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Tag Archives: All-Ireland qualifers

Sideline decisions cost Clare in Wexford cauldron

NOT a feat they’ll be boasting about but the 2013 All-Ireland champions broke new ground in the frenzied cauldron that was Wexford Park last Saturday evening. Since the back door and subsequent All-Ireland qualifier system was introduced in 1997 no reigning All-Ireland championship has exited at the earliest possible opportunity. Defeats to Cork and now Wexford, leaves Clare as the first holders of the Liam McCarthy Cup to fall at this juncture in their title defence. Clare didn’t hand back their All-Ireland title because the players weren’t prepared to give their last ounce. They were met with a fresher, fully committed Wexford team who should really have won the drawn game in Ennis, well before extra-time. Lets be honest here, if Wexford had lost, particularly the replay, Liam Dunne would have searching questions to answer. Their deployment of their two extra men, an advantage they hand for 30 minutes, was almost impossible to fathom. Rarely did they seek to stretch …

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