Nothing dull about Déise as Clare show signs of life

A DULL afternoon in Thurles yesterday, cold and drizzly, dense and low-lying grey clouds enveloping the whole area; reflective of those conditions, out in Semple Stadium a pitiful crowd of just over 11,000 to witness a fixture which, only a few years ago, was one of the glamour clashes on the GAA calendar.

And yet, defying both the weather and an absence of any kind of atmosphere, the hurlers of Waterford and Clare combined to give us a wonderful contest, a game that was decided only in the final ten minutes, Waterford scoring four points without reply to just deservedly take the honours.

Clare came to Thurles as complete underdogs; a Division Two team beaten out for promotion by Wexford in this same ground a few weeks ago in the league final on a day when they couldn’t find the posts, a young side with a rookie manager and with seven championship debutants.

A four-point half-time lead (1-10 to 0-9), however made a nonsense of that, and in fact had Clare not suffered a repeat of their league final shooting yips (eight first-half wides), they would have been even further ahead. All over the field Clare were on top, Waterford making only occasional isolated stands.

Inside, where Waterford opted for a two-man full-forward line, Cian Dillon was handling the size and threat of former hurler-of-the-year Dan Shanahan, while youngster Conor Cooney was doing a decent damage-limitation job on the ever-dangerous John Mullane (held him to two points from play and two more from very softly awarded frees, both notched by Eoin Kelly).

The Clare half-back line of Brendan Bugler, Diarmuid McMahon and Patrick Donnellan were also on top, Nicky O’Connell was the pick of the four midfielders (though Shane O’Sullivan was doing well for Waterford), while pacy wing-forwards Seán Collins and Jonathon Clancy picked off two fine points apiece.

Inside, however, was where Clare really had Waterford in trouble, the lanky frame of Darach Honan causing major problems for first Eoin Murphy, then Liam Lawlor. U21 again next year, the Clonlara youngster isn’t just about height and a telescopic catching arm, he also has sublime skills, and his goal in the 33rd minute was a score of real quality, a power shot from about 20m off his left side over Clinton Hennessey’s left shoulder.

With that goal, and a subsequent Colin Ryan point, Clare took a six-point lead and as half-time approached, a shock was certainly on the cards. Two softly conceded frees just before the interval, however, both of them from distance but both pointed by the lethal Eoin Kelly, threw Waterford a lifeline, reduced that deficit to four.

With the strong wind now at their backs, the second-half was dominated by Waterford, supersub Declan Prendergast with three fine points from wing-back, his older brother Seamus – another sub – with another two, while Ken McGrath put an exclamation mark on his late cameo appearance with a long-ranger from halfway.

Some contribution from the bench, all of whom, it appeared, felt they had something to prove.

“I’ve been criticised in Waterford, written off, but I proved a point today, scored three points,” said Declan; “I didn’t come on to do any scoring, I came on to defend, but the ball ran for me, I put them over the bar.”

It wasn’t just those three, however; corner-back Noel Connors was prominent all through, Tony Browne now thundered into the game as did Brick Walsh at centre-back, and together with Declan Prendergast, this trio formed a wall across the 45m in this half.

Team captain Stephen Molumphy came in with two fine points, John Mullane was still busy, the Shanahan brothers Dan and Maurice – though both were eventually taken off – also contributed, while Eoin McGrath came up with the score of the game, perhaps even the point of the championship, a missile from just outside his own 45m line.

For Clare, Darach Honan remained a threat up front, added two points, and the O’Donovan twins, Cormac and Domhnall, along with David Barrett, impressed on their introduction. The wise old heads (on and off the pitch) were the difference eventually, won it for Waterford, but mark this down: this Clare side will be heard from again.

Waterford: C Hennessy; N Connors, L Lawlor, E Murphy; T Browne, M Walsh, J Nagle; S O'Sullivan, R Foley; K Moran (0-2), M Shanahan (0-2), E Kelly (0-6, 4f); J Mullane (0-3), D Shanahan, S Molumphy (0-3). Subs - D Prendergast (0-3) for Nagle (h.t.), S Prendergast (0-2) for M Shanahan (50), S Walsh for D Shanahan (60), K McGrath (0-1) for Moran (64), E McGrath for Molumphy (70+2)

Clare: D Touhy; P Vaughan, C Dillon, C Cooney; B Bugler, D McMahon, P Donnellan; B O'Connell, N O'Connell (0-3, 1f); S Collins (0-2), J Conlon (0-1), J Clancy (0-3); F Lynch, D Honan (1-3), C Ryan (0-1). Subs - C O'Donovan (0-1) for Ryan (45), D O'Donovan for B O'Connell (52), D Barrett (0-1) for Lynch (57), A Markham for Clancy (66).

Ref: Brian Gavin (Offaly).