Murrihy Looking Forward To Tipperary Challenge In All-Ireland Quarter-Final

Clare ladies football manager James Murrihy makes no secret of the fact that a massive test awaits his side as they make their latest bid for All-Ireland intermediate glory.

They are set to cross swords with old rivals Tipperary this weekend where the 2019 season will come to an end for one of them. These sides have plenty recent history to draw on with Clare’s last victory in the All-Ireland series against the Premier coming back in 2016 when they were victorious at the semi-final stage.

Since then, Tipperary have gone to win the intermediate championship before dropping back down after one season in the top tier. They also made the step up to Division One of the National League and in recent weeks, they dethroned Clare to take the provincial title. Murrihy feels they will know plenty about each other.

“It will be our fourth time playing them this year. We played them twice competitively in the Munster championship and we played them earlier in the year in a challenge game. I know the saying goes third time lucky but we are hoping to make it fourth time lucky this year. At the start of the year, they were the Division One team and were nine points up in their relegation game last year and lost to Cavan by a last minute goal. Their league results speak for themselves, they beat Cork in Pairc Ui Rinn and competed well against the likes of Mayo and Dublin and those teams so from that point of view, they have played a higher level of league football than us. The rest of the intermediate teams would be Division Two and Division Three so they were always going to be the target for everyone to reach. It all goes back to working from the bottom up. They have nine of their minor team on the senior panel, and that same minor team ran Cork to six points in a Munster Minor A final and Cork will probably go on to win the All-Ireland at that grade. From that end, those girls have been in the system for the last few years and come through and they have two or three of those really good players on their senior team at the moment” he noted.

With these two sides coming out on the same side of the knock-out draw, it was always likely to see them clash at some point of the championship. Murrihy admits they had been thinking about that eventuality.

“When we beat Laois, we probably had an eye and a half on Tipperary depending on how other results panned out. From the Laois game, it was knockout football and the next day is going to be no different. We are under no illusions as to the task that is facing us. 2018 is gone now and this is a new year. We are looking at it for a while now and knowing that having beaten Laois we would have a two week break and for us it was all about trying to prepare as best as possible in that time to make sure we are where we need to be to take them on”.

Clare will need to produce their best performance of the season if they are to continue their bid for glory. The intensity and pace on show during their win over Laois was encouraging but the levels will need to go up another notch this weekend. In Aishling Moloney and Aisling McCarthy, Tipperary have two of the most lethal forwards in the game and curbing their influence will be crucial for Clare. When the side met in the Munster final, that pairing scored all bar four of the Premier’s 0-20 return. Laurie Ryan and Ellie O’Gorman will need to ensure the path to Ciara Harvey’s goal remains intact at all times, and the transition from defence to attack will be critical. Clare will have to be wary of keeping that balance and not allowing Tipperary to catch them on the break when attacks break down. The more possession that can be fed to Ailish Considine, Niamh O’Dea and Fidelma Marrinan the better, with that trio in particular more than capable of doing the damage of the scoreboard.

Victory here could well open the road to Croke Park for Clare but they cannot allow those thoughts to enter the conversation. It has been a hard luck story at this stage for the last few years and it would be a huge monkey off the back if they prevail. The firepower and talent is there so it is all about making sure that the game plan is right and every scoring chance is taken. If that transpires, there is no reason Clare cannot prevail.

Verdict: Clare