Competitiveness key but Clare victory unlikely

CLARE hurling’s most pressing task isn’t necessarily to beat Tipperary in Limerick on Sunday. Whatever the result, it is imperative for the wellbeing of Clare’s emerging talent that they at least compete to the hilt against the All-Ireland champions. While Waterford are not at the same level as Tipperary, Clare’s main aim must be to mimic Limerick’s second-half display against the reigning Munster champions last Sunday.
Limerick were quite docile for 34 minutes but once they hit the net before half-time, they threw everything they had at Waterford. Although beaten, Limerick left Thurles more advanced down the hurling tracks than they were on Sunday morning. They could justifiably say that they competed manfully and will be optimistic that they can improve further in the qualifiers. If they win a game or two in the coming weeks, in addition to having won promotion back to Division 1, Limerick will be desperate to hang onto Donal O’Grady for another season.
Clare couldn’t match Limerick in either of their league meetings but would love to mirror their opening championship performance. Logically, it’s impossible to glibly say that Clare will win this weekend.
There would be no substance to that claim.
The 2009 and 2010 All-Ireland finals showcased the level that both Tipperary and Kilkenny have reached, a level that Clare and most hurling counties aspire to but are well short of.
Yet to suggest that Clare will head for Limerick devoid of pressure or expectation would be inaccurate. The panel of players or management have hardly spent six months preparing for Munster championship to meekly accept a hammering from Tipperary or from anyone?
So while the public mighn’t expect much from Clare, surely those involved will have higher expectations for themselves.
Many of Clare’s younger players including John Conlon, Nicky O’Connell, Conor McGrath and Darach Honan won’t feel in any way inferior to their similarly aged Tipperary opponents. Noel McGrath, Pádraig Maher and Seamus Callinan are top-class hurlers but not echelons above the Clare youngsters.
Tipperary have an advantage, however, when their more senior players are compared to Clare’s. Brendan Cummins, Eoin Kelly and Lar Corbett have done it all and nothing that happens in the Gaelic Grounds is likely to surprise or faze them.
Cummins has been rock steady for Tipperary for about 15 years, which is in contrast to Clare’s difficulty in successfully replacing Davy Fitzgerald. Neither Philip Brennan nor Donal Tuohy have pulled off that trick yet. Perhaps Clare might turn a page in their goalkeeper travails from 4pm on Sunday.
The advantage Clare bring with them is surely a mammoth desire to hurl themselves into a frenzy. Their hunger is bound to be significantly deeper than that of Tipperary, who have the advantage of having played and beaten Cork in the quarter-final.
Clare must simply hurl without fear, with imagination and abandon to have a chance of winning. Realistically, winning is very unlikely but a feverish 70 minutes, mixed with an ability to take chances and not concede soft scores, would at least mean that Clare would be competitive.
Nobody involved in sport wants to contemplate defeat but as long as Clare give everything and show clear signs of progress on their display against Waterford 12 months ago, some progress will have been made. Winning will be beyond Clare but competing fearlessly isn’t.