (frees); M. Jacob 0-2; D. Ruth (free), D. Lyng (65), A. Fenlon, R. Barry, 0-1 each.

CLARE: D. Fitzgerald; G. O’Grady, B. Lohan, F. Lohan; D. Hoey, S. McMahon, G. Quinn; B. O’Connell, C. Lynch; D. McMahon, T. Carmody, A. Markham; B. Nugent, N. Gilligan, T. Griffin.

Subs: D. O’Rourke (Nugent 42); C. Plunkett (Hoey 43); D. O’Connell (Griffin 67); J. Clancy (Markham 68); A. Quinn (Gilligan 71).

WEXFORD: D. Fitzhenry; D. O’Connor, D. Ryan, K. Rossiter; M. Travers, D. Ruth, D. Lyng; R. McCarthy, A. Fenlon; P. Carley, E. Quigley, D. Mythen; M. Jordan, M. Jacob, R. Jacob.

Subs: R. Barry (Ruth inj. 25); T. Mahon (Carley 43); W. Doran (R. Jacob 62).

Referee: B. Gavin (Offaly).