A tough test for Clare this Saturday

AFTER an impressive victory over Dublin in their opening round, Clare can expect a much stiffer test when they take on Tipperary in Round 2 of the All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship this Saturday.
The game will take place in Corofin at 3pm.
Tipperary go into this tie desperately in need of points as they have lost their opening two games to Galway and Cork.
They will be without the injured Michelle Short but Joanne Ryan, who didn’t play in the early part of the season, has returned and is expected to be in their team.
Team captain Siobhán Lafferty is still out of action and her absence is certainly a blow to Clare’s hopes.
Clare impressed when scoring a 2-10 to 0-9 win away to Dublin in Round 1 and manager Patsy Fahy will be hoping that they build on that success for this week’s test.
They will again be looking to the experience of Deirdre Murphy, scorer of five points against the Dubs, Claire McMahon, who scored 1-1 in that tie, and Fiona Lafferty to inspire them on this occasion.
Others who will be in the team are Kate Lynch, Eimear Considine, Naomi Carroll, Róisín and Sharon McMahon and Nora Murphy to mention some.
Tipperary may not be the force this year that they were throughout the past decade when they won National League and All-Ireland honours. However, they still have a very experienced side that includes the outstanding Clare Grogan and they will be keen to get a win under their belts to show that they will be in the hunt for the title come the business end of the competition.
It’s a tall order for Clare who may find it difficult to match the experience of the Premier outfit.
Clare camogie has made great strides in recent times and manager Patsy Fahy has stated that his aim is for the team to make it into the play-off stages of the championship. A win in this home tie would go a long way to seeing the side achieve this target.