This article is from page 78 of the 2011-06-21 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 78 JPG
CLARE ENTERED the Munster championship with a bang but ultimately hadn’t the staying power to endure the entire journey as the experience and opportunism of All-Ireland champions Tipperary pulled the handbrake on this potential upset.
Clare were written off before a ball was ever hit in anger on Sunday but deep inside the camp lay a belief that all this young side needed to make it to the next level was a major scalp and they certainly don’t come much bigger than the All-Ireland champions.
In fact, it was true to say that Clare started much like the Premier played in last year’s All-Ireland final when hitting the ground running and not giving Kilkenny time to come up for air. However, while Clare can take immense satisfaction that they scored more than the Cats did in that decider, they also conceded four goals that were the difference between winning and losing.
Clare began like a whirlwind, with an intensity and spark not seen before by this group of players as they blazed a trail of 1-3 to 0-0 by the eighth minute, fittingly starting with championship debutant Conor McGrath’s solo goal after only 40 seconds that caused the crowd to rise to their feet. That ravenous opening was no fluke however as the collective work ethic was epitomised by the fact that their first seven points all came from different scorers, with the entire forward line getting in on the scoring action.
Such a blistering start would have severely dented the confidence of most sides in the country but with an All-Ireland title came a self-belief that never caused Tipperary to hit the panic button, despite the kitchen sink being thrown at them.
However, while their attacking unit was incisive, Clare were outdone by the concession of three goals in a five minute period that demoralisingly saw them trail by three points by the break, despite doing the majority of the hurling.
Individually, the backs performed well but collectively, Clare held what can only be described as a ‘bikini’ defence in that superficially it looked impressive but ultimately only covered the bare essentials.
The lack of competitive match practice against the top sides was also certainly a factor as was the sheer quality and ruthlessness of the Tipperary front six whose movement and guile were near impossible to constantly monitor.
However, hands will also be held up for what Clare manager Ger O’Loughlin would later describe as ‘naïve defending’. Basic errors that allowed Eoin Kelly to seize on a break to pull to the net and cut the six point deficit to three by the 16th minute; another break put Patrick Maher through for the second soon afterwards while Tipperary’s rehabilitation was completed in the 21st minute when two defenders went for the same ball, allowing Lar Corbett a clear path to goal that he would not pass up. They were devastating blows to Clare’s brave challenge but while the wind was momentarily taken from their sails, Clare did have enough character to reply with a brace of McGrath frees and at least regain parity.
The momentum was now firmly with Tipperary however and with Padraic Maher beginning to influence from wing back and confidence building in the attacking unit, Tip