Sling shots at the ready but can Clare take down Goliath?

REGARDLESS of what way you analyse the Munster senior football championship clash between Clare and Cork, it is hard to escape the conclusion on paper it is a David versus Goliath affair.
Reigning Munster, All-Ireland and League champions, Cork, are raging hot favourites to beat Clare in Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday.
While Dave Loughman accepts the men from the Banner will be rank outsiders, he believes the visitors will be all fired up by Micheál McDermott and his backroom team to have a right cut at dethroning the Rebels.
If all the Cork players aren’t mentally tuned in on the day and a few breaks go Clare’s way, the St Caimin’s Community College science and biology teacher believes this would increase the possibility of a surprise. He explains it may also be hard for all the Cork players to remain fully focused as some may have an eye on the Munster final, despite the best efforts of management.
In spite of the daunting challenge facing Clare taking on the All-Ireland champions in their own backyard, Dave notes the performance of teams from the Banner in the Munster Club Championship gives grounds for optimism.
“There are a lot of talented footballers in Clare at the moment. If you take any of the Clare senior football champions in recent years and pit them against any other team in Munster, they would be on a par with any team.
“Kilmurry-Ibrickane won the Munster Club Senior Football Championship two years ago and went all the way to the All-Ireland final where they were beaten by very good Antrim champions. Other Clare champions have also won and performed very well in the provincial series over the last decades,” he recalls.
While the performance of Clare clubs in the provincial series has been very encouraging for football promoters, all of the best players in the county aren’t making themselves available for a variety of reasons.
Dave says it’s a pity all the most talented players in the county aren’t making themselves available for manager, Micheál McDermott.
“Every county needs to be able to pick from their best players. Clare is no different and it is a real pity that it seems all the best players aren’t making themselves available. If Clare give a good performance, which they are capable of, this will provide a good platform to build on this for the future,” he says.
Clare’s last victory over Cork came in 1997 when Martin Daly grabbed a last-minute goal to seal victory in an absorbing Munster semi-final at Cusack Park, Ennis.
Kerry had to withstand a spirited Clare side before they prevailed in the Munster final that year courtesy of a decisive goal scored by Pa Laide who got away with a push on Clare defender Barry Keating while Kerry defender, Mike Hassett made a crucial intervention before the finish to thwart a goal-scoring opportunity.
Clare football supporters will also look back in anger at Cork’s fortuitous victory over Clare in the 1996 Munster championship when Johnny Buckley appeared to walk the walk into the net for a controversial match-winning goal.
Acknowledging that Páirc Uí Chaoimh will be another advantage for Cork, Dave Loughman recalls that Clare have performed well down by the Lee on a number of occasions.
The Youghal native is well placed to assess Cork’s strengths and, in particular, the huge contribution Conor Counihan had made to the Rebel’s success in recent years.
Dave served as a Cork selector in 1985, ’86, ’87, ’89 and ’90 when Cork brought the Sam Maguire back Leeside thanks to a hard-earned 0-11 to 0-9 win over Meath. This team included household names like Conor Counihan, Niall Cahalane, Shay Fahy, Larry Tompkins and Danny Culloty.
He agrees that winning last year’s All-Ireland final “lifted a monkey” off Cork’s back. “Cork footballers are physically very strong, pacey, have a very strong panel and are now playing with a lot more composure.
Conor Counihan is a very calculating manager who is very cool on the sideline. He has brought a lot of steel, work ethic into the side. This was illustrated when Cork came back from a 10-point deficit point by point to defeat Dublin in the league final,” he recalls.
Dave played with Youghal, Imokilly, a divisional team and UCC in practically every position in the field including goalkeeper when he was 17 until 1983 when his football career was cut short by a serious cruciate ligament injury long before the medical advances in this area.
Having secured a teaching post in St Caimin’s Shannon in 1988, he went on to build up a wealth of experience with Clare clubs as a physical trainer and coach. He was part of backroom teams which guided Clarecastle to intermediate glory shortly after his arrival in the county, senior success for Éire Óg, Ennis in 2002 during a three-year stint and county Intermediate success for Kilmihil in 2008 who also reached the Munster final where they were beaten by the Kerry champions.
He also served as a Clare selector with former Clare player, Frankie Griffin, when John Kennedy was Clare manager from 2003 to 2006 and worked with Clare minors when Joe Joe Whelan was in charge about 10 years ago.