Tipp goals made all the difference, says McMahon

DIFFICULT as it must have been, Clare captain Seán McMahon still had the good grace to face an inquisition after the final whistle.

With the victorious and understandably jubilant Tipperary team filing past, the Banner's number six had the reality of defeat staring him in the face, not to mention ringing in his ears.

The turning point of the game was quickly identified. "Those goals, we were really chasing it after that," said McMahon. "They made all the difference."

His goalkeeper, Davy Fitzgerald, agreed. "Yeah, we were chasing the game after the second goal. I honestly think he (Micheal Webster) carried the ball a long way for the second goal, he took an awful lot of steps. I feel very hard done-by over that.

"In saying that, they were better than us on the day, but that second goal killed us. I thought it could have been a free out. It's very disappointing, and I could be wrong, but that's how it looked from where I was, and it was a killer after the first goal. Tipperary played good stuff, and fair play to them." When the qualifier option was mentioned, McMahon shook his head.

"Well, we weren't thinking of that option," said the big man from Doora-Barefield. "But we just have to take it. Maybe the two games Tipperary had against Limerick were the difference, I don't know, but I know we did have chances in the game and we just didn't take them; we definitely had the chances to make a difference."

That point was echoed by Fitzgerald: "We created four goalscoring chances. I know Tipperary won by six points, and we were well beaten on the day, but I'd definitely say that the two games they had with Limerick brought them on a lot. If we'd taken those chances.

"On the other hand, in the past when we've been six or seven points down we've crumbled and been beaten well. That didn't happen today.

There's always hope, we'll go away again and get down to it, and I think we'll be there later in the championship. "

Asked if it was frustrating that the scoreline didn't reflect the fact that Clare had created those first-half opportunities, Seán McMahon's response was brutally simple, and a refutation of conspiracy theorists who surmise that counties may choose the qualifiers as a more fruitful route for long-term success: "The frustrating thing is we lost."