Galway game will make or break us, says ‘veteran’ Clancy

KEEPING it going, that’s the challenge for Jonathan Clancy and his Clare teammates this Saturday evening in Pearse Stadium in their knockout All-Ireland senior hurling qualifier against Galway.

In their opening championship game against All-Ireland champions Tipperary in the Munster semi-final, no-hopers Clare stormed from the blocks and led by seven points (1-4 to 0-0). They then conceded three soft goals in a game-defining five-minute spell, but recovered from that to again go head-to-head with the raging-hot favourites before losing by those same three soft goals.

It was a loss but the performance itself was encouraging. The fact a young Clare side which had played all its hurling this year in Division 2 was able to step up to real championship pace and those three defensive blunders apart, maintain it to the end.