Breezy boss Kiely diplomatically defuses sideline tension

After exchanging a few heated words with the Clare sideline in the closing minutes, John Kiely was a model of diplomacy and even bonhomie upon Paud O’Dwyer’s final whistle.

He and Donal Moloney smilingly shook hands, and when asked by reporters about their earlier exchange, Kiely grinned again, breezily quipping, “Sure we got on very well on the line, no issue at all!”

Several things had undoubtedly helped improve his form, most significantly that his team had scored the last two points of the game to earn a point in the most difficult road venue in hurling to get a result.

What was obvious though from his comments was that he wasn’t quite as pleased with the officiating, even if his tone was far from irate.

“I know it was [only] a draw but to come down here and get something to take home with you, you have to be more than happy with that. I think the attitude of our players was fantastic. I knew from the word-go this morning when we hooked up that the attitude and focus was just right.

“We never gave up on it. A couple of balls were brought forward for (Clare frees) and that made a big difference; we didn’t quite get the same yardage when they were remonstrating against some of our frees, so there was a bit of a [discrepancy] issue there.”

He also felt the officials could have been more vigilant to some of the treatment his full-forward line, and Aaron Gillane in particular, were subjected to.

“The lads were getting a bit of attention there, which is to be expected. But you also expect a few umpires to maybe spot what’s going on when it’s just 20 yards away from them.

“But listen, you just get on with it and take your medicine and the lads had to really work hard for everything they got today and I think they played exceptionally well. I was delighted with our lads today.”