This article is from page 94 of the 2009-05-05 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 94 JPG
IT just wasn’t meant to be for Clare last Friday. In the end, their constant waves of pressure could not yield the necessary goal to get something out of this tie and ultimately devoid of any luck in front of the posts, all of their hard work was eventually tinged with heartbreak.
In what was a throughly compel- ling and evenly matched affair, both sides poured out everything they had over the hour but it was Tipperary’s superior conversion rate that essen- tially edged it, especially against the strong wind that blew towards Thomond Park.
And that was the key really. Both sides played their best camogie when facing into the breeze with Clare’s sharpness shading the first half pos- session despite being 1-3 to O-1 in ar- rears by the interval while Tipperary upped their game considerably on the resumption and along with frus- trating Clare for long periods, Nicole Walsh’s unerring accuracy from frees meant that Clare had to eventu- ally resort to searching for a goal as the time ticked away.
Playing into the conditions and sun
in the opening period, for 20 minutes Clare’s policy of attack being the best form of defence worked to perfection as Chloe Morey, Niamh O’Dea, Or- laith Duggan and Katie Cahill were all to the fore in a dogged display.
With only a Nicole Walsh free to show for their efforts over that pe- riod, Tipperary surprisingly found themselves on the backfoot but some strong defensive performances from Sheila Ryan and Caoimhe Maher ensured that they only conceded a Chloe Morey free themselves.
However, Tipperary did finally make use of the conditions in the 20th minute, seizing on a Clare mis- take in midfield to work the ball to Claire Kennedy on the 20 metre line but although her shot was suberbly kept out by goalkeeper Suzie O’Shea, full-forward Michaela Graham was the first to react to pull to the net. That score appear to liberate Tip- perary and they added further points from Walsh and Graham to lead by five points at the break.
Clare would have been satisfied with their overall first half perform- ance. After all, their first touch and intensity had improved considerably from the Galway game and with the
wind to come, their first half display would have only fueled their confi- dence. However, what they didn’t bank on was a stark improvement in Tipperary’s work-rate and just like their opponents in the opening pe- riod, Tipperary weren’t about to lie down and let the wind dictate the play. Using corner-forward Nicole Walsh as a third midfielder, Tipper- ary came out fighting in the second half and it took Clare five minutes before the first point arrived through Sinead Tuohy.
Substitute Niki Kaiser reduced the deficit to three two minutes later with a point from a narrow angle on the right but instead of wilting, Tipper- ary went on the offensive and by the 48th minute, they had restored that five point advantage through another Walsh free and a point from Aoife Ryan.
With time rapidly running out, all appeared lost for Clare as their forwards were unable to get clear possession. However, out of sheer persistence from Sinead Tuohy and Katie Cahill, Clare earned a reprieve when they smothered a Tipperary clearance and Niki Kaiser was on hand to pull to the net.
By the 53rd minute, there was only the minimum between the sides when Chloe Morey stepped forward to take a free from 30 metres on the left. Momentum seemed to be firmly with Clare but that was to prove as close as Clare would get as a reis- lient Tipperary tacked on two further Walsh frees.
In between, Clare simply peppered the Tipperary goal but shots from Sinead Tuohy and Rachel O’ Halloran was excellently batted clear by goal- keeper Orla MclInery. Tipperarys’ back were to the wall but they never allowed Clare any clearcut chances and as the game moved into injury- time, Clare were to have one final attack. Helen Hehir won possession around the centre and offloaded to Sinead Tuohy who set off on a mazy run through the heart of the Tipper- ary defence before being clothlined A NITCO CONE TREE
It earned Clare a 20 metre free that Chloe Morey took repsonsibility for but her effort was blocked out of play and the resultant 45 just went over the bar. Clare’s golden touch in front of goal that had secured an average of three goals per game up to this point had finally deserted them, just
when they needed it most. Judging by the amount of chances, sometimes you jusy have to concede that it just wasn’t going to be their day.