Qualifier deals double blow to Banner

Offaly 1-12

Designed to give teams a second chance, to make all the six-plus months of hard training slog seem worthwhile, for some unlucky sides the new system would appear to be even more heartless and cruel than the old. Clare being the latest case in point.

Hammered at home last Sunday week by Limerick in their first championship outing, beaten again six days later at the same venue.

Rubbing salt into a fresh wound, Clare had been going very well against Limerick first time out and when the visitors had a man sent off in the 22nd minute.

Far from capitalising on the extra man however, Clare fell into disarray, Limerick went on an unanswered five-point run to end the first half, began the second with three more, and it was game over.

On Saturday, Clare didn’t have that extra man until the second half but when Offaly’s veteran centre-back Finbarr Cullen saw a second yellow for a clumsy foot-tackle on Mark O’Connell, the writing was on the wall.

Just two minutes after the restart, at that stage the game was still finely balanced, Offaly ahead 1-6 to 0-6 after a strong second-quarter surge, but over the next quarter, it ended. Four points followed, all for Offaly, the fourth the final nail, a free from several metres outside the Clare 45 near the right touchline from Offaly’s outstanding midfielder, Ciaran McManus.

1-10 to 0-6 now, Clare were left to play catch-up. They managed a fine goal, a diving fisted effort from Odhran O’Dwyer, their best player but gave the meagre home support no further cause for cheer.

“You have to win support,” insisted coach John Kennedy. “Again, we didn’t play to our full potential, but Clare have been on a downward spiral. We didn’t do well in the league, some very disappointing results, and you need good results to breed confidence. Today at times, we lacked the confidence a winning streak would bring.”

And the extra man syndrome? “We spoke about that during the week. We didn’t use the loose man well then, and it happened again. Offaly played to their strengths, McManus came into the game, Coughlan, Malone, Grennan, Quinn, they used their experience.” The flip side of the Clare experience is Offaly. Pipped in Leinster after a replay by neighbours Laois, they had since beaten London comprehensively, now add Clare to their list of championship scalps for this season. Still a long road back to Croke Park, but manager Paul O’Kelly is upbeat.

“We’ve still got a long way to go, but we were sick, really, really sick, after being beaten by Laois. We knew in our heart and soul we were better than Laois but in the replay we just didn’t keep the performance up for long enough, gave away a few simple scores, and they won it. We’re still taking a very long-term view on this, looking at a three-year time-frame, we’re persisting with a very young panel. But we still play every match to win; we don’t know who we’re playing next, but we intend winning that match. That’s our approach.”

How far they progress will depend hugely on the form and fitness of Ciaran McManus, man-of-the-match again on Saturday, four long-range points from frees, one further out than the next. His last effort, the only one he missed all day, was actually outside the Clare 65m line, had the legs, but was pushed just wide.

Based as he is in Germany, how long more can McManus keep training on his own to maintain the fitness levels his high-powered hard-running game demands? “It’s difficult, and I suffered a bit out there near the end. It’s seventy minutes, you do a lot of mileage.”

In the end, his four points was the difference between the sides on the scoreboard. The greater difference however was in their respective fortunes under this new system. Something will surely have to be done.

Scorers: Offaly: N. McNamee 1-1; C. McManus 0-4 (frees); N. Coughlan 0-3; C. Quinn 0-3 (0-2 frees); P. Kellaghan 0-1.

Clare: O. O’Dwyer 1-5 (0-1 free); M. O’Dwyer 0-2 (frees); G. Quinlan 0-1.

OFFALY: K. Meehan; C. Daly (C), G. Rafferty, J. Hurst; J. Kenny, F. Cullen, K. Slattery; C. McManus, J. Grennan; C. Quinn, R. Malone, P. Mulhare; N. Coughlan, P. Kellaghan, N. McNamee. Subs: C. Evans (Rafferty, 16); M. Mitchell (Kellaghan 40); A. McNamee (Grennan 62); V. Claffey (N. McNamee 66).

CLARE: D. O’Brien; P. Gallagher, D. O’Sullivan (C), C. Whelan; P. Smith, B. Considine, N. Griffin; G. Quinlan, D. Russell; D. O’Driscoll, M. O’Connell, P. McMahon; M. O’Dwyer, O. O’Dwyer, R. Donnelly. Subs: D. Hedigan (Considine 27); A. Clohessy (McMahon 44); S. Hickey (Donnelly 60); P. Cosgrave (M. O’Dwyer 69).

Referee: G. Kinneavy (Roscommon). Attendance: 1,500.