Opportunity knocks for outstanding minor side

ALTHOUGH they didn’t lug the Irish Press Cup down the N7 with them, the Clare minors did succeed in injecting their county’s hurling fraternity with renewed optimism and reassurance that Clare’s hurling future will be fuelled by the honourable presence of the beaten All-Ireland finalists in the coming years.
A bit greedy perhaps but if there happens to be another, younger clutch of hurlers in Clare, who can wield the hurley and will wear the county jersey with the same honesty and skill level as the 2010 minors, the county senior team will soon regularly familiarise itself with the road to Croke Park.
Throw the 2009 All-Ireland U-21 hurlers into the blend and there is the making of a doughty, highly skilled Clare senior team in maybe three or four years time.
Before peering too far beyond the current calendar year though, it would be remiss not to dwell on Clare’s display last Sunday and indeed all year.
What immediately resonated was the certainty of Clare’s touch seconds after the 1.15pm throw-in. There was no sign of hurried fumbling or foostering when the likes of Stephen O’Halloran, Paudge Collins or David O’Halloran set about taming the ball in the early seconds. Their assurance set the tone, which Clare stuck to for large tracts of their hour on the biggest stage minor hurling offers.
However, lightness of touch wasn’t the sole admirable quality that Clare embedded in the memory of the viewing thousands. Their work rate, hunger for breaking or loose ball and confidence in their ability to shoot from acute angles or acres out, complemented their technical prowess. All of those qualities had to be evident in abundance. If they hadn’t been, Kilkenny would have exposed Clare well before they finally managed to reel them in.
Clare’s four-point interval advantage should probably have been extended by two more, particularly as Kilkenny hurled for a 22-minute stretch without scoring.
With Seadna Morey, Collins, the two O’Hallorans and both midfielders turning it on, Clare controlled the opening half for all but the last two minutes, when Kilkenny hit over two points.
When Paul Flanagan plucked Pádraig Walsh’s penalty from behind him, seven minutes before half-time, the portents hinted at a Clare day. Four minutes into the second half, Tony Kelly struck Clare five points ahead as Kilkenny sought a semblance of leadership. They needed a goal and they got it when Michael Brennan buried a sky-high delivery from Ger Alyward.
The young Cats were motoring. Their second goal, partially created after Daire Keane hit a pass at Aaron Cunningham, rather than outside him at the opposite end, levelled it.
During this barren spell, Clare hurled from the eighth until the 22nd minute without scoring but were still only three points adrift, eight minutes from full-time.
Yet three minutes from full-time, Clare had dragged themselves to within a point of Kilkenny. Their hurling might not have been as fluid at that stage but their heart had not splintered, while their resolve remained immovable. Both David O’Halloran and Daire Keane had half chances, albeit from tricky angles, to equalise before Michael Brennan struck Kilkenny’s and the game’s final score.
Niall Arthur’s first-half hand injury, which resulted in Willie Phelan being yellow carded, hindered Clare, as did the bang Haulie Vaughan picked up, while Kilkenny netted their second goal.
Alan Mulready came on but the change shifted Jamie Shanahan to wing-back and Stephen O’Halloran to the corner. Furthermore, Aaron Cunningham could have been introduced earlier as he has shown that he can knock over crucial scores at vital times.
Let’s not nitpick too much, though. Clare hurled manfully until the fourth minute of injury time in the 2010 All-Ireland minor final, emptying themselves in the process. They would have taken that on the evening of April 28 when Waterford hammered them 1-21 to 0-16 in Walsh Park.
Winning last Sunday would have rounded off a perfect year, honed from imperfect beginnings. Losing though doesn’t mean that this team’s journey has ended. Their hurling careers are merely at a fork in the road. This year’s road was paved first with challenge, later with opportunity and ultimately, redemption. Individually and collectively, the road ahead will be pock marked with yet more challenge and plenty of opportunity if the 2010 minors retain the desire to explore the limits of their considerable talents.