Bigger challenges are coming but Clare look ready for anything

There was no disguising how much of a horror-show this was for Waterford who have slipped from second-favourites for the All-Ireland into the middle of an abyss in eight days

Clare's Cian Nolan and Ian Galvin with Shane McNulty and Mark Fitzgerald of Waterford. ©INPHO/James Crombie

Munster SHC R5

Clare 3-31 

Waterford 2-22 

Shortly after half-time, the match assumed the tone and temper of a challenge game. Clare were cruising. Waterford were bailing water from a sinking ship that had been steadily going down from the first quarter. The last 30 minutes were just a book-keeping exercise as Clare clocked scores for fun.

Clare had bagged 3-24 by the end of the third quarter, at which stage they led by 19 points. A handful of late Waterford scores added a few more layers of makeup to the scoreboard but there was still no disguising how much of a horror-show this was for a side which have slipped from second-favourites for the All-Ireland and into the middle of an abyss within just eight days.

Waterford’s woes shouldn’t distract from Clare’s brilliance and the panache, elan and power of another impressive display, which was further embellished considering the marquee players that didn’t even tog out. Clare could afford to hit 20 wides and still mow Waterford down like roadkill.

Clare have continued to rout every question posed to them throughout this championship whereas Waterford have flatlined when nobody thought such an eventuality was possible in such stark circumstances.

Liam Cahill and Mikey Bevans have built this team around pace, powerful running and relentless intensity but Waterford were flat and devoid of confidence and energy. For a team which had to win against a team which didn’t, the nature of this collapse leaves Cahill with serious questions to answer.

When they were under the cosh from Limerick four weeks ago, Waterford had the physical and mental resilience to stay in the fight until the very end but there was none of that here. 

Cahill had tried to generate a spark before the game even began by making four changes to his starting line-up. He mixed it up even more by starting Tadgh de Búrca at full-back, Austin Gleeson at number six and Jamie Barron in the full-forward line but none of those changes made any difference.

Clare blitzed Waterford off the park from the first whistle. They led by 0-8 to 0-1 after just eight minutes, with Clare feasting on Waterford turnovers and gobbling up their short puckouts on the transition from their second and third balls. Waterford were rudderless but they had lost two of their main leaders before they even knew where they were, with de Búrca gone off injured after only four minutes, with Barron following him just seven minutes later.

Waterford eventually got a foothold in the match midway through the first quarter to only trail by three points but then Clare pressed their foot to the gas again and were soon out of sight. Goals from David Reidy and David Fitzgerald provided confirmation of Clare’s authority and absolute dominance.

Clare had played with the breeze but Waterford were just thankful the 2-16 to 0-9 deficit wasn’t far greater. Clare had double the amount of shots (32-16) while Shaun O’Brien made a couple of fine saves from Peter Duggan.

Waterford couldn’t handle Duggan’s power under the dropping ball. He had a hand in all three goals, two of which were sourced from him forcing the turnover with a Waterford player in possession. Duggan also could have had another goal just before half time only for a smart Conor Gleeson block, with the ball ricocheting off Gleeson’s hurley and over the bar.

Waterford were in no-mans land throughout the first half and they could never arrest that slide. They needed early goals in the second half to have any chance of salvaging something from the wreckage but Clare raised the first green flag of the half from the outstanding David Fitzgerald, who ended with 2-3 from play.

Dessie Hutchinson was Waterford’s best player by a distance, ending with 1-6 from play, but Waterford played like a team that just wanted the living nightmare to end as quickly as possible.

As the atmosphere died and Waterford tried to colour the scoreboard with some degree of respectability, Clare continued to do what they wanted. They even had the luxury of being able to hand championship debuts to four players – Cian Nolan (who started), Darragh Lohan, Adam Hogan and Éamonn Foudy. Hogan, a Dr Harty Cup winner with St Joseph’s Tulla this year sits his Leaving Cert next month while Foudy, the sub goalkeeper, also hadn’t even featured in the league.

Yet the most pleasing aspect for Brian Lohan – who made six changes from the side which drew with Limerick seven days earlier - was the form of the more established players, especially Duggan, Fitzgerald and Shane O’Donnell. They didn’t feature in last year’s championship, but all three were in the running for man-of-the-match, which offers another example of just how much this side is improving. That was further evident with David Reidy’s return from a knee operation to start his first game of the summer while Shane Meehan came on and looked classy again for the second time in seven days.

Clare will be delighted with this display but they won’t be getting carried away either considering the paucity of Waterford’s performance. Bigger challenges are coming but Clare look ready for whatever arrives. 

Scorers for Clare: D Fitzgerald 2-3, P Duggan 0-8 (3f, 2’65, 1S/l), S O’Donnell 0-5, D Reidy 1-2, C Malone 0-4, D McInerney, R Taylor, R Mounsey 0-2 each, I Galvin, S Golden, S Meehan 0-1 each.

Scorers for Waterford: D Hutchinson 1-6, P Curran 1-4 (2f), S Bennett 0-5 (3f 1’65), C Lyons, K Bennett 0-2 each, P Hogan, P Mahony, A Gleeson 0-1 each.

CLARE: E Quilligan; R Hayes, C Cleary, C Nolan; J Browne, A Fitzgerald, D McInerney; C Malone, S Golden; S O’Donnell, D Fitzgerald, R Taylor; D Reidy, P Duggan, I Galvin.

Subs: S Meehan for Galvin (45min), R Mounsey for Reidy (49min), A Hogan for Hayes (53min), D Lohan for A Fitzgerald (57min), E Foudy for Quilligan (59min) 

WATERFORD: S O’Brien; I Kenny, T de Burca, C Gleeson; M Fitzgerald, A Gleeson, J Fagan; C Lyons, P Mahony; P Hogan, N Montgomery, J Prendergast; D Hutchinson, P Curran, J Barron.

Subs: S McNulty for de Burca (4min), S Bennett for Barron (11min), K Bennett for Fagan (30min), M Harney for Mahony (HT), DJ Foran for Montgomery (58min).

Referee: Paud O’Dwyer (Carlow)