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.