Leesiders win tactical battle

Before either of the Munster Senior Hurling Championship semi-finals were played, Tipperary and Clare were the raging hot favourites to qualify for a July 14 meeting in the final.
While one could understand patrons making both favourites to progress to the final given early season results, the manner in which the chances of both Limerick and Cork were written off was most surprising.
It clearly suited both Limerick and Cork, who remained out of the limelight but produced big performances to upset the odds.
The disappointment throughout Clare this week is understandable. Following the win over Waterford, hopes of a Munster Championship title increased and fans seemed to get carried away with those hopes when Tipperary made their exit. Last Sunday’s defeat has hurt fans all the more because of this.
A number of Clare players failed to play to the form they are capable of but Cork must take a lot of credit for this, as they clearly had their homework done. Their decision to hand Brian Murphy the task of following Tony Kelly ensured the Ballyea teenager had a quiet outing. At the other end of the field, Seamus Harnedy got the better of his battle with Brendan Bugler while Patrick Horgan caused a lot of problems for David McInerney. Christopher Joyce won his contest against Colin Ryan, who was replaced early in the second half.
From an early stage, Cork had a grip on a tie in which their All-Star goalkeeper, Anthony Nash, produced four excellent saves while his opposite number, Patrick Kelly, wasn’t called on to make one save. Despite creating four goal-scoring chances, Clare’s failure to capitalise proved costly.
Scoring goals has been a problem for Clare all season and this is an area they must improve on if they are to be a force at this level.
In the final analysis, it didn’t mater but Kelly’s decision to go for goal from a 20m free as early as the seventh minute was surprising. There was also surprise at some of Clare’s substitutions. Against Waterford, Peter Duggan was the first player introduced but he failed to get a call on Sunday, even though four changes were made to the starting line-up from midfield up. It was also surprising that Seadna Morey didn’t get a call-up until 15 minutes from time, while another talking point was the failure of Cathal McInerney or Sean Collins to get game time.
Another issue is Clare’s continued use of the short passing game. Against the wind in the second half on Sunday, one would have thought that this was the correct style but Cork pressured Clare and mistakes became more frequent, leading to a number of passes going astray.
In the long term, however, one wonders if Clare would be better served by delivering the ball long out of defence. Certainly, they would benefit more from such an approach.
Of course, losing John Conlon was a massive blow. The loss of the Clonlara man’s ball-winning ability weakened Clare’s challenge but, given the way things went, it is doubtful if Clare would have won had he avoided injury. While the recently qualified teacher is on the mend, there is a doubt if he will be fit for Saturday week’s outing against Laois in the qualifier in Ennis.
Manager Davy Fitzgerald was clearly annoyed with some of referee Barry Kelly’s decisions and felt the Westmeath man should have stopped play when Conlon was receiving attention. It was surprising that the experienced midlands official waved play on and he and his officials should have stopped play to check on Conlon’s welfare.
The free count from the game has also given rise for some criticism of the match official. Cork were awarded 10 more frees than Clare, 19 to nine, and while there were a few surprising calls, it didn’t, in my view, influence the final result.
A strong half-back line is key to a successful team and, on Sunday, Cork prevented the Clare half-backs from dominating while the Cork half-backs held the upperhand against their Clare opponents.
Clare manager Davy Fitzgerald and his selectors, Louis Mulqueen and Mike Deegan, face a big task as they prepare for the meeting with Laois. They have already being installed as favourites to win that game, despite the fact that the Midlanders have produced a number of very impressive results this season, particularly against Galway in the Leinster semi-final.
Hurling in general is doing well in Laois this year, as is evidenced by the displays of their minor and U-21 teams also. Clare will need to be wary of the O’Moore County but, playing to form, the Banner men have the ability to win.