All-Ireland champions Tipperary on the brink after Banner storm Thurles

MUNSTER HEAT: Tempers flare during Saturday's Munster SHC Rd 4 clash at FBD Semple Stadium. Pic: Laszlo Geczo, Inpho

Munster SHC: Tipperary 0-17 Clare 1-25

Tipperary’s defence of their All-Ireland title dangles on the precipice after this emphatic defeat to Clare.

A home victory for Limerick against Waterford on Sunday will end their championship after a dismal display in FBD Semple Stadium.

With six points from play, Diarmuid Stritch lit up the evening as Clare showed a touch of their old class sprinkled with the vitality of starlets Stritch and Seán Rynne.

The Banner, who secured their place in the top three, will be more concerned with injuries to Mark Rodgers, Ryan Taylor and Tony Kelly who all had to retire early.

This was their fourth consecutive championship win over Tipperary in Thurles and they had their run of the game. For a team who had conceded six goals in their previous two games, they were only troubled here.

RAISING THE BANNER: Ian Galvin scores Clare's goal which proved to be crucial. Pic: John Sheridan/Sportsfile

Down 0-8 to 0-14 at half-time, a listless Tipperary were behind the eight ball when Ian Galvin profited from a breaking ball sent up the field by Taylor.

The contest effectively concluded when Willie Connors picked up a second yellow card in the 51st minute for an off-the-ball foul on David Reidy. Clare’s lead extended as far as 13 points in the 59th minute.

The home support among the 32,327 attendance expected much more but Tipperary were simply limp. Their heroes of last year couldn’t raise a gallop.

As expected, there were Clare changes. The old guard of David McInerney and John Conlon were brought in as was the outstanding Stritch.

Rodgers’ game concluded in the 26th minute but he probably should never have returned to the field after receiving a borderline hit by Connors in the opening minutes.

Connors was booked for the foul as Rynne was later for a similar clash with Andrew Ormond as both teams tried to lay down the law in the opening half.

Clare’s intensity levels looked and felt double than those they reached in Ennis two weeks ago. Shane O’Donnell may have had a largely anonymous first period but outside him his younger colleagues Stritch and Rynne were prominent.

Willie Connors is shown a red card following his second yellow from referee Thomas Walsh. Pic: John Sheridan/Sportsfile

By half-time, they had sent over seven points between them, four of them from Stritch who hit Tipperary with three in a row between the 20th and 22nd minutes.

They were three of seven Clare struck without reply to move into a 0-11 to 0-5 lead by the 31st minute. They were as far as eight ahead in the 35th minute but also recorded eight wides and dropped two short. Ian Galvin, Rodgers’ permanent replacement, was guilty of sending three shots off target.

The breeze obviously discommoded Tipperary but they were getting little purchase in the Clare half of the field where John Conlon roamed with purpose.

A couple of converted frees by Darragh McCarthy, who himself was quiet, brought Tipperary to within six points at the interval but so much more had to be done. It wasn’t in them.

Scorers for Tipperary: J. Morris (0-4); J. Forde (1 sideline), D. McCarthy (frees), E. Connolly (2 frees) (0-3 each); A. Tynan, W. Connors, C. Stakelum, S. Tobin (0-1 each).

Scorers for Clare: D. Stritch, T. Kelly (3 frees) (0-6 each); I. Galvin (1-1); S. Rynne, P. Duggan (2 sidelines, 1 free) (0-4 each); C. Malone (0-2); R. Taylor, N. O’Farrell (0-1 each).

TIPPERARY: R. Shelly; M. Breen, B. O’Mara, R. Maher (c); E. Connolly, R. Doyle, C. Morgan; W. Connors, A. Tynan; J. Morris, A. Ormond, O. O’Donoghue; D. McCarthy, J. McGrath, J. Forde.

Subs: D. Stakelum for A. Ormond (h-t); C. Stakelum for M. Breen (42); S. O’Farrell for A. Tynan (48); S. Tobin for D. McCarthy (51); N. McGrath for J. Forde (57); K. Ryan for O. O’Donoghue (temp, 66-ft).

Red card: W. Connors (second yellow, 51).

CLARE: E. Quilligan; A. Hogan, D. McInerney, D. Lohan; D. Ryan, J. Conlon, N. O’Farrell; R. Taylor, D. Stritch; C. Malone, T. Kelly (c), S. Rynne; P. Duggan, S. O’Donnell, M. Rodgers.

Subs: D. McInerney for M. Rodgers (temp, 8-13); I. Galvin for M. Rodgers (inj 26); D. Reidy for R. Taylor (inj 45); D. Fitzgerald for T. Kelly (57); C. Cleary for S. Rynne (62); S. Meehan for S. O’Donnell (65).

Referee: T. Walsh (Waterford).