Eoin Brennan looks ahead to the weekend as Clare face that most familiar of foes

Allianz Hurling League Division 1 Group B Round 2
Clare v Wexford at Cusack Park Ennis, Sunday 12.45pm (Fergal Horgan, Tipperary)

CONTRASTING starts make for an intriguing first major battle in Group B as Clare and Wexford clash for the third time in 15 months this Sunday.
Of course, the Lohan versus Davy backdrop is ever-present especially from a national media viewpoint but while Clare have come out on top on both previous occasions in 2020 (0-18 to 0-15 NHL February and 1-21 to 0-17 in All-Ireland Qualifiers), victory this time around is craved more than ever for the home side.
Clare’s opening set-back against Antrim, in the overall context of a long-awaited competitive action return, and finding their best team isn’t hugely significant, but in the immediate bubble of expectation, will be fingered as part of a worrying pattern if not rectified this Sunday.
On the flip side, Wexford eased to a 19-point home win over Laois, a welcoming result in its own right as you’d have to go back 14 months to their last competitive victory in the final round of the 2020 league against Carlow.
The same day Clare competed an unbeaten group record against Dublin which incidentally was their last match in Cusack Park until this Sunday’s return.
Indeed, the only solace from the Antrim defeat on Sunday was that there was no collective post-mortem on a bus as the players had to travel individually.
But in the immediate aftermath, there certainly was a lot of head scratching as to what exactly went wrong according to returning captain John Conlon.
“We just weren’t at the races, we conceded a sloppy goal I suppose and we can’t be giving away goals at the wrong time. Especially with the strength of that wind, we needed to utilise it well but we didn’t have a big enough score going in at half-time and they [Antrim] took full advantage.
“It was a very difficult game to judge as a player. It’s a tight ground, there were a lot of rucks and hits and it wasn’t like playing in Thurles or Cusack Park where you’d have that couple of extra metres. It was a really tough game and I felt they used the elements better overall,” he conceded.
“We just have to learn from it, that’s the whole point of the league this year, to learn more about ourselves and get things right before the 27th of June.”
Far from wanting to pick through the bones of a difficult day in Belfast, Conlon’s attention quickly switched to the juicy prospect of Wexford this Sunday.
“Look we have to dust ourselves down quickly, I suppose we haven’t played a match in five months but we need to go back to the drawing board, get back working hard and hopefully turn things back around next week.
We just need to get it right. We’ve all missed hurling over the past five months and I suppose a few lads are ring-rusty so it’s all about getting back in shape and regaining that match sharpness.”
Arguably the most disappointing aspect of Sunday’s opener was that in a game that Clare hoped to find answers in, they left the North with more questions. Expect a more solution-orientated performance on Sunday regardless of the result.

by Eoin Brennan