This article is from page 93 of the 2008-02-05 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 93 JPG
SSE See UbbetcamevenUCe ome: Mech tlm oO! tremors through Miltown on Sun- day. The understandable elation of the McGrath Cup campaign brought back a certain confidence in the team, demonstrated by the large sup- port in Hennessy Park and for 40 minutes, the players responded with an accomplished performance.
An old trait then made an unwel- come reappearance. The self destruct button was a feature of past sides but the new regime seemed to have elim- inated that element in January.
However, in an incredulous ten minute period, Clare went from two points up and a one man advantage to a five point and two man deficit. The referee has to take a large por- tion of the blame due to his card hap- py manner but as Clare slowly lost their initiative, their gameplan and composure also disintegrated before the new managemnent’s eyes.
Clare manager Frank Doherty was one of the last to leave the dressing rooms at Hennessy Park and it was easy to sense from his demeanour he was still trying to get to grips with
what happened on the field.
“Personally, I’m totally disappoint- ed. Now is not the time or place to analyse the game and we will leave that until Tuesday night and address it then. I’m not one for roaring or shouting but the cracks are still there SO We ve got iron out that situation.”
This was Doherty’s first competi- tive defeat as Clare manager and having equalled last year’s com- petitve record of four victories in January alone, everything looked to be in place for a home victory. The dismissals were top of Doherty’s list of ailments, severe refereeing deci- sions which he felt ultimately cost his side all two points.
“The first sending off was harsh enough. It was Conor Whelan that actually fouled inside and Gordon Kelly didn’t lay a finger on the Car- low man. So Gordon got sent off in the wrong I felt, very much so. Maybe the referee got it wrong. He went in and consulted with the umpires and they said it was number six but the second [sending off] was harsh as well. At the same time, I have been a stickler on discipline so to a degree, we shot ourselves in the foot.
‘From being five minutes into the second half and in control we let it slip. Unfortunately David Tubridy missed that free but there are days like that.
“We probably should have gone on to win the game | felt. Not being dis- respectful to Carlow or anything but I felt we were in control. They had a man down and they had to push on and would have left gaps at the back but there you go.
“That’s the harsh reality of football and maybe it’s a learning lesson for our lads and we will just try and sort it out next Tuesday night.”
With a trip to Tipperary on the cards in six days time, lessons will have to be learned fast.
It’s best to write this game off as a one-off blip. Next Saturday should tell a lot more about Clare’s position in 2008.