The one that got away

Waterford 2-17

Clare 1-18

THERE was no shortage of talking points this week as hurling followers reflected on Sunday’s Munster Senior Hurling Championship semi-final in which Waterford confirmed their recent dominance over Clare.
The Banner’s disappointment is understandable given they had chances to win a tie that was played at a lively pace and with great intensity. A wrong call by referee James McGrath (Westmeath) in awarding Waterford a penalty 15 minutes into the game had a big bearing on the result but, despite that, Clare’s failure to convert a number of good chances, allied to the concession of a soft second goal, contributed hugely to the end result.
In addition to the missed chances, Clare struggled in a number of key areas and the outcome might have been different had changes been made in these positions earlier. As predicted, Waterford’s greater experience proved a key factor on the day.
Sean Collins, as expected, missed out on the game due to a hamstring injury suffered in a challenge game against Cork. As predicted, he was replaced by his younger brother, Paudge, who lined out at corner-forward. The decision to give the Cratloe man a starting place was a surprise.
The game started well for Clare and, after seven minutes, they led 0-4 to 0-1, the scores coming from Nicky O’Connell (two frees), Conor McGrath and Jonathon Clancy. However, Clare failed to build on this early promise and Waterford got a grip in the half-back and midfield areas. They hit 1-4 without reply in a seven-minute spell to open a four-point lead by the end of the first quarter.
The goal was a controversial score. It came from a well-struck Eoin Kelly penalty after Cian Dillon was penalised for fouling the experienced Waterford forward. However, Dillon was clearly fouled by Kelly in the first instance. To make matters worse, the Crusheen man was shown a yellow card by referee McGrath.
After 15 scoreless minutes Colin Ryan had a Clare point from a 30m free but disaster struck a minute later. Patrick Kelly was slow coming off his line and failed to prevent Shane Walsh from flicking the ball to an empty net. The goal was a huge blow to Clare hopes and Waterford now led by six points, 2-5 to 0-5.
To their credit, Clare hit back strongly and after Conor McGrath had scored an impressive point, John Conlon collected a Paudge Collins pass and drilled the ball to the Waterford net, cutting the lead to two. Clonlara man Conlon hit a brace of points in injury time at the end of the half to leave the half-time score at 2-8 to 1-9 in favour of the winners.
Waterford resumed with Noel Connors at corner-back in place of Adrian Kearney but, surprisingly, there were no changes in the Clare line-up. Waterford had the opening two points with John Mullane scoring the first and then providing the pass for Maurice Shanahan to put them four points clear.
Clare dominated the next 10 minutes and points from Clancy, Nicky O’Connell (free), Conor McGrath and Colin Ryan (free) had the teams level, 1-13 to 2-10, 11 minutes into the period. Liam Markham entered the action at midfield, with Nicky O’Connell taking over at centre-back in place of James McInerney.
A superb long-range free from goalkeeper Patrick Kelly gave Clare the lead in the 14th minute but the side then gave away a couple of soft frees, which Maurice Shanahan converted. Man of the match Stephen Molumphy took a pass from Seamus Prendergast, who caused all sort of problems for Clare in the second half, and extended his team’s lead to two points at the turn of the final quarter. Mullane and Ritchie Foley (free) found the target and Waterford were four clear with 13 minutes to play.
Clare brought in Darach Honan and Seadna Morey and points from O’Connell (free), Clancy, McGrath and Ryan (free) had the margin down to the minimum with five minutes to go, sparking talk of a draw.
The remaining time, while producing plenty of scoring chances, saw just one more score, a point from Waterford substitute Martin O’Neill. In the final minute of normal time, Waterford goalie Stephen O’Keeffe made a superb save from Conor McGrath and Nicky O’Connell was wide of the target with the resultant 65’. Waterford attacked from the puckout and Martin O’Neill got through but with only goalie Patrick Kelly to beat, the Clare custodian won the contest. His clearance led to a counter-attack, which ended with Clare being awarded a 20m free. With time up, Patrick Kelly was called up to take the free but his opposite number saved and Waterford went through to the provincial final.
The left flank of the Clare defence was under pressure, particularly in the second half, while James McInerney struggled to dominate the vital centre-back spot. Domhnall O’Donovan was Clare’s best defender, while Cian Dillon worked hard at full-back. Nicky O’Connell started well at midfield but overall Clare struggled there. Up front John Conlon, Conor McGrath and Jonathon Clohessy did best.
The experience of Kevin Moran, Michael Walsh, Stephen Molumphy, John Mullane and, particularly, Seamus Prendergast proved too much for Clare, while Maurice Shanahan, Stephen Daniels and goalkeeper Stephen O’Keeffe were others to impress for the winners.

Waterford: Stephen O’Keeffe; Aidan Kearney, Liam Lawlor, Stephen Daniels; Ritchie Foley, Michael Walsh, Kevin Moran; Philip Mahony, Stephen Molumphy; Maurice Shanahan, Seamus Prendergast, John Mullane; Shane Walsh, Eoin Kelly, Gavin O’Brien.
Subs: Noel Connors for Kearney (half-time), Paul O’Brien for G O’Brien (48 minutes), Tomás Ryan for S Walsh (58 minutes), Dean Twomey for R Foley (61 minutes) and Martin O’Neill for E Kelly ( 61 minutes).
Scorers: Maurice Shanahan (0-7, 5f), Shane Walsh (1-1), John Mullane (0-3), Eoin Kelly (1-0 penalty), Philip Mahony, Ritchie Foley (free) Stephen Molumphy, Seamus Prendergast, Gavin O’Brien and Martin O’Neill (0-1 each).
Frees for: 14; wides: 4
Bookings: Adrian Kearney, Ritchie Foley, Gavin O’Brien and John Mullane.
Clare: Patrick Kelly; Domhnall O’Donovan, Cian Dillon, Conor Cooney; Brendan Bugler, James McInerney, Patrick O’Connor; Nicky O’Connell, Patrick Donnellan; John Conlon, Jonathon Clancy, Enda Barrett; Paudge Collins, Colin Ryan, Conor McGrath.
Subs: Liam Markham for McInerney (45 minutes), Fergal Lynch for Barrett (55 minutes), Darach Honan for Collins (58 minutes), Seadna Morey for O’Connor (58 minutes) and Aaron Cunningham for Ryan (65 minutes).
Scorers: John Conlon (1-2), Nicky O’Connell (0-5, 4f), Conor McGrath (0-4), Colin Ryan (0-3f), Jonathon Clancy (0-3) and Patrick Kelly (0-1f).
Frees for: 20; wides: 10
Bookings: Cian Dillon.
Referee: James McGrath, Westmeath.