This article is from page 69 of the 2011-08-09 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 69 JPG
IT WOULD have been so easy for Clare joint managers Donal Moloney and Gerry O’Connor to grumble. Not being made aware of the possibility of extra-time, not to mind having to watch their All-Ireland dreams vanish in that additional period would have developed a certain level of bitterness for most defeated managers but true to form, they were as magnanimous as always despite being understandably crestfallen.
“We were in the dark about the extra-time,” admitted Donal Moloney, “and I suppose maybe it should have gone for another day and both teams deserved another day but look, we have no complaints at the end of the day. Galway deserved their win.
“We weren’t going to kick up. We felt that in the last five minutes of normal time, we had momentum so we said ‘look we will go ahead and we have a very good level of fitness’ but unfortunately the sheer physicality of Galway had us worn down and that’s what it came down to on the day.
“It took everything out of us to battle through for the first hour so there was very little left in the tank. They are big men and all well able to hurl. And you know, in normal time we had it won and a late goal went in while the width of an upright denied us and that’s the way it goes. We’ve maybe had some strokes of fortune over the last two years as well so that’s the way it goes.”
Gerry O’Connor took up the point about Galway’s presence.
“It was the biggest team physically we have faced but in fairness we have no real excuses because we had been well warned. We played Galway twice this year already and we had it well flagged that how we handle their physicality was going to be the biggest challenge we faced and that’s how it proved ultimately.
“But I think as well as that, Galway showed the actually depth of their panel as well whereas we were probably trying to regurgitate our subs that we had taken off in the first half or early in the second half back on again. Galway probably used about eight substitutions during the course of that game whereas we only used about four so again the large panel really came into play in relation to what Galway were able to do on the day.”
And the Éire Óg man wouldn’t be drawn on the worthiness of victory or indeed the weight of favouritism either.
“The result dictates who wins and who loses and ultimately, as far as we are concerned, the best team won and that’s the case and always has been and we told them [Galway] that in the dressing room that we wish them the very best and hope that they win the All-Ireland now. They had to be a very good team to beat us today because we knew the value of our team coming into the game today and fair play to them, they were better than us on the day.
“We don’t take any notice of who’s favourites at all. The reality is that the odds are dictated by Paddy Power and somebody in an accountant’s office in Dublin. I never saw Paddy Power at a training session in Clareabbey so we don’t take any great notice of bookies odds or expectations, we just go out to hurl and try to get a performance out of our lads. And we got a performance out of our lads but on the day, it wasn’t good enough.”
However, despite defeat, there was also immense pride in their players for their historic achievements over the past two years.
“We are very proud of our team,” added Moloney.
“They created history by winning back-to-back Munster titles and we have some fantastic hurlers in our midst. They are some of the best to come out of Clare in a generation and they went down heroically today. That will stand to them in years to come because last year’s All-Ireland loss drove us on to win Munster this year and if we look ahead, people like Kelly, Galvin, Cunningham, Shanahan, Jack Browne and all those guys, you are going to be hearing a lot more of those guys. They have the most fantastic attitude and we count ourselves privileged to have worked with them over the past two years.”
That reflection drew the inevitable question of whether the management themselves were willing to take up the fight for a crack at a third Munster final and possibly even another tilt for that elusive All-Ireland.”
“Come and talk to us at Christmas,” exclaimed Donal Moloney. “We are three years on the road at minor. I’m five years on the road between underage development squads and three years at minor. Gerry is eight years on the road with underage development squads and minor so it’s been a long time and we’ve had great days out of it. And today ironically, while it’s painful to lose, it’s a good day as well because we have a team and players who can perform on this pitch and for a whole decade, we haven’t had that.”