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Waterford 1-17 - Clare 0-08 at Ballyduff
From impressive to depressive in only five days as reality hit hard on Ger O’Loughlin’s new look side. The highs of a determined, tigerish display against Munster champions Tipperary on Tuesday night were in total contrast to a lacklustre capitulation on Sunday. So much so in fact that it was difficult to believe that it was the same team bar Donal Tuohy, Gerry Quinn, Diarmuid McMahon and John Cusack that deservedly dug out a narrow victory in Borrisoleigh during the week.
So what went wrong? Well, the respective managers certainly had their contrasting theories. The Waterford manager put it down to ‘mind games’ on behalf of the Clare backroom team ahead of the sides’ Munster championship encounter in June, suggesting that anybody who witnessed both Clare’s matches against Tipperary and Waterford had to believe that Clare weren’t trying on Sunday while Ger O’Loughlin surmised that it was simply a wake up call for his new look side and that they ‘genuinely came down to give a good account of themselves but were just very flat.’
Where does the truth lie? Possibly somewhere in between really. As last year demonstrated, it is hard to read anything into January hurling and with little hurling done, Clare were always liable to fall short once faced with such a sharp and purposeful display.
The pitch also came in for some criticism as players swooped for possession like they were yielding shovels at times, but again that argument is flimsy considering that the conditions were the same for both sides.
Whether Clare were sufficiently motivated or not though, it is almost inconceivable that this team would purposely roll over in what was a dress rehearsal for a game that is over four months away. After all, almost half of the side are fighting for their places in the National League squad not to mind the team and with only three weeks remaining to the first round, opportunities to impress are getting less and less.
In saying that, this was more a 2009 performance littered with insecurities. Clare were simply outclassed, out-muscled, outfought and outthought on Sunday and there were very few players who could come away from this game with any real contentment.
Aside from the last ten minutes of the first-half and the opening minute after the break, Clare were second best in almost every sector and an eager yet experimental Waterford side simply dissected the visitors with surgical precision. Clare even played the final 27 minutes with an extra man after Waterford’s Eoin McGrath received a straight red card for an off-the-ball incident with Alan Brigdale but perversely, it was Waterford who appeared to have the advantage after that, hitting seven unanswered points to put the result beyond doubt.
Physically, Waterford dominated and with powerful leadership displays from Michael ‘Brick’ Walsh, Kevin Moran, Shane Walsh and the elusive Maurice Shanahan, Clare simply had no answer.
In saying that, Ger O’Loughlin won’t be unduly concerned. In fact, strange as it may seem, this comprehensive defeat might be the best thing that could have happened to them right now. After all, Clare are unlikely to get many meaningful tests in Division 2 and had they beaten Tipperary and Waterford and then gone on to romp to a Division 2 title, they may have been under the false impression as to their realistic overall standing. Instead, this defeat will make Clare realise that they have a lot to do if they are to climb back up the hurling ladder.
Clare were the ‘defending’ champions in more than one sense on Sunday as realistically the majority of this tie was played in their half. With ball retention non-existent in the forwards, Clare’s back-line and midfield may as well have been playing in the ball alleys in St Flannan’s as they were under constant pressure for the hour. Indeed, Waterford were 0-5 to 0-1 clear before Clare showed any real purpose. Two Mark Flaherty frees kickstarted Clare’s engine by the end of the first quarter but Clare were soon on the backfoot again when Kevin Moran punished a sloppy defensive handpass to point before Maurice Shanahan was fouled for a 20 metre free that Eoin Kelly cooly drove to the right corner of the net to extend the home side’s advantage to 1-7 to 0-3 by the 20th minute.
It sparked Clare into action but unable to penetrate the Waterford rearguard, anchored by Michael Walsh, the visitors chose to shoot from distance but hit four successive wides. Down the other end, Clare got a stroke of luck when a seemingly legitimate Eoin McGrath goal was disallowed for a square ball and they used that to their advantage when Patrick Donnellan and Mark Flaherty replied with points. In fact, Clare could have cut the deficit to only three by the break had John Cusack realised he had time to pick and strike for goal in injury-time but after receiving a pass from Aonghus O’Brien, he rushed a pull wide to leave Clare trailing by 1-8 to 0-5 at half-time.
Clare rang the changes at the break introducing Barry Nugent and Cormac O’Donovan in a bid to inject some life into the forward line and initially, it was an inspired move as Nugent picked off two points within the opening minute. So when McGrath was dismissed only two minutes later for a strike on Alan Brigdale, Clare looked to have turned the corner.
They had but unfortunately it was in the wrong direction as Waterford simply upped their workrate to compensate for the loss of a man, outscoring an increasingly ragged Clare by 0-8 to 0-1 in the final 27 minutes and run out easy winners.
While this defeat is meaningless in the general scheme of things, arguably Clare’s biggest loss at the weekend came not by the banks of the river Blackwater but in Portmarnock on Saturday when John Conlon sustained a leg injury.
While initial reports of a serious injury appear to be wide of the mark, the absence of Conlon on Sunday left a gaping hole in the forward sector that Clare simply couldn’t fill. As a targetman, Conlon has been the lynchpin to Clare’s previous successes over WIT and Tipperary and without him, Clare’s front six were woefully ineffective.
If Clare are to take anything from this game, it’s that the county needs to bulk up the attacking options throughout the league campaign. Otherwise, Waterford will gladly accept a similar victory come the Munster championship.
Match Details
Waterford Clinton Hennessy (7), Jerome Meagher (8), Liam Lawlor (7), Mark O’Brien (7), Declan Prendergast (7), Michael Walsh (9), Jamie Nagle (8), Eoin Kelly (7) (1-1, 1-0 Pen), James Murray (7) (0-1), Shane Walsh (8) (0-3), Kevin Moran (8) (0-1), Maurice Shanahan (8) (0-7 5f), Eoin McGrath (6), Gary Hurney (8) (0-3), Thomas Ryan (7) (0-1) Subs Owen Whelan for Ryan (53 mins), Martin O’Neill for Hurney (57 mins), Nicky Jacob for Shanahan (58 mins)
Clare Donal Tuohy (Crusheen) (7), Pat Vaughan (Crusheen) (7), Cian Dillon (Crusheen) (7), Alan Brigdale (Crusheen) (6), Patrick Donnellan (O’Callaghan’s Mills) (7) (0-1), Brian O’Connell (Wolfe Tones) (6), Gerry Quinn (Corofin) (7), Martin Oige Murphy (Cratloe) (6), Jonathan Clancy (Clarecastle) (6), Aonghus O’Brien (Broadford) (6), Michael Scanlan (Scariff) (6), Alan Markham (Kilmaley) (6), Mark Flaherty (Killenana) (6) (0-3 2f), Diarmuid McMahon (Kilmaley) (6) (0-1), John Cusack (Smith O’Brien’s) (6) Subs David Barrett (Newmarket-on-Fergus) (6) for Scanlan (29 mins), Cormac O’Donovan (Clonlara) (6) for O’Brien (HT), Barry Nugent (Éire Óg) (6) (0-2) for Cusack (HT), Fergal Lynch (Clooney/Quin) (6) for Clancy (43 mins), Michael Hawes (Cratloe) (7) (0-1 1f) for Quinn (48 mins)
Man of the Match Michael Walsh (Waterford)
Referee John Sexton (Cork)
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