This article is from page 94 of the 2007-03-06 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 94 JPG
CARDS close to his chest, Tony Considine emerges from the home dressing room four minutes after he entered. His players were moving back out to warm down and Consi- dine threw his mind back over the previous 70 minutes.
The home opener wasn’t supposed to go like this. After a handy run out in Down two weeks back, Considine knew this weekend would be a step up in class but despite Wexford’s more competitive start to the year, he must have thought Clare would be sitting on top of the league on Sun- day night.
“We really didn’t play well,” he says ‘and the first half was crucuial. But as I said during the week they had two quality games against Kilkenny [Walsh Cup final] and Waterford [league opener] and no disrespect to Down, we only had the Down game. We didn’t have any hurling done and we didn’t meet a team playing like that. But I still thought we played pretty well. We’ve a lot of injuries at
the moment and we’ve a lot of young lads out there. It’s all about trying new players in the league. I’d like to have won but at the end of the day, when you don’t win you don’t win.”
After the poor first half, when Clare failed to put their noses in front with the wind, they didn’t re-start with any more spirit.
“We missed a lot of chances and maybe took a few wrong options in the forwards in the second half. But having said that, we could have sneaked it.
But the injuries are definitely a prob- lem and Barry Nugent and Declan O’Rourke picked up some niggling injuries now and I suppose when the wind is against you, it’s against you. Look, we’ve a big panel of 32 play- ers. While I’m disappointed at being beaten I wouldn’t be over-excited Vero) 0 an le
He wonders what the general per- ception of the game was and is told that Wexford manager John Meyler reckoned it was “like paint drying.”
“T agreed with him there on the sideline,’ said Considine. “It was
like a rugby match at times but it’s early in the year.
We haven’t much hurling done and at this time of the year it’s all about getting fellows fit. We hope to 1m- prove after that.”
The opportunity to take at least a point from the game was there, but Clare weren’t hungry for war.
‘Wexford were well up for it,” add- ed Considine. “When you lose your first league game it puts you well up for it the second day out. Of course you’d be disappointed [at losing] but what can you do. You’ve to take the good with the bad as well. We were there with a fair chance of winning the game and Wexford had a few bad wides. At the end of the day wed have accepted a draw but it wasn’t to oronel