Banner hold majority of the aces
Clare joint manager Gerry O’Connor and his Waterford counterpart Liam O’Connor seized the opportunity to take in the respective last four clashes. Ahead of tomorrow’s decider in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, both are highly impressed by the their opponents.
“What really impressed me in Waterford’s match in Walsh Park was young (Stephen) Bennett’s ability to score goals whenever Limerick came back,” said Gerry O’Connor. “As well as that Limerick had taken over but to be fair to Waterford they clawed their way back into it. They brought six subs on that night who all made a difference and we wouldn’t have that strength in-depth.”
Liam O’Connor responded by putting the favourites’ tag on the Banner men: “Clare are the form team this year. They’ve shown that in challenge games and in the Munster championship.
“Someone pointed out to me that Clare beat Tipperary by the same margin as us, by six points. But that flattered us as we got a few scores late on to just pull clear, whereas Clare were nine points ahead with time almost up before Tipperary got a late goal.
“They have the experience from last year as well. I live in Kilkenny and was at last year’s All-Ireland minor final. That was regarded as an outstanding Kilkenny team but Clare should have won that game. They were very impressive and it’s some of the main men of that team who are to the fore again this year.”
Two of the survivors from that Clare side are midfield duo Tony Kelly and Colm Galvin, who have both excelled this season.
“They’re nearly telepathic at this stage,” said Gerry O’Connor. “When one goes up for the ball, the other knows to stay down. Midfield is a crucial area in minor hurling, more so than senior, as the puckouts usually land (there).”
Waterford’s team lineup sees a large number of clubs from throughout the county represented in their starting XV. Liam O’Connor sees that as representative of the strides being made at grassroots level.
“All credit to the guys that are putting in so much work at underage level. It’s all down to them, especially the players that are coming through from unfashionable clubs.
“It’s a positive but can also be a difficulty in that you have guys from diverse areas of the city and county, who you have got to gel into a unified force. But I’ve been involved with this current squad since these lads were U13, our spirit is good at this stage.”
The Déise have a few hugely promising attackers but it is difficult to look past the defending champions. Corner-back Seadna Morey was a class act in last year’s All-Ireland decider while centre-back Jamie Shanahan impressed for Árdscoil Rís earlier this season.
The midfield duo of Kelly and Galvin are hugely influential while in attack Cathal O’Connell, Peter Duggan and Aaron Cunningham are the players to watch for the Banner.
- Verdict: Clare
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