Limp Clare fall at first hurdle

 

Waterford 1-9   Clare 0-11

TWELVE months after beating Waterford by eight points in the opening round of the league, Clare meekly handed the same county both points in Miltown Malbay last Sunday.

Leading 0-8 to 0-5 a minute into the second half and playing with a helpful wind at their back, it seemed inevitable that Clare would win emphatically.

Instead, Waterford completely outworked the home county, ruled midfield, were significantly hungrier when competing for breaking ball and had leaders where Clare had none.

After Shane McGrath kicked Clare three points up in the early seconds of the second period, they only managed to tag on three points in the closing 34 minutes. Some of their shooting from open play was extremely poor, with McGrath, Cathal O’Connor, David Tubridy, Mark McCarthy and substitute Ger Quinlan clocking up Clare’s seven second-half wides.

Clare started with Lissycasey’s Niall Kelly replacing Ian McInerney from the selected team. Early in the game, Kelly was deployed out the field, leaving McCarthy and Tubridy in a two-man full-forward line.

Tubridy pointed Clare’s opening score, from a free won by McCarthy, following an incisive Enda Coughlan run. While Waterford had the breeze, Clare dominated the opening minutes. However, Alan Clohessy, Tubridy from a dead ball and McCarthy kicked three wides in the opening nine minutes. This profligacy was an early indication as to where Clare’s problems lay.

Cathal O’Connor, with a fisted point made by Chris Dunning, Clohessy from play after an imaginative McCarthy pass, Dunning, Tubridy from play and a free and Martin McMahon added Clare’s additional first-half points.
Tubridy’s 27th minute free was won by Alan Clohessy. Clare had intelligently worked the ball upfield after Waterford’s Rob Aherne had spilled possession. Nine hand passes later, Clohessy was fouled. This illustrates how well Clare played, at times, into the wind. They held possession impressively and supported the man off his shoulder. Unfortunately, they forgot that strategy in the second half and were also unable to retain their own kick-outs.

Waterford showed their quality in that opening half when Shane Aherne, Patrick Hurney, Darren Guiry and Paul Whyte kicked a quartet of superb points from play.

Waterford started their number six, Shane Briggs, in the half-forward line but deployed him at centre-back, along with Maurice O’Gorman.

As well as they had played, in patches, during the opening 35 minutes, Clare’s performance level deteriorated significantly in the second period. The fact that they failed to retain any of their first six kick-outs in the second half clearly demonstrates that Waterford were absolutely dominant in the middle of Hennessy Park. So much so that Gary Brennan was moved to full-forward for a spell, while Ger Quinlan came into midfield.

Clare were not helped by their tendency to drop too deep and almost completely lose their shape. Just seven minutes after half-time, Mark McCarthy, who sustained a knock in the first half, was the only Clare player in the Waterford half of the field. While that may have been an isolated occurrence, the Clare forwards who dropped deep to help their defence didn’t have the legs or the inclination to regularly support the play out of defence.

Between the first and 14th minutes of the second half, Waterford added 1-3 without reply. By that stage they had established a 1-8 to 0-8 lead and Clare were rocking.

Waterford’s Darren Guiry scored the pivotal goal, 14 minutes into the second half. He showed admirable opportunism in picking up a break from a delivery, which spilled in front of the Clare goalmouth.

The home county badly needed three or four players to win a kick-out, make a run or, in some way, make something happen.

Shane McGrath pointed again, in the 15th minute, following a burst upfield from Martin McMahon. Waterford’s Conor McGrath and David Tubridy exchanged points seven minutes later, leaving the winners 1-9 to 0-9 ahead, 13 minutes from time.

Waterford didn’t score again as Clare upped the ante and tried to at least carve out a draw. While defensively Shane McNeilis effected an inspirational block-down at the far end, Clare showed a lack of composure as McGrath twice, Quinlan, O’Connor and Tubridy kicked critical wides.

Tubridy did point a decent free from 45 yards, after Gary Brennan had been fouled. That score was five minutes from time and although they were throwing everything at Waterford, Clare were unable to create an equaliser.

This defeat is a serious setback to Clare’s hopes of winning promotion. While league form has never been a priority for Mick O’Dwyer, it is for the Clare players. Or at least they say it is. Yet that desire to leave Division 4 behind them wasn’t evident, on the field, last weekend.

Waterford were the better team but that was mainly because they fought harder and wanted it more.

Unless Clare radically up their game, they will lose to Leitrim next Sunday in Carrick-on-Shannon and that will be their league season blown to pieces.

Joe Hayes couldn’t be faulted for the concession of the goal, which came after Declan Callinan took a sideline ball from inside the line. However, Clare will have to work on varying their kick-outs if the midfielders and half-forwards are beaten.

Shane McNeilis and Chris Dunning played very well in the first half, while Martin McMahon did well at wing-back. Shane McGrath gave it his all and did well, those late wides excepted. Enda Coughlan linked up nicely, attacking from corner-back, on a few occasions and surely would be better deployed in the half-back line, with either McMahon or Declan Callinan reverting to corner-back.

Waterford’s Paul Whyte excelled in both the half-back and half-forward lines, while John Hurney, along with Shane Briggs and midfielders Shane Aherne and Tommy Prendergast, also played well.

Waterford: Stephen Enright; Conor Phelan, Stephen Prendergast, John Hurney; Paul Whyte, Shane Briggs (captain), Tony Grey; Shane Aherne, Tommy Prendergast; Conor McGrath, Patrick Hurley, Maurice O’Gorman; Darren Guiry, Rob Aherne, Liam O’Líonáin.
Subs: Gavin Nugent for Conor McGrath (60), Ronan Cahill for Tommy Prendergast (64) and David Hallahan for Darren Guiry (69).
Scorers: Darren Guiry (1-1), Paul Whyte (0-3, 2f), Rob Aherne (0-2f), Shane Aherne, Patrick Hurney and Conor McGrath (0-1 each).
Wides: 7; frees won: 16; 45s: 1.
Yellow cards: Tony Grey.
Clare: Joe Hayes (Lissycasey); Laurence Healy (Ennistymon), Shane McNeilis (Kildysart), Enda Coughlan (Kilmurry Ibrickane); Martin McMahon (Kilmurry Ibrickane), Gordon Kelly (Miltown), Declan Callinan (Kilmurry Ibrickane); Gary Brennan (Clondegad, captain), Cathal O’Connor (Coolmeen); Shane McGrath (Thomas Davis), Alan Clohessy (Liscannor), Chris Dunning (Wolfe Tones); Mark McCarthy (Kilmurry Ibrickane), David Tubridy (Doonbeg), Niall Kelly (Lissycasey).
Subs: Ger Quinlan (O’Curry’s) for Niall Kelly (45), John Keane (Corofin) for Shane McGrath (64) and Cathal Duggan (Doora-Barefield) for Mark McCarthy (70).
Scorers: David Tubridy (0-5, 3f), Shane McGrath (0-2), Cathal O’Connor, Alan Clohessy, Chris Dunning and Martin McMahon (0-1 each).
Wides: 12; frees won: 21; 45s: 1.
Yellow cards: Gary Brennan.
Referee: Padraig O’Sullivan (Kerry).