Inside Track
Fleet-footed Clare leave neighbours chasing shadows
Inside Track with John McIntyre
IF you can’t run fast – and run hard, inter-county hurling is no longer the place for you. Once more, Clare’s youthful hurlers, brimming with pace and mobility, ran the legs off their opponents to qualify for their first All-Ireland final since 2002 and only the Banner’s seventh ever after a semi-final which didn’t produce the expected fireworks at Croke Park last Sunday.
Though a nervous Limerick imploded with their first-half free-taking and overall poor finishing repeatedly knocking them back as they sought some serious momentum, this was undoubtedly Clare’s day. With their seven-man defence and roving forwards often having their neighbours at sixes and sevens, Davy Fitzgerald’s charges ran out emphatic winners to set up an historic final confrontation against the rejuvenated Rebels.
With defenders David McInerney, sweeper Patrick Donnellan, Patrick O’Connor, Tony Kelly, Padraic Collins and the supremely accurate Colin Ryan spearheading their challenge, Clare’s tactics once again tied the opposition up in knots. They dictated the terms of engagement and Limerick were always playing catch up after a disastrous start. Eleven opening-half wides crucified John Allen’s troops who were always struggling to get to grips with the movement and pace of their opponents.
Four of those misses came from free-taker Declan Hannon and they proved demoralising spurned chances, especially as the team’s most recognised placed-ball exponent Shane Dowling was on the bench. Limerick once again kept some of their heavy forward artillery in reserve, but the tactic which had worked so well in Munster backfired spectacularly in the All-Ireland semi-final.
Apart from the high quota of wides, some of which were due to Clare pressure alone, Limerick never really built up a head of steam. They were 1-4 to 0-1 down after 14 minutes and the goal conceded, a bundled effort from Darach Honan, was surely avoidable. They were under immediate pressure and with most of their team failing to scale the heights of the team’s Munster campaign, Limerick can have no complaints about the outcome.
With Dowling now on the frees, they made a mini surge at the start of the second-half, but could never get closer than four points. Clare always remained dangerous on the counter-attack with Kelly picking off a couple of wonder points and Ryan continuing to show Limerick what they were missing in the opening-half. There was an assurance and confidence about Clare’s overall play which their rivals couldn’t match, while they also possessed the game’s top individual performers.
Sunday was a step up on the team’s form in their quarter-final win over Galway with the open expanses of Croke Park really suiting their high energy, hard-running style. Limerick knew the tactics Clare were going to employ, but still couldn’t cope with them. At times, they heavily outnumbered the Clare forwards, but still struggled to prevent the likes of Kelly and Collins from finding the necessary space to convert chances.
With controversy surrounding the minors defeat to Galway, this was a bad day for Limerick. The usual fire and brimstone we traditionally associate with them wasn’t evident to the expected degree, while they didn’t possess a single player who could be described as having a towering match, despite the best efforts of Stephen Walsh, Gavin O’Mahony, midfielder Paul Browne, who picked off two points, and tireless corner forward Graeme Mulcahy.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Inside Track with John McIntyre
SOMETHING very odd happened to Tyrone in the Ulster championship in early April. On their home turf of Healy Park, they were doing nearly everything expected of them when leading Monaghan by five points at half-time. You couldn’t say for definite that the match was done and dusted, but the 2021 All-Ireland champions were in pole position.
You would have expected them to drive on against an honest if limited Monaghan outfit. Instead, Tyrone didn’t score for the opening 16 minutes of the second-half and in an enthralling finale, were left stunned by defender Ryan’s Toole’s stoppage-time goal snatching the honours for the Farney men on a 2-17 to 1-18 scoreline.
A couple of weeks later, Monaghan themselves had exited the Ulster title race when Derry comfortably got the better of them (1-21 to 2-10), leaving us more puzzled than ever by Tyrone’s dramatic decline since overcoming Mayo to claim Sam barely 20 months previously. Last year, they crashed out of Ulster by 11 points to Derry and subsequently came up six short against Armagh in the All-Ireland qualifiers.
Against that background, their recent loss to Monaghan shouldn’t have come as a surprise, but it did. Tyrone may have made a shambolic defence of the All-Ireland title, but there is still a lot of quality in their ranks. They have an adventurous ‘keeper in Niall Morgan, while the long-serving Peter Harte, Darragh Canavan, Darren McCurry, Cathal McShane, Conor Meyler, Mattie Donnelly, and Conn Kilpatrick are all top-class performers when in the mood.
There’s hardly been a word about them for the past six weeks. Tyrone are lying low, desperately trying to rediscover the verve and cohesion which took them all the way in 2021. Their pride is on the line. It makes them dangerous opponents for Galway in the opening round of All-Ireland group matches at Pearse Stadium on Saturday.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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Inside Track with John McIntyre
GALWAY footballers won’t get much credit for their easy victory over Sligo in Sunday’s Connacht Final in Castlebar, but when a team achieves something that hasn’t been done for 20 years, perhaps we should be a little more appreciative of the Tribesmen retaining the JJ Nestor Cup for the first time in two decades.
To be honest, if Galway were to live up to their standing as serious All-Ireland contenders, they needed to be doing a number on Sligo. In this year’s National League, the counties were three divisions apart and though Tony McEntee’s team achieved promotion and were on a nine-match unbeaten run, a serious rise in class faced them at MacHale Park.
Granted, Sligo made a bright start with three points in the opening five minutes from Pat Spillane, Sean Carrabine and the accurate Darragh Cummins, but they would only manage two more by the break despite having the wind behind them. Though wing back Luke Towey was catching the eye with his runs up-field, Galway rarely looked under pressure.
Sligo were bravely committing numbers to the middle third, which meant they were a little light in numbers around their own posts. They couldn’t afford to lose possession coming out of their own half, but that’s what happened in the build up to Galway’s second goal. Damien Comer overturned Cian Lally and from his counter-attack, Matthew Tierney expertly finished to the net at the near post.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Inside Track with John McIntyre
IS the Leinster hurling championship something of a sham compared to its Munster counterpart? Everybody knows who will end up in the provincial final in the east, but nobody knows the two teams who will feature in the ultimate battle for supremacy down south.
All-Ireland champions Limerick aren’t guaranteed to even make it out of the province, never mind reach the Munster final, after their narrow loss to Clare in Saturday evening’s epic at the Gaelic Grounds. Everything is still on the line for the five counties involved, although Waterford are again under serious pressure after losing their opening two matches.
In Leinster, there is little of that drama. Galway and Kilkenny are miles ahead of the rest; the only thing at stake is whether Dublin or Wexford – they meet in Croke Park on Saturday – will be the third team to emerge for the All-Ireland series. It’s a game which is hard to call. Wexford are going backwards while Dublin look callow as Micheál Donoghue is trying to build the nucleus of a new team.
Though Antrim are improving – they held the Dubs to a draw and only lost to Wexford by four points – the men from the Glens would be out of their depth in Munster; while Westmeath are proving cannon-fodder for everyone else. Since Galway headed east in 2009, they have clashed with Kilkenny in seven Leinster finals and another showdown is inevitable next month.
In contrast, every match in Munster is virtually do-or die. When Clare rolled into Limerick last Saturday, they knew another defeat after losing to Tipperary in the opening round would leave them on the precipice of exiting the championship. There’s a real dog-eat-dog appeal about all the games. In Leinster, there are two big hounds, and the rest are chihuahuas.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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